Broadway Kids youth theater troupe performs 'Oliver!' in Carrollwood

CARROLLWOOD — It started with a kids theater summer camp. • Mary Ann Scialdo, artistic director at the Carrollwood Cultural Center, was teaching a little more than a dozen area youths new theater skills last year. • That's when she saw potential for greater things.

"I remember telling them that 'you're all good enough to do Broadway,' " she said. "And that's how we got the name, the Broadway Kids."

In September, Scialdo and Tiel Rey, a choreographer, formed the cultural center's first community theater group for youths ages 8 to 15. They expanded the original summer camp program, which became the Broadway Kids, to allow young people from throughout the county to participate. Today, the group includes about 16 people.

The kids involved say they get the chance to sing, dance, act and meet people they otherwise wouldn't.

"I've been in theater since I was 10," said Katie Shane, now 14 and looking forward to attending Berkeley Preparatory School in the fall. "I looked in my newspaper and saw the ad. My mom said I should try it.

Alex Gonzalez, also 14, said he likes the group's camaraderie.

"I've done other community theater groups," said Alex, who plans to attend Hillsborough High next school year. "You really have to be able to function as a group. You have to be friendly with your teammates."

The Broadway Kids debut July 17 with their rendition of Oliver!, a musical version of Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist. The story follows the life of an orphan in Victorian-era London, from his childhood in a workhouse to when he joins a gang of thieves and pickpockets in order to survive.

Scialdo and Rey asked the cultural center's adult Community Band and Community Chorus to provide the music.

The Oliver! cast and crew draw from throughout the community, crossing a wide range of demographics, from eight 8-year-old actors in Broadway Kids to a 73-year-old dancer and a 94-year-old clarinet player, Scialdo said.

Even the young actors are taking the play and the issues behind it seriously, she said.

"The kids understand that homelessness was an issue in Dickens' time and it's still an issue today," Scialdo said. "One hundred and seventy-two years later, nothing has changed except the location."

In keeping with the show's theme, proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to several area food pantries.

Members of the Broadway Kids, like 7-year-old Sara Gofter, a student at Hillel School, say that they are enjoying the experience.

"I like to dance with my sister and sing at my school," said Sara, the understudy for the role of Oliver.

Ryan Lambert, 14, who will be a freshman this fall at Blake High School for the Performing Arts, said he was a former member of the Colorado Children's Chorale. Still, he said, Broadway Kids "is close to being the best experience I ever had in theater."

Rachel Saady-Saxe, 13, a student at the Carrollwood Day School who plays Nancy, said she enjoys working with the directors and teachers at the center.

"They are really nice and they have a lot of expertise that they bring to the job," Rachel said.

Paul Berg, executive director of the Carrollwood Cultural Center, said he's glad to have the group at the center and he thinks it brings a lot to the community.

"It's a great help for kids who are starting out and for those with experience to get more experience," he said.