Impresario, Children Bring ‘Oliver’ to Valencia

Alex Urban, the impresario of children’s theater, has expanded into the Santa Clarita Valley and will present the new troupe’s debut production of “Oliver” on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the Magic Mountain Showcase Theatre.

Urban already runs children’s theater companies in the San Fernando Valley, Orange County, the South Bay, San Diego and three Northern California cities. Some of the cast and all the adults working on “Oliver” are veterans of other Urban shows, so it promises to have the high quality that marks his productions.

About 140 children take part, and in a few scenes all of them appear on stage. Guy Noland, assistant to director Urban, said a 16-piece orchestra will accompany the singing and dancing.

The children range in age from 4 to 19. In a departure from usual practice, adults were allowed to enroll in the program, and about 10 are in the show.

Urban, who has a full-time teaching job in Napa, flies south for weekend rehearsals and keeps a breakneck schedule. He relies heavily on parents and assistants to pull the shows together. Noland, 21, started as a cast member five years ago. He said the Santa Clarita branch of Urban’s Greater Los Angeles Children’s Theatre has been welcomed by the community.

“They don’t have many things having to do with the arts for children, so we’ve gotten a lot of response,” he said. “The spirit of it is like the other shows. We give the children the experience of a professional theater atmosphere without the theater pressure.”

Sean Courtney, 10, of West Hills is one of the youths playing the part of Oliver. Casts will change for each of the six performances to give participants maximum stage time.

“The story is how a boy gets to be an orphan and is sold to someone,” Sean explained. “It’s kind of both sad and happy.”

Many parents, Sean’s mother Joyce among them, credit Urban’s three-month programs with building confidence and self-esteem in children. She and Sean have taken part for four years.

“You see people coming back and back again,” she said.

Mo Lauren Caudell, a Canyon Country parent who helps administer the Santa Clarita program, said its quick success comes in part from the area’s need for youth activities, and in part from hard work.

“We flyered the schools, ran ads. KBET did public service spots,” she said.

Adam McDonald, 17, of North Hills plays Noah Claypole and Mr. Sourberry in “Oliver.” He is a veteran of such Urban productions as “Peter Pan,” “The Whiz,” “Annie” and “Cinderella.”

“This one’s off to a real good start,” he said. “I think it will be as good as the Valley one, maybe better.”

Assistant director Michael Welles, 22, of Huntington Beach calls the program “theater by children that’s for families.”

“It’s not geared down to just a child’s level,” he said. “Adults enjoy it too.”

Not content with his recent expansions--both the Santa Clarita and South Bay programs started this year--Urban has put together a state repertory group. Unlike the community groups, where all applicants are accepted and appear on stage, the state group is designed as a step up for the best students. Urban took the troupe to Moscow this year and is planning a Christmas production in London.

No doubt the man has his eye on Broadway.

“Oliver,” presented by Santa Clarita troupe of Greater Los Angeles Children’s Theatre , 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday; Magic Mountain Showcase Theatre, Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia. Tickets range from $7 to $12. Call (805) 250-1222.