Debbie Allen is cooking up a Creole revival of the Charles Dickens classic “Oliver Twist.”
Allen, who directed the African-American revival of “Cat on Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway and London is now taking “Twist” to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta from Sept. 1 thru Oct. 3 and is holding auditions in four cities to find just the right cast.
According to The Alliance Theatre, “Twist examines the deep emotions and human struggles of a young boy whose father was a black song-and-dance man and whose mother was a white woman of prominence. Guided by a fierce yearning for home, he travels through larger-than-life New Orleans, from the orphanage to a new life behind the red velvet curtain of The Jewel Box speakeasy. There he discovers the home he never had and the parents he never knew among a group of children surviving on the street.”
The musical is set in New Orleans in 1928 and was written by Tony nominee William F. Brown, who penned “The Wiz.” Grammy Award winner Tena Clark and composer Gary Prim round out the creative braintrust.
Here are the audition cities and dates:
Los Angeles – April 21–27
Atlanta – April 29 – May 3
New Orleans May 4, 5
NYC – May 5 – 10
For audition specifics and updates follow Allen on Twitter @msdebbieallen.
