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As to the fabulousness of Oliver Twist's life, there can be no dispute. For while the boy's flame was first kindled in the filthy bowels of the workhouse, and while his signature line -- "Please, sir, I want some more" -- was wasted in a pathetic attempt at obtaining a second bowl of orphanage slop, Oliver was nevertheless marked for greatness from the beginning. Young actress adds a twist
to starring role of ‘Oliver!’By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comIn short order he would flee his confinement, join a band of pickpockets and eventually land safely in the home of a rich benefactor. Thanks to this latter predicament, Oliver would one day live a life he'd once barely dared to dream. He competed and won "Hawaii Stars" and saved a few pence by picking up a Star-Bulletin paper route while preparing methodically for a later career in plastic surgery.
And, oh yes, he became a girl.
"He's a little strange and real skinny," said Kaitlin Kiyan, 11, speaking candidly of the literary heavyweight she'll soon be bringing to life in Army Community Theatre's production of "Oliver!" opening next Thursday. "He's small for his age, and he's had a really gloomy life."
You might think that for Kiyan, who's never acted in a musical before (much less as a boy), London's rat-infested streets and sooty chimneys could prove a daunting challenge. But she's blessed with some of Oliver's fabled luck, in this case a great set of pipes and a generous head of hair that miraculously stays put under a boy's wig. In short, the Kaleiopuu Elementary sixth-grader seems to possess everything necessary to form a solidly competent "Oliver" epicenter. Everything, that is, save the aforementioned gloominess.
"We're not really that gloomy," she said confidently, speaking of the Kiyan home, which at first glance bears more than a passing resemblance to the Dickensian, being composed of mom and dad, Kaitlin, two older brothers, four foster sisters and one foster brother.
Presented by Army Community Theatre 'Oliver!'
When: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and continues at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through May 25
Where: Richardson Theater, Fort Shafter
Cost: $12 to $15 for adults; $6 to $8 for children under age 12
Call: 438-4480
"There are five beds in my room and three beds in the boys' rooms," she added, unavoidably conjuring images of the dining tables in Mr. Bumble's workhouse, but again minus the hardships.
"To me it's fun. You always have someone with you, and you're never lonely."
And when the clamor of home proves overwhelming, there's always the solace of her Star-Bulletin paper route (which Kiyan works with her father, Paul) and whose chief attraction can be summed up in two words: "the paycheck."
It's out of that sort of brass-tacks pragmatism that generations of Olivers have been culled since the musical's first appearance in 1960, but still we wondered about the choice of a girl for the part.
"Oliver!" is, of course, one of the more beloved musicals of recent times, its score jammed with the musical equivalent of parfaits ("Consider Yourself," "You've Got to Pick a Pocket"), cabernets ("Where is Love?" "As Long as He Needs Me") and even shades of gray ("Who Will Buy?"). For audiences accustomed to emoting over Mark Lester (the thoroughly British towhead of the 1968 Oscar-winning film), will there be a disconnect?
"I think they'll be pleasantly surprised because Kaitlin is really a fine actor," said Stephanie Conching, Army's "Oliver!" director, who once expected to cast a boy in the part. "And (the story's) not necessarily about Oliver being a boy. I think it's about Oliver's character going through his life trials, although a girl probably wouldn't get thrown around as much."
Conching admits to working to "butch her up a little bit" in rehearsal, "but I think she's not at that stage of life where she's so girlie that it's going to be noticeable." And besides, Kiyan is a performer who does her homework, "one of those actors that I kind of wish adults were like -- focused and fun and willing to try things." Read: an actor about whom directors just don't worry.
Kiyan isn't worried about her stage debut either, saying she's "nervous, but not that nervous." Then again, she's got bigger fish to fry, i.e., her future métier as a plastic surgeon.
"I don't know, it seems fun. They do a lot of surgery, and I'm not really grossed out by that stuff."
But what about the smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd?
"Either a plastic surgeon or a life in acting."
As you can see, Kaitlin Kiyan, like Oliver Twist, is destined for notoriety. After all, regardless of her career choice, she'll no doubt be rubbing elbows with the Hollywood elite someday.
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