These Plays Always Have Happy Endings

Last Friday night, I saw the musical “Oliver” here in Orange County. The sets were a bit thin, there were a few gaps between scenes, and you couldn’t always hear every actor’s lines. Add to that, after Oliver finally finds happiness and the curtains close, the cast comes back to break into the Macarena. What would poor old Charles Dickens make of that?

In all, it was as enjoyable a time as I’ve ever had at the theater. Certainly the most heartwarming.

“Oliver” was the ambitious winter production of the Musical Theatre Troupe of the Anaheim Therapeutic Recreation Center. The cast members were some 20 developmentally disabled young adults, most 18 to 25. The enthusiastic audience at the Western High School auditorium was filled with parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

The choreography was impressive; so was the actors’ dedication to making the musical a success. They were loyal to the script, and you could tell that a lot of hours of serious work had gone into this. It made you feel good just seeing how hard they tried.

“You died great,” someone told one of the cast members later.

“I did, really?” she responded. Can there be any greater accolade for an actor than to know she died great?

I almost missed this gem. I’d gotten home late from work, my 4-year-old daughter wasn’t feeling well and my 14-year-old son had something else he wanted to do. I was on the verge of passing this one up.

But Teri Mountford, director of the Therapeutic Recreation Center, had written my office a compelling note about the production:

“Public performances allow troupe members to focus on their abilities rather than on their limitations.”

Her words had the power of a magnet. My wife stayed home with our children and I headed off for Western High. What a delight to watch the focus Mountford wrote about unfold on stage.

This was the musical troupe’s 15th production since it was created about six years ago. They’ve tackled pieces like “Bye Bye Birdie,” “South Pacific” and “The Pajama Game.”

“Some of the participants have been with it since the beginning,” Mountford said. “It is so gratifying to watch their improvement, both in self-esteem and their ability to handle their lines. It also aids them in their speech development.”

The therapeutic center is part of the city’s community services division. It has numerous other education programs besides the theater troupe to aid the developmentally disabled in becoming more productive citizens. Others pitch in to help. The “Oliver” performance, for example, was sponsored by the Anaheim Arts Council and Target Stores.

Equally impressive with the cast were their three young directors. They’re the kind you hope your son or daughter brings home to meet you. Katie Hawkins is a senior at Katella High School; Jamey Chism is a senior at Savanna High. Both are Anaheim schools. Aaron Hunt is a junior at Cal State Long Beach. All three want careers in either recreational or occupational therapy.

Hunt said he was inspired to work in this field because his grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. He hooked up with the therapeutic center in Anaheim through one of his professors.

“It’s been a tremendous experience,” he said. “The cast really worked hard on this. To see their parents so proud means a lot to us.”

Chism explained that the three handled directorial duties as equals. They met often to prepare the musical. But Hawkins, speaking to the audience after the performance, also was quick to credit Joan Barnes of Anaheim.

Barnes, it turns out, has been in this field the last 14 years, since she was a teenager working after school. She’s directed many of the productions for this troupe but had to sit out this one while she had a baby. She still took time to help prepare the script.

“The cast gets a great deal out of this, but no more than we do,” she said. “It’s very special when you see their personal growth. The shows are getting better and better.”

Absolutely 100%: This won’t make a blip on the Nielsen ratings, but on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) and Saturday (10:30 a.m.) you can catch an important 30-minute documentary on child drownings on KOCE-TV Channel 50 in Huntington Beach. It was produced by Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Hosted by Bill Fagerbakke of TV’s “Coach,” the program focuses on the 1992 death of 2-year-old Christopher Glass in his family’s Jacuzzi in Mission Viejo.

It was produced by CHOC executives Mary Marlin and Julie Wagner, with cooperation from the drowning victim’s parents.

Marlin explained that they first produced a 12-minute video for health-care officials, which is also used in childbirth classes throughout the county.

“But we wanted something to catch the ear of the general public,” she said. “We wanted something with emotion, to show people what happens before, during and after a drowning case, how it affects families.”

Experts all agree on one statistic: These drownings are 100% preventable.

Candles & Commemoration: The two Orange County chapters of the National Organization for Women will join for a candlelight vigil Wednesday night in the downtown circle in Orange. It’s to celebrate the 24th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting early stage abortions.

It’s a bring-your-own-candle event. Here’s the part my wife likes: The leaders are arranging car-pooling for those who want to attend. The vigil begins at 7 p.m. Call (714) 497-1709 for information.

Wrap-Up: The next production of the Musical Theatre Troupe is set for May 16. Tentatively scheduled is another ambitious musical, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Plus the Macarena, of course.

You may not find a Judy Garland here. But I can promise you’ll leave the theater feeling warm and wonderful about what you witnessed. That’s a guarantee you won’t find on Broadway.

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by call-ing the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail [email protected]