It’s not just any novice performer who could nail an audition with confidence and land a starring role in a major musical theatre production.
Evidently, Carly Ronning is not just any novice performer.
The 11-year-old Burnaby resident is playing the title role in Oliver! at Theatre Under the Stars in Stanley Park this summer. The classic Lionel Bart musical is alternating with Hairspray at the popular Malkin Bowl outdoor theatre.
Carly auditioned after hearing about the opportunity through her sister’s fiance’s sister.
“I never really went to auditions before, so I wasn’t really expecting anything,” she admits.
When they told her she had won the lead role, “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’” says the Grade 6 student at St. Helen’s Elementary School in Burnaby. “I was very excited.”
Her enthusiasm bubbles over the phone line as she chats about the chance to star in the musical, based on Dickens’ Oliver Twist, which traces the fate of the unfortunate orphan who’s consigned to a life on the streets after he makes the egregious mistake of asking for more gruel at the orphanage table.
“Oliver is the nicest boy, but he’s the dumbest kid ever,” Carly says frankly. But she’s found a lot of sympathy in her character and notes that playing him requires her to run the gamut of emotions – he’s often scared, or sad, and the numerous tragic plot twists faced by the young street urchin have left Carly near tears in rehearsal.
“He’s just sobbing all the time,” she says – adding quickly that it’s totally unlike her own personality.
Carly has become hooked on the 1968 movie version of the musical (“Oliver is my favourite movie ever!”), noting it’s been helpful to watch just to see the emotional journey of the young lead character.
“You have to look at the expressions in his face,” she says. “You just have to watch the face of Oliver.”
Carly admits it can be intimidating to be on stage, although she says it’s somewhat less frightening to be surrounded by other people than to sing on her own.
“It’s really scary, but you’ve just gotta get up there,” she says.
It helps, she says, that she’s surrounded by a supportive and talented cast.
“It’s such a privilege to work with all these amazing artists,” she says. Plus, she adds, the rest of the cast – especially the other orphans and Nathan Piasecki, who plays the Artful Dodger – have become friends.
“It’s a really great experience, we get to have a fun time. I get to make lots of new friends,” she says. “It’s, like, a fun experience and so amazing.”
The young performer has found plenty of inspiration and support in her own family – she credits her two older sisters, Taryn and Kristin, for paving the way for her to sing. Taryn, she says, is a “really really amazing singer” who previously sang with a band, and Kristin is studying music at Belmont University in Nashville.
Mom Ivana, though not herself musical, gets full credit from Carly for being an enormous support all the way and for making so many trips to rehearsals.
The male members of her household – brother Ty, a Vancouver Giants hockey player, and dad Cliff (yes, that Cliff, the famed former NHL player) – aren’t particularly musically talented, she says, but they have been supportive too. Ty likes to call her “Ollie” all the time, and as for her dad? Well, he does sing, Carly says; his favourite song is Piano Man.
For the record, she says the musical talent in her family comes from her Nonno – her grandfather on her mom’s side. “He loves to sing, he’s Italian,” explains Carly.
Being part of Oliver! has convinced Carly that she wants to stay involved in musical theatre, she says. And she’s excited for the impending opening of the show, which will alternate nights with Hairspray from July 10 to Aug. 22 at Malkin Bowl.
“It’s amazing,” she says, and the conviction in her voice makes it clear how much she means it. “I love it!”
*
Oliver! also stars New Westminster’s Marie West as Nancy, Stephen Aberle as Fagin/Mr. Brownlow, Damon Calderwood as Bill Sykes/Mr. Bumble and Nolan Fahey as Charley Bates.
Audience members will also be treated to some off-stage extras – upon arrival, audience members will enter into an 1840s-era village fair, with sing-alongs, food stalls, foot races, a market and more, with specialized “shillings” for payment.
Shows start at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. on fireworks nights) and tickets run from $30 to $45. Call 1-877-840-0457 or see www.tuts.ca.
