Consider yourself one of the audience

“Please sir, I want some more” is what Eileen McEnaney and her cast members hope the audience will be saying after seeing this week’s production of “Oliver” at Holy Name of Mary School.

The play will hit the Catholic elementary school’s stage this Thursday and Friday night. Director McEnaney has been working with her cast since September. She said she chose the play because there are multiple parts for students in both the upper and lower grades.

McEnaney has been producing plays for nearly 40 years. She has done “Oliver” in the past, but not for a least a decade. “My last Oliver has already graduated college,” she said, “so it’s been a while.”

Playing the title character this year is third-grader James Tronsor. He has done some acting in commercials through an agency, and also has been in past performances at the school.

Tronsor said he is looking forward to the last scene of the play, which is a happy moment for his character.

Also playing lead roles are eighth-graders Jaclyn Manicdao as Nancy, Sabrynne Yu as Fagin and Kevin Glattli as Bill Sikes, seventh-grader Natalia Kulis as Bet, and sixth-grader Max Schultz as Dodger.

Manicdao said her character is very different from her real-life personality, so she truly will put her acting skills to work. Fortunately for her, she has experience from four other plays at Holy Name and with several solos, this will be her biggest performance yet.

“Nancy is actually the hardest role in the play,” McEnaney said. “She’s on stage the most.”

As Bet, Kulis plays Nancy’s sidekick. Kulis described her character as reliable and trustworthy. This is her third performance at the school.

Glattli, who came over from Blessed Sacrament School in sixth-grade, will be in his third show, as well, but it will also be his last. “Everything in the eighth grade you’re going to do is going to be really memorable,” he said.

He added that unlike Manicdao, he believes his character fits his personality very well. Glattli said he doesn’t have as many lines as last year when he was the main male character in “The Sound of Music,” but is still excited to be in one of the lead roles.