Small pleasures! Small pleasures! Who would deny us these? (Not me!)
Two kiddos— large measures! No skimpin’ if you please! When you get to sit down and have a chit-chat with BOTH Colton Roberts and Hazel Vogel, it’s a fine, fine life! And these two young performers couldn’t be more of a delight to chat with! I got the pleasure of catching them at the end of their rehearsal for Oliver! to talk to them about playing the titular role, Colton as the main Oliver and Hazel as the understudy (with a guaranteed performance), and getting to spend a bit of the afternoon with these two was just delightful!
Thank you both so very much for hanging around after rehearsal today to speak with me! I’m so very excited to get to speak with you both! Colton, I’ve seen you for a few years now, mostly down at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland, and Hazel, I know I’ve seen you around before— a few shows with Bambi and with Les Miserables on the most recent national tour! I’m really excited to talk to you both about Oliver! How long have you guys been performing?
Colton Roberts: I’ve been performing since I was four. And I’m 13 now.
Hazel Vogel: I’ve been performing since I was like five. And I’m 11. I’m turning 12 soon. So he’s only one year older than me!
And is this both of your first times performing in Oliver! or have you done this show before?
Colton & Hazel: First time!
That’s really cool. So what is it about the show Oliver! that made you want to come out and audition for it?
Colton: So my mom did it a long time ago at her school and she was like Markets Woman number three. And she always bragged about how her cousin played Oliver. And when she saw this on a Facebook page or something, she said, “Maybe you could go audition.” And I said, “Yeah maybe.” And then she didn’t want me to and then I convinced her and I ended up auditioning and now I’m here.
I’m so glad you convinced her! What about you, Hazel?
Hazel: I know and love Bambi (Director Bambi Johnson), obviously, because I’ve done some shows with her. And when I heard about the off-Broadway Oliver! I saw some clips of it and thought it would be really cool to do that show. So when my mom told me about this audition, I definitely said “Yeah! Let’s do it!” and now we’re here!
That is so awesome! Now, Hazel, when you’re not on as Oliver, are you in the ensemble?
Hazel: Yes. I play Nipper, she’s one of Fagin’s gang. That’s my other role.
And when Hazel goes on for Oliver, are you in Fagin’s gang, Colton?
Colton: I am Nipper also. We both get to be Oliver and Nipper.
That’s really cool. What’s it like getting to be Oliver?
Colton: It’s very fun because I just played a title role— I was Nemo in Finding Nemo Jr. (Children’s Playhouse of Maryland) but this is really big because it’s not a one-hour long show. This show is like 2 hours and 30 minutes long. And I’m in 80% of the show. Surprisingly, Oliver doesn’t have as many lines as other, bigger characters do? I thought it would be fun and it is really fun, I’m really enjoying it!
Is this your first full-length show, Colton? I know a lot of the shows at CPM are the “jr” version or the “kids edition” which means they aren’t necessarily a whole two and a half hours.
Colton: This is my first full-length show as a title character. The first full-length show I ever did was— either Scrooge or Miracle on 34th Street.
Now, Hazel, I know you’ve done at least one other full-length show, which ones have you done?
Hazel: I did Tarzan with Bambi (Phoenix Festival Theatre) and I was Young Tarzan. And I also did Cabaret with Bambi (Phoenix Festival Theatre) but I only sang the one song for that but it was still really, really cool. And then obviously, Les Mis.
Yes, I saw you when the tour passed through Baltimore! That must have been really cool because you got to go all over the country with that show.
Hazel: Yeah. It was cool. I think one of my first full-length shows was Tom Sawyer. It was a children’s production but it wasn’t a “jr” show.
That’s pretty cool. So what is it like for you getting to play Oliver?
Hazel: It’s really special and I’ve never understudied a role before so its nice to have this experience. I’m also really happy that Colton is Oliver because he’s one of my good friends!
What has been the thing that you’ve found the hardest or the most challenging so far?
Colton: That’s tricky! I feel like having to learn two characters at the same time, especially when you’re the main character, has been a little hard. I feel very bad for Hazel who gets to do Oliver for one performance and still has to learn every single thing for the Oliver role. So we have to alternate and that’s really tricky!
Hazel: Definitely also doing the two roles like Colton said, but the lines! I have to memorize all the lines and the blocking! I have to remember all of my lines and blocking but then I also have to remember all of Oliver’s lines and blocking! And it’s harder when we’re in the same scene and we have to switch every time we run through it! But definitely lines!
What’s your favorite part of the show so far?
Colton: I don’t know. There are a lot of really fun parts. I definitely like “Consider Yourself” it’s a very fun number. It’s one of the only upbeat numbers in the show. All the other ones are, you know, “there’s a mass-murderer on the loose” kind of thing.
Hazel: I do love “Consider Yourself.” I feel like there’s that one part where all of Fagin’s gang is singing those four songs all in a row, those are all very fun to do. You get to be this crazy boy who is free-willed and has nothing to stop him from doing what he wants and that’s really fun.
Colton, I know you said this is your first time working with Bambi. What’s that experience been like?
Colton: It’s very fun. She’s very good with kids. She’s really fun. She makes things fun. She makes it fun to learn things. We learn really fast and we get things done. It all looks good and everything is really wonderful. She’s just a great director. She’s very fun to work with.
Hazel, this your third time working with Bambi? What has this experience been like for you?
Hazel: I love her because she’s always so nice and she’s not one of those directors who just says “all right, I’m going to teach you this stuff and then you guys better do it.” She’s not like that at all. She’s open about people not knowing the songs or people doing the dances, and she’s very open to people having questions and making their own choices. She just helps you with whatever you need. She’s like a stage mom but also a director mom. I love working with her. She does amazing shows.
Does Oliver get to do any dancing and how is the dancing coming along for you two?
Colton: Yes, Oliver does get to dance a lot. He also is in a lot of regular old scenes. He watches a lot of it. So in certain scenes, like “I’d Do Anything” he watches half the time and then he gets up and tries it for himself. In “Fine Life” he just sits around and watches everyone because he’s new to the gang, so he’s just watching everyone else do it and having a good time watching them. But he’s in most of the big numbers, like “Consider Yourself.”
Are you a dancer, Colton? Or are you learning as you go?
Colton: I’m learning as I go. I’m currently taking dance lessons.
And what about you, Hazel? Are you a dancer?
Hazel: Yes! I would consider myself a dancer definitely. I’ve been doing ballet since I was two and I do hip-hop. I like to dance.
How are you two similar to and different from Oliver?
Colton: I have to think about different. I’m not an orphan! I have a mother and a father. I’m not a pick-pocket. I didn’t live in an orphanage and escape.
Hazel: You didn’t get sold three times!
Colton: Yeah, I didn’t go to a funeral home or get sold. So those are most of the things I’m not. But I feel like I’m similar in a way to Oliver. I can relate to him, personality-wise, because we share very similar personalities. I like how Oliver likes showing emotion. I like showing emotion. He has a close place in my heart because I feel like if I didn’t have a mother or father I would be Oliver. Just not a pick-pocket.
I’m really glad you have a mother and father and definitely glad you are not a pick-pocket! What about you, Hazel? How are you and Oliver similar and different?
Hazel: Definitely the same for what Colton said— I am not a pick-pocket! I haven’t been sold a bunch of times. All of that. I’m also not a boy. But I definitely connect personality-wise with Oliver. As Colton said, he’s very emotional. And when doing new things, meeting new people, or coming across new experiences and endeavors, he’s very shy about it at first and very polite. And then he definitely shows his personality after a while, he definitely gets more comfortable. And that’s definitely me.
Colton: That is exactly how I felt when I first came here for Oliver. I though I wasn’t going to make many friends, except for Hazel—
Hazel: That is so real. I felt that too!
Colton: But I’m already coming away from this with a bunch of people who are all so nice and so friendly over here. It’s really great!
That is so wonderful to hear. You can definitely make friends in the theatre who will be a part of your life-long friend group. Now, if you two could pick any character in the show to play— we can pretend for a minute that you’re all grown up and age or gender or singing ability doesn’t matter— who would you choose to be?
Colton: That’s hard! Nancy? I feel like she plays a very title and key role in this show. She’s very fun and dance-y and then she—
OOPS. Let’s not spoil what happens for somebody who maybe doesn’t know the show.
Colton: Okay! But she is really fun role. Emily who plays Nancy (Emily Jewett) she’s really talented and I like watching her play Nancy. I feel like Nancy would be a really fun role. But maybe also Fagin? I feel like I can also relate to Fagin because he seems like he would do what I would do when I grow up.
Hazel: Definitely Nancy for the same reasons but also Dodger. First of all, I feel like it would be very fun to sing all of “Consider Yourself” which is what Dodger does. But Dodger is just a fun character and he gets to do all of this fun stuff!
That’s so wild. I’m definitely with both of you, I’d want to be Nancy. What have you learned about yourself from getting to be a part of this?
Colton: I’ve learned that shows have very deep meanings. Sometimes you don’t think about it, but if you really do, if you take a deep dive into something, you’ll notice. This show has a lesson to it. There are things you can learn from it. And this show is very like that kind of show. You can learn a lot from it. People may feel things but you may not understand what they feel, and all that kind of stuff.
Hazel: Definitely the deepness but also actually diving deep into your character, their background and their history. I feel like most of the shows I’ve done, I have this character and they’re all planned out. You just go on, do your lines, and that’s it. But I feel like with Nipper, I can kind of create my own backstory and for Oliver I really have to dive deep into his backstory and think about his whole life. It’s really fun to do that deep dive.
That is so amazing to hear. And I’ll bet Bambi has a lot to do with that. Now why do you want people to come out and see Oliver!?
Colton: I think people should come and see it because it’s very emotional. It has a wide variety of emotions and I feel like you can feel everything all at once. You can be happy and sad you can be mad and everything. It’s a mix of everything in this show. All the actors are so talented. They are really into it and they really know what they’re doing. It just makes the show ten times better.
Hazel: Well, first of all, it’s under Bambi’s direction so you know it’s going to be a very great show. Also, again like Colton said, the actors and the talent in this show is just going to be unbelievably amazing.
Colton: Broadway level!
Hazel: Yes! And also just the story— the message that it sends is very important. I feel like you can channel a lot of emotions just by watching it and you’ll really be able to relate to the characters with all these emotions.
Absolutely! I cannot wait to see it. If you had to sum up your experience working with Bambi here on Oliver! in just one word, which word would you use?
Colton: I think I have the word.
Okay, go for it!
Colton: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Bambi, I think this boy is hinting that Mary Poppins should be your next project!
Colton: I feel like that’s the word I would have to use. It summarizes everything.
That is a really good word. What about you, Hazel?
Hazel: Oh I like that word. But if I had to pick another one, I think I’d say Family.
Oliver! plays May 10th 2024 through May 19th 2024 with Tidewater Players in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
To read the interview with Ryan Geiger & Emily Jewett, click here.
