NewsSpend a Day With Eleasha Gamble, the Tattooed, Mohawked Nancy of Arena Stage's Modern-Day Oliver!Arena Stage's current production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, the musical based on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," takes a darker turn than most productions of the show. The production, directed by Molly Smith, includes drugs, weapons and a re-imagined score. Leading Lady Eleasha Gamble takes us behind the scenes!
November 26, 2015
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Spend a Day With Eleasha Gamble, the Tattooed, Mohawked Nancy of Arena Stage's Modern-Day Oliver!
Spend a Day With Eleasha Gamble, the Tattooed, Mohawked Nancy of Arena Stage's Modern-Day Oliver!
Arena Stage's current production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, the musical based on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," takes a darker turn than most productions of the show. The production, directed by Molly Smith, includes drugs, weapons and a re-imagined score. Leading Lady Eleasha Gamble takes us behind the scenes!
43 PHOTOS
Good Morning Playbill.com!!
Eleasha Gamble
To get the mind, body and voice ready for two shows, I begin with drinking tons of water and doing some kickboxing in my apartment. Thank you Youtube!
Eleasha Gamble
Post workout a quick protein shake because they say protein is good for you. They are right it's delicious!
Eleasha Gamble
To get the mind, body and voice ready for two shows, I begin with drinking tons of water and doing some kickboxing in my apartment. Thank you Youtube!
Eleasha Gamble
After showering and getting dressed I prepare my witches brew. No, really it's my hydrating drink for the show. Ginger and lemon work wonders!
No one can do a show without breakfast! Today we have turkey bacon and an omelette with onion, leeks, red pepper, garlic, spinach and parmesan cheese. Yummy!!
Eleasha Gamble
While heading to the theater I run into my costar, my Bill Sykes, Mr. Ian Lassiter! He kills me every night but I still love him. #Complicated
Eleasha Gamble
Our production of Oliver is set in 2015, so my Nancy rocks a mohawk in the show. We use my real hair and it gets done by the brilliant Vincent Hill.
Eleasha Gamble
Sorry to say my tattoo in the show is fake. They don't pay me that much!
Eleasha Gamble
Mr. Vincent Hill! He wasn't in on Sunday, so we did my prep the night before, but I had to include him cause he's a big part of my process.
Eleasha Gamble
Back to Sunday: This is Vincent's sub, Dori Beau Seigneur, adding the fiery red front piece to complete my mohawk.
Eleasha Gamble
Hey that's my name! One of the perks of getting killed every night you get your own dressing room. Winning!
Eleasha Gamble
Paul Vogt! He auditioned for the role of Oliver, but got cast as Mr. Bumble instead. Maybe next time Paul!
Eleasha Gamble
Fight Call. Every day we rehearse the multiple fights that take place in our show. Here's a good view of the bridge above the Fichandler stage.
Eleasha Gamble
Hello Broadway's Jeff McCarthy! His dressing room is right next to mine and we sometimes have full conversations by yelling back and forth from our rooms. Like ya do!
Eleasha Gamble
I have a lot of time to get ready. I've been known to watch Chappelle's show to pass the time, but today I was in the mood for some Jackson 5.
Eleasha Gamble
There she is, it's Nancy! Can I tell you how nice it is to be in pants and not have to wear a corset! Freedom!!
Eleasha Gamble
This is special. This is Nicholas Spiropoulos, and he was my Bill Sykes in high school the very first time I did Oliver! This is his mother Betsy Reed, who is the person who first told me I could sing my freshman year in high school. She started me on the path I'm on today. So grateful they were both at the show today!
Eleasha Gamble
A beautiful shot of the setting sun at the Mead Center. I so love working at Arena Stage!
Eleasha Gamble
Tonight's dinner is brought to you today from Blue Apron. North African-spiced shrimp and couscous. It was delicious!
Eleasha Gamble
From my apartment I get a great view of the theater!
Eleasha Gamble
In need of a little caffeine pick-me-up to finish the week out. Our building has a lovely Keurig machine in the lobby.
Eleasha Gamble
But first a quick stop to the grocery store to get...
Eleasha Gamble
Apple pie for everyone! We could all use a little sugar to get through this last show.
Eleasha Gamble
Two of my most favorite people together in one photo! Paul Sportelli, our genius music director, and my friend and our choreographer, Parker Esse. Talented and handsome to boot!
Eleasha Gamble
And then sometimes your tattoo needs to get filled in with your black eyeshadow. Sometimes.
Eleasha Gamble
The awesome kids in our show. These are some of the smartest actors I've ever worked with on stage. The future of theater is in great hands!
Eleasha Gamble
The men's dressing room has been transformed into a club called the Würkhaus. Their dance parties are infamous!
Eleasha Gamble
The designer of the Würkhaus, Stephen Gregory Smith!! Thumpa Thumpa!
Eleasha Gamble
Stephen is one of my best friends and we've grown up doing theatre in the D.C.-area together. It's great to be working on a show together again.
Eleasha Gamble
It brings me so much joy every day to see this photo from our 2010 production of Oklahoma!. But it's especially nice to see my Curly, my dear friend Nicholas Rodriguez. This show was life changing!
Eleasha Gamble
Since Nancy doesn't make an entrance until the end of Act 1, I sometimes go upstairs to an empty rehearsal room and warm up. It's nice to have this huge room to myself and to take my time to warm up.
Eleasha Gamble
Here's a good view of my tattoo and mohawk. Nancy's ready to kick some butt!
Eleasha Gamble
Well look who it is! Ian has even more time on his hands then I do! I ran into him in the other rehearsal hall playing around on the piano.
Eleasha Gamble
This is the amazing Jake Miller. He just turned 10 and he kills it every night onstage as Oliver. I expect great things from him in the future.
Eleasha Gamble
Post-show hangout at Station 4, which is a bar up the street. There I run into the Bumbles (Paul Vogt and Rayanne Gonzales) who are still fighting. They never should have gotten married.
Eleasha Gamble
The first of my three well-earned post show cocktails. Delicious!!
Eleasha Gamble
Kale and sausage pizza!!! KALE AND SAUSAGE PIZZA!!!!!
Eleasha Gamble
If only I could unhinge my jaw and eat it whole!! #LifeGoal
Eleasha Gamble
Encroachers!!!! If you don't move your hands I'll eat them too!
Eleasha Gamble
Ian, Kyle Vaughn and myself shut Station 4 down! They’re laughing at something funny I said because I'm hilarious. #Truth
Eleasha Gamble
It was a joy sharing my day with you all. I hope you get a chance to come down to D.C. to see us in Oliver!. We run now through Jan 3rd!
The Washington Post reports that Arena Stage's production underscores some of Bart's original music with hip hop beats and gives others more bluesy vibes. "Oom-Pah-Pah," the second-act opener performed in a tavern setting, includes "drugs now circulating through this den of thieves."
Costume designer Wade Laboissonniere's designs, according to the Post, take a more modern approach as well. Nancy, played by Eleasha Gamble, first appears sporting a mohawk and a cut-off vest. Other costumes include dog collars and denim jackets as accessories. Oliver! features choreography by Parker Esse and music direction by Paul Sportelli.
According to a release, the production is described as "blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. Smith’s new in-the-round staging infuses a modern edge to the classic musical about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and conmen, highlighting the disparity between classes and dangerous life on London’s streets today."
The cast of Oliver! includes Jake Heston Miller, Kyle Coffman, Eleasha Gamble, Ian Lassiter, Jeff McCarthy, Paul Vogt, Rayanne Gonzales, Kyle Schliefer, Tom Story, Dorea Schmidt, Lara Zinn, Chaz Jackson, Jesse Palmer, Catherine Flye, Lauren Gemelli, Thomas Adrian Simpson, Stephen Gregory Smith, Kyle Vaughn, Ian Anthony Coleman, Mohammed Badawi, Sebastian Gervase, Henry Niepoetter, Ethan Van Slyke, Jane Bunting and Jimmy Mavrikes.
Performances began Oct. 30 and continue through Jan. 3, 2016.
For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
