PICT's OLIVER TWIST to Continue After Letting Go Five Employees

After struggling to raise money to fund the upcoming production of OLIVER TWIST, PICT Classic Theatre was forced to lay off staff members in order to keep the show going.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, five full-time staffers were let go, including "co-founder and managing director Stephanie Riso."

PICT's financial picture is still tenuous, but thanks to the extraordinary support of board members and individuals in the community, production of OLIVER TWIST will go ahead. It will star many of the PICT Company including James Fitzgerald as Fagin, Karen Baum as Nancy, Martin Giles as Mr Brownlow, Tony Bingham as Bill Sykes; and a remarkable young actor, Will Sendera, as Oliver.

"The generous response we've received to our appeal is confirmation that PICT has a place in this community and in the hearts of many people," said Alan Stanford, PICT's Executive and Artistic Director. "We have always believed in the importance of a company based theater that focuses on classic plays, high quality productions, community engagement, and education. We are gratified that many people share that vision and are willing to support it."

PICT's Chairman, Charles Moellenberg, added: "While we're proud of how much support we've received in so short a period of time, we are not yet on solid ground. We are alive, but we are operating on a tight budget, with minimal staff and many bills to pay. Our goal is pay those bills over time, and we want to thank everyone who has shown patience and flexibility. We are planning for a season next year based on new production concepts with an austere budget that will let us to continue to present outstanding productions, while also allowing us to begin to pay down our debt. This will take time, but we believe it is achievable."

With very limited staff and marketing resources, the success of OLIVER TWIST will depend largely on word of mouth and PICT urges everyone who loves great theater to go to its website -- www.picttheatre.org -- and order tickets to this wonderful classic. This PICT production will be the US Premier of this particular version. Adapted by our Artistic Director, Alan Stanford, it was originally commissioned by the Gate Theatre in Ireland where it proved a remarkable success.

PICT had previously announced that, due to a significant shortfall in funding, its production of The Tempest, which had been scheduled to run in October, had been canceled. Ticket sales cover less than 40% of PICT's total costs and, despite generous gifts from foundations and individuals, and an increase in single ticket sales, it has faced severe financial challenges. Anyone holding tickets to The Tempest has the option of either exchanging them for tickets to OLIVER TWIST or a future PICT play or considering the cost of those tickets as a tax deductible donation to PICT.

The play follows the story of a young orphan boy from the squalor of a "workhouse" childhood through the back streets of London in the world of crime and poverty to his eventual redemption. It is one of the most popular and beloved books by the younger Charles Dickens and, as a book, had a great influence on the politics of the time; and it still speaks to us today about the rights of children everywhere.