Synopsis
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In high school, David auditions for the role he’s dreamed of: the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver!, the charismatic young thief. He nails both auditions. But the director, Mr. N, a local legend David has idolized since childhood, suggests he read instead for Mr. Bumble, the workhouse master. The reason is unspoken but obvious: Bumble is fat, and so is David. Mortified, David reads for Bumble and gets the role. Decades later, now a working theater artist, David turns the wound over from every angle (what kind of man does that to a 16-year-old, and why?), while tracing how the moment shaped his lifelong relationship to his body, ambition, and belonging.
Themes/Keywords:
Artful Dodger, body image, body issues, coming of age, cruel teachers, high school theater, Oliver Twist musical, school musical, stage casting, teenage ambition, teenage embarrassment, ugly duckling syndrome
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