FIRE IN A CROWDED THEATER! Audience and cast flees smoke-engulfed building during fifth performance of OLIVER TWIST

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UPDATE 11:50 p.m. EST: Well, this was certainly a night to remember...

Tonight's performance of the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Oliver Twist came to an abrupt end when shortly before 9 p.m. and in the midst of Act 2, the audience, cast and crew had to be evacuated from the Advanced Technologies Building following a large amount of smoke which engulfed the ground level of the building. As of this writing the cause of the smoke had not been determined.

And since I'm playing Mr. Sowerberry in this production, I wound up right in the thick of the action.

Shortly before 9 p.m., Tamara Boles - mother of cast member Aaron Boles - rushed into the men's dressing area to tell us that "There's a fire in the building... I'M SERIOUS!" I was getting ready to take position for my last scene in the show so I was in full costume. We got all the kids out of the room and I grabbed my bag since it was right at the door. Kathy Morrison (who plays Old Sally and Mrs. Bedwin) and I held the outside doors open for the audience members as they were leaving, then we went back in to check to make sure that all the children had made it out and that there was nobody in the restrooms.

When we were outside, I broke out the camera, went back in and started taking some pictures. Here are some pics from the atrium in the Advanced Technologies Building, where the smoke was concentrated most...

Outside, stage manager Jessica Reed directed the audience members to take shelter in the nearby gymnasium. Meanwhile, we began to hear sirens from the Wentworth Fire Department...

A few moments later the first of the fire trucks arrived on the scene...

We counted six vehicles from the Wentworth Fire Department that came within the first several minutes. By this time most of the audience, cast and crew were in and around the gymnasium.

And here are the heroes of the hour: Michaela Mays and Faith Jones, the two girls who were the first to spot the smoke and sound the alarm. Ladies, my hat's off to you! :-)

Here is Jon Young, the director of Oliver Twist. It can most certainly be said that his was, literally, the hottest show in town on Saturday night...

And here's a pic of Thresa Brown (who has been giving absolutely splendid performances in her role as Mrs. Sowerberry) and Yours Truly as we oggled the mayhem...

A few minutes later, I was back inside the Advance Technologies Building. By this time it was around 9:20 p.m. Firefighters and a number of the adult cast and crew and other Theatre Guild reps were discussing the situation and considering what to do with the rest of the evening. Here is Mark Pegram, Clerk of Superior Court for Rockingham County (in his policeman costume) and a member of the Wentworth Fire Department...

Here is a ladder used by the Wentworth Fire Department as firefighters checked the space above the ceiling in the atrium, which seemed to have been where much of the smoke was coming from...

The stage, showing the London street toward the end of Oliver Twist, just as it was when the building had to be evacuated...

Theatre Guild board members Jeff Mericle, Rose Cutuli Wray, and Tony Hummel (in his Mr. Brownlow costume) confer with each other about how to handle the rest of the performance. It was ultimately decided that in the event that the next day's performance would go on, that tickets from tonight would be honored and that audience members who had come from out of state would be given free tickets to a future performance...

Cast members Tim Wray (Fagin) and Mike Morrison (Bill Sikes) held position at the exit...

Here's another shot of the fire trucks on the scene...

Back in the gymnasium, the crowd was calm... but it couldn't be helped that there was considerable excitement in the air. Especially among the kids in the cast: no doubt they were going to have quite a tale to tell their friends the next day! Here are Tish Owens (Nancy) and Tyler Alverson (Noah Claypole)...

Nell Rose, one of the members of the Rockingham County Board of Education. She and her husband had already enjoyed one performance of Oliver Twist last week, and came back for another show. 'Cept this time, the cast members were just as surprised as the audience about the ending (credit goes to Pete Barr for coming up with that great line :-)...

The star of the show: Nathan Tolodziecki as Oliver...

Logan Brown (who plays one of the orphans) and Tamara Boles...

And here is Jake Chandler, who thrilled audiences as Dr. Roy in last season's Ghostchasers!, and who has been playing another orphan in Oliver Twist...

By this time it was getting close to 10 p.m. Most of the audience had left, but the cast and crew was still around. We were waiting to hear when we could go back inside 'cuz most of the cast still had things like clothes and car keys in the dressing rooms. What exactly had caused all that smoke still had not been determined, but firefighters allowed the cast and crew to quickly return to the building and retrieve their personal belongings...

Jasper Thomas III (in his fine attire as the Artful Dodger) scopes out the scene...

Cast members Tish Owens and Donna Owens head to the parking lot as the cast and crew retreated from the building...

Another shot of the emergency vehicles, just before I left a little after 10...

And here's the last shot, taken from the driveway entrance and looking toward the Advance Technologies Building...

So far at this hour, we still haven't heard what might have caused all that smoke (believe you me, the pics can't possibly convey how much of the stuff there was). We didn't see any actual flames but you know, "Where there's smoke..." Without knowing about what the source of the smoke might have been, there has been no word so far as to whether tomorrow's final performance of Oliver Twist will be taking place. As soon as I hear anything, I will post it as an update.

It was a wild night, to be sure. But I think for the most part, especially for the kids in the cast, it's just gonna make their time and effort in this production that much more memorable :-)

Bigtime kudos to the Wentworth Fire Department, the maintenance and security staff at Rockingham Community College, the leadership of the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County, and anyone else that I have not already mentioned who were involved in evacuating the building and making sure that everyone was safe, for the very prompt and professional action that they took tonight.

EDIT 1:06 a.m. EST 12/14/2008: I have just received word that the Wentworth Fire Department found the cause of the smoke (what that was exactly still hasn't been reported). They have given the signal that we can proceed with the final performance of Oliver Twist on Sunday afternoon (now later today) at 2:30. So the show will go on! :-)