Kevin James To Star In 'Oliver' At Long Island Theater

SYOSSET, NY — Hollywood is coming to the Long Island stage this weekend, when Kevin James dons a raggedy coat to play Fagin in the latest production of "Oliver" at the Cultural Arts Playhouse.

James, a Long Island native, will be performing in the show along with his four children. He will be playing Fagin, a man who leads a group of pick-pocketing orphans and shows them how to survive live on the street.

Though the show is running from now through February, James is only performing this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, tickets for his performances are already sold out.

Cultural Arts Playhouse founder and CEO Bruce Grossman said that James lives near the theater, and his children attended classes there and performed in teen shows. That sparked James' interest in performing on stage, which he said he had never done before.

Grossman told Newsday that James auditioned for the role like all the other actors. Someone else will be playing Fagin for the rest of the show's run at CAP.

According to Grossman, James told him during rehearsals that he loved doing live theater and wanted to do more. So Long Islanders may get to see him take the stage again in the future.