Madison Basler, 11, and Abby Bass, 10, will appear in the Southwest Playhouse production of the beloved musical which opened Friday, Sept. 20 and runs for two weekends. 

Madison is co-starring as the title character in the show and Abby is performing with the ensemble as an orphan and member of Fagin’s lovable gang of pickpockets. 

Madison and Abby have both lived in El Reno all their lives, and became involved with Clinton’s Southwest Playhouse theater last year. They appeared in The Sound of Music in 2023 and Fiddler on the Roof earlier this year.

The ground is turning colors of yellow and brown on ranches, farms and fields and for lawns and water supplies. Dust devils swirl in the September wind.

The extreme drought returned to Canadian County in mid-September. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s U.S. Drought Monitor showed the western part of Canadian County bordering the extreme drought areas.

Blaine County and areas to the west were under extreme drought conditions.

Making a late push for one of the top two spots in the district standings and hosting rights for the regional round of the playoffs, El Reno High School’s fast-pitch softball team defeated Noble 10-6 last week.

The Bears, who defeated El Reno six days earlier, entered the game in the second spot in the District 5A-1 standings. The Indians win edged EHS closer to that spot at 7-3 with two games left in the league hunt – road games at Piedmont and Carl Albert.

El Reno is off this week and will open district play at home Sept. 27 against Altus.