The Â鶹ԭ´´/OST team, however, was undeterred by the many challenges, which included casting 27 actors to play 150 parts, creating 250 costumes, building a 2,300 square-foot stage and raising an additional $100,000 to cover their costs. For the play’s co-directors, OST Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre Â鶹ԭ´´ Chair Christopher Niess, the benefits of performing this landmark play far outweighed the risks. Â鶹ԭ´´ Today asked the pair about the production, their collaboration and more.

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What inspired this ambitious production?

Jim Helsinger: I saw the play performed back in the 1980s when it was first popular, and it was the longest standing ovation I’ve ever given to a show. It is much more than an evening at the theater – it is an event. The theatrical experience can be one of shared magic between the audience members, the actors, the playwright and designers all together.

Christopher Niess: One of the key points that pulled us into the production was the nature of the piece. It is a mammoth but accessible production that has so much substance and character development. And it is an undertaking that will bring a degree of prestige —Ěýa real marker both for a professional theater company and for an academic unit to have done something like this.

What happens in “Nicholas Nickleby?”

JH: At the beginning of the play, Nicholas Nickleby’s father dies and Nicholas, his mother and sister Kate all come to London to seek help from Nicholas’s uncle Ralph. He offers to help them, but not really. He sends Nicholas off to a terrible school and sends Kate to work at a [dress maker’s] shop that’s really a sweatshop. And he tries to use them politically. At the end, everybody who is good is rewarded, and everyone who is evil is punished. That’s one thing I love about Dickens’ plays — it all comes back and clicks together at the end.

What is the experience like for the audience?

JH: This production is very interactive. As an audience member, there will be actors performing behind you and on mini stages on both sides [of the theater]. We built this huge set that makes you feel like you are in the city of London. The very first scene of the show is about a riot over muffins and the audience members will get to throw muffins up on the stage. It’s a fun show.

CN: Dickens was a master at pulling readers along with a character-driven story. The piece has a lot of charisma and climatic action, so it really draws you in. It reminds me of the “Downton Abbey” TV series.

Why was the Theatre Â鶹ԭ´´/OST partnership essential to the production?

JH: The partnership with Â鶹ԭ´´ is invaluable. We couldn’t do it without them. It’s a massive cast that’s all put together with professionals, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and interns.

CN: I think this truly is a hallmark of where this partnership has gone. A lot of people have put a lot of work into it and we’re very proud of it.

What was it like collaborating with another director?

CN: Directing is like being an air traffic controller because you have all of these talented people who do great work and it’s how you coordinate them all to tell a story. Working with another director is a unique type of relationship. It’s like hiring two chefs to run one restaurant. It has been a study in collaboration and Jim has been a great partner.

What are the risks involved in presenting a 6 ½-hour play?

JH: It’s a gamble to do something this big for the Central Florida community. Can we get the community to come to a show that is not a known quantity like “West Side Story,” “Les MisĂ©rables” or “Cats?” It has the excitement of a sports event, it has the commitment of TV binge watching, and it has the topicality of what’s happening in the U.S. about greed and social change. Plus, it’s romantic and funny and gripping and sad.

CN: You have to be a little crazy when you are pushing the bar to capture people’s imagination. This is an event that we hope will excite people in the region and even nationally.

“The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” continues through March 9 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park. For more information, visit .

“The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II,” adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens,Ěýis being presented by Theatre Â鶹ԭ´´ and the Orlando Shakespeare TheaterĚýthrough March 9Ěýat the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park.

The epic, two-partĚýproduction,Ěýfeaturing a cast of 27 actors playing more than 150 characters, was written by David Edgar and is co-directed by Jim Helsinger and Christopher Niess.

The story tells ofĚý Nicholas Nickleby, whose father died and left his familyĚýpenniless.ĚýNicholas embarks onĚýa series of adventurous encounters with humanity’s worst and best—greedy fools, corrupt lechers, cheery innocents, and selfless benefactors.

“’The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ is a living example of how great the power of theater can be,” Helsinger said. “This show is one of the most incredible theatrical events I have ever seen, and I’m excited to bring that magic — that majesty— to Florida.”

The play features John P. Keller in the title role. Starring in this season’s “Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker,” Keller first appeared at Orlando Shakes in the theater’s 2012 repertory productions of “Othello” (Roderigo) and “Sense and Sensibility” (Edward). Alison McLemore makes her Orlando Shakes’ debut as Kate Nickleby.

For dates, times and tickets ($17-$40): callĚý407-447-1700, click on or go to 812 E. Rollins St., Orlando.

Ambitious theatergoers are invited to see both “Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II” on the same day. Select marathon dates include February 1, 15,Ěýand Ěý22 and March 1, 8,Ěýand Ěý9 (Part I at 2 p.m. and Part II at 7:30 p.m.). Dinner packages are available for either a Victorian dinner at White Wolf Cafe or a Panera Bread boxed meal at the theater between shows.

Audience members are invited to celebrate with the cast, crew, designers, and Orlando Shakes staff at the opening night party, whichĚýbegins after the show (about 10:30 p.m.) Jan. 24 (Part I) and Jan. 31 (Part II).

“The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II” is sponsored by Â鶹ԭ´´ Office of the President, College of Arts & Humanities, and Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s special 25th anniversary donors.ĚýĚý