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Nov. 30, 2007
Oliver has got oomph
You'll be asking, "Please, can I have some more?"
BAILA LAZARUS
While I'm not a big musical fan, I'm never happier than when I'm able to recommend a quality production that covers the "triple threat" of performance – acting, singing and dancing – and Oliver is a perfect one to recommend for the holiday season. It's especially poignant in that the story of the playwright, Lionel Bart is just as inspiring. Born Lionel Begleiter to Galician Jews, his family escaped the pogroms and immigrated to England. Bart was born in East London in 1930, and his life in the inner city neighborhood helped him write the musical, based on Charles Dickens' 1838 novel. And though he never learned to read or write music, his interest in the performing arts kept him motivated, eventually writing songs for singers, films and theatre. Between 1957 and 1960, Bart had a song in the top 20 every week. Given the popularity and familiarity of practically all the songs in the Oliver musical, its not surprising that the production garnered the success he did. The play opened in 1960 and ran for more than 2,600 performances in the West End and earned a Tony Award for best composer and lyricist for the performance on Broadway.
But songs alone do not a musical make and, luckily, this performance has much more to offer. Right from the start, the production seemed so big, that the stage at the Playhouse felt dwarfed. With 20 children running around, and with gates, walls, walkways and staircases rising and falling as the scenes demanded, there seemed hardly a square inch of space to spare. The opening scene in the boys' orphanage really set the tone for this rich, absorbing drama and although the key character, Oliver (played by Brian Riback), had a bit of a shaky start with his opening number, "Where is Love?" he solidified his performance, quickly getting stronger and stronger throughout the show. By the end, "Who Will Buy?" by the diminutive, perfectly cast Riback, matched the quality of the rest of the show.
In fact, everyone in the cast rose to their respective roles, with, thankfully, perfect accents reflective of upper-, middle- and lower-class London. Tom McBeath as Fagin and Warren Kimmel as Mr. Bumble perhaps had a few scenes that set them apart from the rest, but the real star of the show was the production itself.
Taking place in the boys' orphanage, a funeral home, Fagin's hideout, Bill Sykes' bar and various living rooms, watching the set changes, with huge pieces floating in and around the stage was almost as interesting as watching the play itself.
The boys' choir, which forms the group in the orphanage, as well as Fagin's band of thieves, is comprised of 22 actors from the Lower Mainland and Victoria, who were selected out of 200 who auditioned. That fact is a rather positive reflection on the quality of the future generation of actors.
If there were any criticisms to be made at all, they would be focused on the sound production. In several instances, voices of the singers (especial Riback's) couldn't be heard above the music, unless they were right at the front of the stage singing directly to the audience. And in one hilarious moment, when Oliver is trapped in a coffin in the funeral home, his voice seems to have become disembodied, floating around the stage. When he speaks, instead of having the sound come out from anywhere near the coffin, it comes from off-stage and sounds completely out of place.
Overall, though, these are minor complaints, and certainly ones that shouldn't deter you from going, especially if you'd like to bring children. The slapstick-like antics of the authorities running after Oliver, the risqué interaction between Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney and the overall feel-good nature of a play being carried by a cast of youngsters, all make this A-1 family entertainment.
Oliver runs at the Playhouse Theatre until Dec. 15. It's directed by Michael Shamata. Call 604-873-3714 for tickets.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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