Families Will Ask For More Of This 'Oliver'
Perhaps not every reader spent long car rides singing along with her family to the soundtrack of Oliver! like this DCist, but the story’s familiar to anyone who’s tackled Charles Dickens, or grew up on the somewhat-forgotten Disney classic, Oliver And Company. Olney Theatre has taken the dusty but resilient old musical, based on the life of a lonely orphan and his association with a band of thieves, and given it brisk pacing and a slick professionalism.
Olney’s new Mainstage facility really complements the talent behind its productions, adding a significant amount of grandeur to an already-polished production. Sets slide neatly down from the ceiling, and transitions between scenes seem effortless. The cast as a whole has a nice, symbiotic energy. The orphans are plucky and execute the innovative choreography with ease and enthusiasm. And the adult chorus brings a joyful energy to such numbers as “Who Will Buy?,” a number which captures the spirit of a London town square with lovely, overlapping melodies.
Cast standouts include Andrew Long as Fagin, the ringleader of the band of orphan thieves, and Peggy Yates as the loyal and saucy barmaid, Nancy. Long plays Fagin, traditionally a scene-stealing character, as sort of a demented Pied Piper, and the effect is a twisted, Chris Elliot-like character that really works. Nancy is a tough part to play (and a tough part for a 20th century audience to relate to), as any actress must balance her strong spirit with her steadfast determination to stay with her abusive thug of a boyfriend, Bill Sykes (played with raw sexual energy by Brian Sgambati). Yates brings a lusty voice and a zest for life to the role, while making Nancy’s misplaced love sympathetic rather than pathetic. Monica Lijewski draws laughs with her coquettish take on the smitten but sensible Widow Corney as well.
Ethan Lansdorf-Willoughby, who is sharing the title role with another actor on different nights, has the cherubic countenance of the traditional Oliver Twist, though his voice can be a bit nasal and his acting a bit lackadaisical (during his signature melancholy song “Where Is Love?”, the boy sounds more casually bummed out than anything else about his abandoned state). Bringing more charisma to the scene is the young Zack Phillips (also sharing the role) as the mischievous, dapper Artful Dodger, the most accomplished of the child thieves.
Oliver! is a tad on the old-fashioned side, and darker than that other orphan-centered musical the kids love so much, but its likeable characters and memorable songs will have families leaving the theater singing, “You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two.” Just as long as the kids don’t try out the artfully-staged pocket-picketing moves the chorus mastered so well on their elders…
Oliver! runs Nov. 16-Dec. 31. Tickets are $29-$29. For more information, visit the theater’s website.