[NEohioPAL] Berko review: OLIVER @ Porthouse

[Roy Berko via NEohioPAL]

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

*“Oliver” doesn’t get  “standing O” at Porthouse*



Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)



I had one of my greatest experiences in the theatre when, on June 30, 1960,
I attended the opening of “Oliver!” at the New Theatre in London, England.  I
was seated 3rd row center!



Peter Coe’s direction, Malcolm Clare’s choreography, and a cast consisting
of Ron Moody (Fagin) Georgia Brown (Nancy) and Davy Jones (Artful Dodger)
brought Lionel Bart’s music, lyrics and book to life.  Based on Charles
Dickens tale of Oliver Twist, a tale of a child left at a London orphanage,
the premiere got seventeen screaming standing ovations.  The show ran for
close to 3000 performances and was transferred to Broadway where it had
another successful run.  Interestingly, the Big Apple production featured
sets built in London, shipped to the US by sea, complete with the actual
brick wall London mural that I had seen in the British edition.



On the surface, “Oliver!” is the musical adaptation of the Dickens tale of
a boy whose mother died in childbirth, was brought up in an orphanage, is
sold to be an undertaker’s casket follower after he has the nerve to ask
for more food.  He runs away from his employer, hooks up with a gang of
boys who are trained to be pickpockets by Fagin, their elderly mentor, is
caught by the police, befriended by a wealthy man who turns out to be his
grandfather, and lives happily ever after.



In reality, as were many of Dicken’s stories, the tale was written as an
attack on the English social welfare system of the day.  It is credited
with having been the catalyst for the change of the orphanage houses of
horrors.



Bart’s memorable score includes:  “Food, Glorious Food,” in which the
mistreatment of the orphans is revealed;” “Oliver,” which introduces the
audience to adorable scamp who won’t follow directions, and during its
reprise later in the play reveals that Oliver will be loved and cared for;
“Boy for Sale,” when Oliver is sold to a funeral director; “Where Is Love,”
in which Oliver pleads for someone to show him some compassion; “Pick A
Pocket or Two,” where Fagin teaches Oliver the skills of stealing; “My
Name” introduces the fierce Bill Sykes, whose existence will have a
profound effect on Oliver;  and “Reviewing the Situation,” in which Fagin
evaluates his life and the aging process.



Audiences at Porthouse Theatre are generous in their ovations.  They tend
to stand and enthusiastically applaud at the conclusions of all the shows,
well-earned, or not.  This season, “My Fair Lady” got a deserved ovation
and “Starmights” (undeserved) also was met with standing bodies.  Meanwhile,
“Oliver,” the theatre’s latest offering, concluded with very few standees
the night I saw the show.



Why did “Oliver!” get a less than triumphant reception?  The reasons are
numerous.  Among them was that, as a whole, the show’s pacing lacked the
emotional power needed to sustain both the oppression and glee the tale
requires.  This may have been caused by the script being haphazardly
adapted.  The usual two and a half hour show was cut to less than two hours.
Some of the adjustments caused awkward bridging of scenes, breaking the
story’s flow.



There were some questionable casting choices.  Though he has an impressive
singing voice, Brian Keith Johnson’s beautiful tones did not fit the
menacing sounds needed to create the evil Bill Sykes, nor did his smooth,
underplayed oral spoken delivery.  Though she put out full effort, Cameron
Nelson was too old and lacked the charisma and “cutesy” aura to portray
Oliver.  Miriam Henkel-Moellmann has a marvelous singing voice, and her “As
Long as He Needs Me,” was well sung, but she was both too young and was too
orally and physically scrubbed clean to portray the warm-hearted
prostitute, Nancy.  Patrick Kennedy, dressed in a costume that made him
look like an oversized elder man, had some of the right qualities for
Dodger, including a nice singing voice, but failed to add the delightful
nature of the kid thief.



On the positive side, Eric van Baars created an acceptable Fagin, though I
would have preferred a little more eye-twinkling scheming and
playfulness.  Lissy
Gulick was delightful as Widow Corney.  MaryAnn Black’s choreography was
well conceived, but many of the youngsters were just not comfortable enough
to carry it off, often looking like puppets, rather than real live boys.  Nolan
C. O’Dell’s multi-level stage set, with a small turntable to make for easy
set moves worked moderately well.  Jonathan Swoboda’s well-tuned orchestra
nicely supported the singers, rather than drowning them out.  “Oom-Pah-Pah”
was a nicely conceived production number which added much needed joy.  “I
Shall Scream” also added a nice comic dimension.



*CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Oliver!” is a wonderful musical theatre script which
tells a well conceived tale, has marvelous music, and, in a good
production, pleases an audience.  Unfortunately, Porthouse’s version left
much to be desired.*



For tickets http://www.porthousetheatre.com

 or 330-929-4416 or 330-672-3884


••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20140731/f836b445/attachment-0001.htm>