A Review

Who Will Buy?

By R. J. Donovan

Touring productions can often look a little worn around the edges.  A flimsy scrim here, a tattered set piece there.  But not necessarily the case with the production of Lionel Bart's "Oliver!" playing at the Wang through March 7.

The show draws you in from the start as lines of orphans march up from the orchestra pit to take their places in a shadowy dining hall.  Mountains of delicious looking food are swept across the stage, but not for the ragamuffins standing with their bowls out.  For them, it's gruel.  Which sets them off yearning for "Food, Glorious Food."

Written in the sixties and based on Dickens' "Oliver Twist," the show has very little book to speak of.  So many years after its debut, it's interesting to see how many of its moments and ideas have been echoed in shows like "Annie" and "Les Miserables." 

As Oliver moves from pitiful orphanage to the streets of London to the clutches of the pilfering pickpocket gang run by Fagin, the show is short on exposition in favor of stringing the musical numbers one after another ("Consider Yourself," "Oom-Pah-Pah," Who Will Buy," "Where Is Love"). 

The one song that may bring a surprise is “As Long As He Needs Me,” which became a hit ballad in the 60s and has long since become a musical theatre standard. Within the context of the show, however, it's a politically incorrect anthem to abuse. Not unlike the desperate “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from “Gypsy,” it’s got one life within the show, and another as a piano bar favorite.

While the program credits state this as NETworks Presentations’ presentation of Cameron Macintosh’s production of the show, the fine print tells you that the show has been “adapted” from Macintosh’s highly praised 1994 effort. With very little depth to any of it, “Oliver!” relies heavily on whatever past experience you may have had with it or its score, either from previous stage productions or the popular film.

And while the show drags (especially at the beginning) and there’s nothing spectacular about any of the performances, the company of kids is remarkably tight. They sing with enthusiasm and dance with precision. 

Andrew Blau is The Artful Dodger who befriends Oliver. Renata Renee Wilson as Nancy has a massive belting voice that reaches to the rafters in "As Long As He Needs Me" (politically incorrect or not).  Shane R. Tanner is the ominous (and ultimately murderous) Bill Sikes. Justin Wilcox is funny as the funeral director who purchases Oliver to become a professional mourner.  Ken Clement is the blustery Mr. Bumble.  And the towering Mark McCracken is Fagin.

Visually, the show attempts to do a lot with a little.  As the plot moves through the streets to London, scenic panels at the rear of the stage slide back and forth to reveal portions of the city skyline. The song “Who Will Buy” offers a nice picture as Bumble walks through a snowfall trying to sell his young ward. And a simple but valid moment comes near the climax of the story when Oliver's life is in danger on a rooftop.

Drawbacks, as mentioned above, include some of the pacing, especially in the funeral home. Wilson (Nancy) finishes her big song by breaking focus with the audience and blasting her second to last note facing into the wings. And the end of the show comes to more of a stop rather than a satisfying conclusion.

"Oliver" is at The Wang Theatre, 265 Tremont Street in Boston, through March 7. For information, call 800-447-7400.

-- OnStage Boston

3/5/04

 

 

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