Consider youself at home with Covered Bridge Theatre Company's Oliver! at Cecil College
Oliver!, the musical by Lionel Bart, opened Friday at Milburn Stone Theatre of Cecil College.
Oliver! is the Charles Dickens story of an orphan who wants more. Imprisoned in an 1850 English workhouse, Oliver Twist has the gall to ask his master for a second helping of porridge one night. As a result of this "greed", he is sold to an undertaker as a stand-in for corpses. Escaping his ill-treatment, he falls in with a gang of pickpockets shepherded by the slippery Fagin and terrorized by the sinister Bill Sykes. Arrested on his first outing, Oliver becomes a potential liability to the whole gang. He is both pursued by Sykes and pitied by Sikes' woman, Nancy. For some characters this story has a happy ending.
For others, not so much.
This is an impressive production. Oliver is played with sincerity and vocal finesse by Zachary Pennington. Somewhere, 22 young people in period costume were found who could take direction and to a person remain in character.
Perhaps the mean streets of Elkton?
The set is fabulous. A functional old stone bridge traverses the whole stage, and there are also platforms and crannies - all of which are well-utilized throughout the proceedings. Fagin (Chris Cahill) seems to be either on the verge of some sort of breakdown, or failing at the recovery from one. The undertaker (Tim McAlee) and his wife (Heidi Kramer) make a hilarious, enjoyable couple. My understanding of marriage is that sometimes hilarity is the best you can do. The live band, directed by J. Andrew Dickenson, is competent and appreciated. Great musical theatre is made even better by live music.
The quibbles are minor. The prominent spotlight trees in the wings are distracting. A couple of scenes are too quiet, or excited dialog is too-rapidly spoken and missed. The first meeting of Fagin with Bill Sykes (Ryan Millliner) is too dimly lit to see what transpires. Street vendors look out of place trying to sell on the elevated platforms.
Nobody is going to buy strawberries up there.
There are also several wonderful moments in the production. Perhaps my favorite is the performance of "As Long As He Needs Me" by Nancy (Gail Bareham). A large crowd scene immediately precedes, and the crowd disperses leaving Nancy and a solitary piano player (David Strauss) upstage and facing away from the audience. Vocally, Bareham impresses with her mastery. She brings the goods. Strauss's piano playing is velvety and exquisite. Those elements alone are enough for greatness, but director S. Lee Lewis finds even more. He has Nancy at one point walking back and making eye contact with Strauss while performing. It is an acknowledgement that the piano player is part of the scene, too. Not to make more of this than it is, but this is a nod to stage musicians and a toast to friendship and solidarity among performers in this show and everywhere.
It is a good moment.
The Opening Night audience was large and appreciative. This production deserves more large audiences, and you deserve an excellent evening of theatre.
