Metro Pulse/Backstage/Oliver!

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What:
Oliver!

When:
Through Dec. 8

Where:
Clarence Brown Theater, UT Campus

Cost:
Call 974-5161 for ticket prices and times.

Clarence Brown Theater's Oliver! makes for a solid Christmas pudding

by Adrienne Martini

The holidays have always been problematic for the modern theater. Gone are the days when the ticket-buying, tinsel-bedecked populace could be satisfied with yet another run at Dickens' Christmas Carol. Anyone who would want to see it already has, whether on cable or in previous years, since it used to be the default December production. Plus, most theater workers—from actors to techies to directors to house managers—are so blessed sick of Scrooge and that whiny Cratchit brat that any remount of Carol is a joyless affair.

But holiday shows—and for "holiday" read "Christmas," since there really aren't any great Hanukkah or Kwanzaa shows yet—always bring in the bucks. In fact, lots of theaters actually make most of their operating nut during the six weeks leading up to Jan. 1. Yet there seems to be a lack of quality shows to choose from. Most are so dipped in treacle that audience members leave needing an insulin shot. Those that aren't sickly sweet tend to be poorly written. And, while The Santaland Diaries—David Sedaris' tales of being an elf—is certainly well written and hysterical, it's not exactly family fare. What's a producer to do?

Return to the treasure chest that is Victorian England, of course. Queen Vic's time is the one from which most of our Christmas traditions are pulled, and if Carol is a huge moneymaker, more Dickens will certainly bring in those warm, Christmas-cheerful bodies. The problem is that Chuck D was a wordy cuss, and most of his books are prohibitively long. Nicholas Nickleby would take a few nights to get through—something most festive frenzied folks don't have to spare. A Tale of Two Cities has that troublesome beheading, which doesn't exactly scream holiday cheer, and Great Expectations has that creepy widow, who would frighten more children than she'd charm.

Enter, from stage right, Oliver Twist, a heartwarming tale about workhouses and saloons that just happens to be chock-full of suspicious characters who make cockle-warming transformations by book's end.

In 1960, British playwright Lionel Bart saw the potential that Oliver held, and it is his musical adaptation that has spun off songs you know by heart. Musical theater fan or no, you probably know at least one lyric to "Food, Glorious Food" or "Consider Yourself." The movie version of Oliver! garnered six Oscars in 1968, including the coveted Best Picture statuette. What does Oliver! have to do with Christmas? Well, not much, other than the whole shady-people-make-good-by-show's-end thing and the whole romanticized-Victorian-England thing. But it does make for a decent show for kiddies and the grandparents, with which your holiday home is probably overflowing.

There's not much to gripe about with director Blake Robison's by-the-numbers take on this chestnut. His seedy London underbelly full of orphans and pickpockets is about as dangerous as Disney. Sure, some of the adults might be a bit shrill and greedy, but all is painted with such a rosy glow that you know that their shortcomings are just a necessary act in order to move the story along. While it works for a Christmas-time production, a more meaty take on the text would be required for mounting this show at any other time of the year.

Where Robison's breeziness does a disservice to the text is in his handling of Nancy, the pub wench with a heart of gold who is in love with a man who beats her. It's hard to not cringe a bit during her moment in the spotlight, when she sings "As Long As He Needs Me," a mash note to her beloved Bill Sykes. Mere moments before launching into this warm little ditty, Nancy has been backhanded by Sykes for not following his orders. It's an off-putting moment that derails this mostly congenial production.

That moment fades a bit when Nicole Begue gives voice to the song. Her Nancy is earthy, warm and eminently watchable. Also outstanding is the always-wonderful John Forrest Ferguson as Fagin—indeed, his interpretation of "Reviewing the Situation" is a showstopper. UT Opera director Carroll Freeman's shifty Mr. Bumble, Anne Thibault's scheming Widow Corney and Joseph Beuerlein's charming Artful Dodger turn in well- rounded performances that twinkle with energy. And Jarron Edward Vosberg as the titular character may prove to be one to watch.

The technical aspects of this show also deserve a nod. Jeff Modereger's set almost becomes another character in the show as it slides out new spaces to fit the needs of each scene. Leah No�l Barnes' costumes only add to the actors' character work. Kenton Yeager's lighting design sets the mood without ever being overbearing. And while Mike Ponder's sound design gets the job done, it would have been nice to have had a few more details—such as a background noises that help capture the soundscape of a London pub or Fagin's haven.

Taken as a whole, UT's Oliver! does just what it sets out to do. One can only hope, however, that someday someone will write a holiday show with a bit more substance and a bit less Dickens.