OLIVER
Tony
Annicone
Little Rhody Entertainment Writer
Bay Colony Productions'
current show is "Oliver" the musical, based on Oliver
Twist by Charles Dickens. Set in Victorian England the
story is about a young orphan named Oliver Twist who
asks for seconds of the gruel served at the workhouse.
The repercussions from this act include finding himself
sold into service at a funeral parlor for five pounds
and then ends up learning how to pick pockets with Fagin
and his gang of thieves where he meets the lovely
barmaid, Nancy who is torn between her love for a
criminal, Bill Sykes and her desire to do the right
thing. Director Steve Dooner casts 64 people in this
show ranging in age from 7-70 and all of them can act,
sing and dance up a storm while musical director Rob
Goldman and his nine piece orchestra supply a sumptuous
sound to excellent singing voices and choreographer Dori
Bryan creates many wonderful dance numbers for the whole
cast which are executed brilliantly. The choral sound of
the children's chorus soars to the rafters and the power
of a superb show result in a standing ovation at curtain
call.
Steve blocks his performers
wonderfully and obtains a high level of acting from them
at the same time. His knowledge of Dickens clear
picture of life in those stark times comes through and
is softened by the music and comedy of this show. The
quartet in "Who Will Buy" singing the intricate
harmonies is fantastic and Rob not only taught them
their parts but gets the whole cast to shine in their
group numbers, too. The kids in "Food Glorious Food" are
outstanding and the energetic dance created by Dori adds
to its excellence. The hornpipe segment in "It's a Fine
Life" and the minuet segment in "I'd Do Anything" are
some of the clever dances she incorporates into this
show. Daniel Kozar designed multitude of costumes by
adding color and vitality to them for this huge cast as
well as designing the set with Mike Teixeira who also is
the stage manager and technical director. Historically
appropriate props are gathered by the hard working props
mistress, Gail Gilman. Kudos to a job well done.
12 year old Sean Gearin is perfect
as Oliver. He not only looks the part but he has a
gorgeous boy soprano voice which he uses in "Where Is
Love" which moves the audience to tears, in "I'd Do
Anything" and in "Who Will Buy". Sean is a wonderful
actor and dancer, too and is extremely talented for a
boy his age. The Artful Dodger is played by 13 year old
Sam Wartenberg who is a human dynamo in this role. His
cockney accent and delivery as this mischievous youth
are superb and he gets to show off his strong singing
voice in "Consider Yourself", "I'd Do Anything" and "Be
Back Soon". However the biggest scene stealer in this
show is Nathan Lamont as Fagin. His hilarious portrayal
as the thieving gang leader is perfect as he
teaches Oliver how to steal handkerchiefs and as he
counts his ill gotten booty hidden in the wall. His two
big numbers, "Pick a Pocket" and "I'm Reviewing the
Situation" are showstoppers with his dancing up a storm
while singing them.
The most poignant portrayal is by
Chrissy Fresco as Nancy. She breaks your heart with her
rendition of "As Long as He Needs Me" and makes you
laugh with her antics in "Oom-Pah-Pah" and "It's a Fine
Life". Chrissy's acting is superb especially when she
stands up to the dastardly Bill Sykes trying to protect
Oliver, paying for it with her life. The chilling
portrayal of this unredeemable cad is by Bill Stambaugh.
He frightens the hell out of the audience with his song
"My Name" and deserved to be booed by the crowd for
doing a topnotch job as this horrible creature. Bill is
an award winning actor who does a believable job in any
role he plays. Another comic pair of performers in this
show are Chris DiOrio and Laura DesMarais as Mr. and
Mrs. Bumble. Chris' tenor voice soars in "Boy For Sale"
and he and Laura are hoots in "I'll Shall Scream" where
Bumble pursues her to marry him with her jump over a
love seat. They are also hilarious in Act 2 where she
beats the crap out of him after he insults her.
Other comic characters include
Tyler Anderson as the bossy, obnoxious Noah Claypool,
Rebecca Griffing as Charlotte, the yelling rude daughter
of the Sowerberry's who are played by Carol Kingsbury
who makes her a shrew to reckon with and Bill McKay as
her henpecked funeral director hubby, Nancy's best
friend, Bet, played by Katie Miller who shows off her
strong voice in "I'd Do Anything", Bill Roberts as
Oliver's grandfather, Skip Bridges as the addled Dr.
Grimwig and Holly Steel as Mrs. Bedwin who gets to sing
the reprise of "Where Is Love". The chorus singing and
dancing are fabulous, giving this show the rousing
energy and power to make it a great show. So for an
entertaining trip back to Merry Old England, be sure to
catch, "Oliver" in Foxboro and you will see that Foxboro
theater is as topnotch as their football team.
OLIVER ( 4-20 November, 2005)
Bay Colony Productions, Orpheum Theatre, 1 School
St.,Foxboro,MA
1 (508) 543-2787 (ARTS) or
www.orpheum.org
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