Published in The News Tribune, Oct. 2, 2015
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| Nancy Hebert-Bach (red dress) with the cast of Oliver. Photo by Kat Dollarhide. |
The British musical Oliver has been entertaining audiences
for well over half a century, and it never goes out of style. The 19th
century setting and Cockney accents (done with style and wit by the Tacoma
Musical Playhouse cast) make it just foreign enough for American audiences to
not be put off by the horrors of poverty, cruelty and murder in the story.
Indeed, many of the scoundrels and thieves are presented as comical characters,
Fagin (Sam Barker) and Mr. Bumble (Brian Cox) being prime examples of hateful
guys you can‘t help loving. The nastiest of all, however, is not played
comically but as a straight-out, bad guy who is proud of being the biggest,
baddest man in town. That would be the club-wielding Bill Sykes (Johnny
Neidlinger).
Oliver is based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, with book and lyrics by Lionel Bart. Oliver (Liam
Loughridge), an orphan boy, is not only kicked out of the orphanage but sold
like a slave to the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Joe Woodland) for the offense of
asking for a second helping of gruel. He escapes and ends up living with a
troop of boy pickpockets working for Fagin, who provides them with a hovel in
which to live and takes all the loot they steal. There he is befriended by the
Artful Dodger (Helene Minassian) and Nancy (Nancy Hebert-Bach) the live-in
girlfriend of the dreaded Bill Sykes. On his first pick-pocketing foray, Oliver
is caught but set free and taken in by the wealthy and kindly Mr. Brownlow
(Andrew Fry).
For the sake of readers who may
not already know the story I will not say any more about the plot.
The storyline is just complex
enough to be difficult to handle in a musical format, and the exposition drags
a bit in the middle of the second act, but that is forgivable because of the
great music and entertaining characters.
Loughridge is a young boy with,
according to program notes, little theatrical experience outside TMP youth
programs, with the exception of appearing in A Christmas Story, the Musical at Seattle’s 5th Avenue
Theatre –quite a coupe for any young actor. He plays Oliver as a sweet and
innocent boy and sings beautifully with a soft voice that I wish could be
amplified a bit more.
Cox as Mr. Bumble and
Selleigh-Mairi Ferguson as the Widow Corney are fabulously funny in their
opening scene when they appear looking like the Thénardiers in Les Misérables. They are big, bold and
funny. Their seduction scene with the song“I Shall Scream” is hilarious.
Minassian is captivating and
brimming with energy as the Artful Dodger. Her performance marks the second
time I’ve seen a girl play the part, and a Google search tells me it’s not an
uncommon practice, but not so common as a female playing Peter Pan. Minassian
is great. Her broad gestures and exuberance are infectious. I hope to see more
of her in the future.
Barker’s portrayal of Fagin is
comic gold. What a repertoire of facial expressions!
By far the most affecting and
most powerful performance of all is Hebert-Bach’s Nancy. She is the most
complex character in the play, desperately in love with a man who abuses her
and asks her to do things she knows are wrong. Hebert-Bach makes us feel
Nancy’s inner turmoil. Interestingly considered how long ago the play was
written, her psychology is typical of what we now know about spousal abuse
victims. Her breathtaking solo on “As Long As He Needs Me” is the most
emotionally draining song in the play. There is some business going on behind
her, however, that is terribly distracting at the worst possible time as stage hands
move sets while she is still singing. They should have waited, even if it meant
delaying the next scene.
Overall the acting and the music
are outstanding, as is the set by Bruce Haasl and, as always, the great
orchestra directed by Jeff Stvrtecky.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, through
Oct. 11
WHERE: Tacoma Musical Playhouse at The Narrows Theatre, 7116
Sixth Ave., Tacoma
TICKETS: $22-$31
INFORMATION: 253-565-6867, http://www.tmp.org
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