British Classic on the Summer Stage

The children seated in the front two rows at the opening weekend “Oliver!” at The Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Conn., may well be in for a surprise if they ever feel inspired to crack open the Charles Dickens novel of sinister class commentary.

Sprightly, merry, and comical, The Playhouse’s production, directed by Michael Kevin Baldwin, stays true to the 1960 adaption of the West End show with book, music, and lyrics by Lionel Bart, later directed as a 1968 Oscar-winning film by Carol Reed — and perhaps softens some edges even further.

Bart’s kind-hearted musical made the characters in Dickens’ tale of thieves and child criminals in London’s decrepit rookeries more palatable as a family-friendly frolic. It was “Oliver Twist” for the modern masses. What he did best was craft a superbly enduring soundtrack for this 19th-century fairy tale, with songs that remain instantly recognizable and hummable — “Food Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” “You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket or Two,” “I’d Do Anything” — is it any wonder that in Bart’s New York Times obituary, Andrew Lloyd Webber called him ‘’the father of the modern British musical”? The audience at The Playhouse could nearly be asked to sing along.

Baldwin’s production, with musical direction by Jacob Carll, choreography by Michelle Lemon, and set design by TJ Greenway, leans heavily into the touchstone musical numbers and softens the drama, giving the show a colorful, zippy feeling at two and half hours (including intermission). Broad comedy and some cockney accent work give the adult players some quirky Masterpiece Theatre-type meat to chew on, and there are plenty of well-cast standouts, especially Dan Radzikowski and Johanne Kesten as the delectably gruesome undertakers, Jenna Leigh Miller as their tarty daughter, and Xavier Turner as their mouthy assistant. They make a whole play out of their side characters. John Bergeron pairs up with The Playhouse board member Savannah Stevenson, who takes to the Sharon stage for the first time to delightful effect as they ham up a weird romance as workhouse beadle Mr. Bumble and the Widow Corney, the first antagonistic adults orphan Oliver bumps up against.

Leading the show as Oliver is Indian Mountain School student Ivan Howe, a more cherubic-faced boy there probably cannot be found, and apparently Netflix agreed since the 11-year-old recently completed filming the upcoming television series “Eric” in New York City and Budapest playing Benedict Cumberbatch’s son. Howe is joined by a large ensemble of children playing the mostly female band of pickpockets, including Phoebe Amankwah as The Artful Dodger.

The wallet-snatching urchins are under the thumb of criminal leader Fagin, adorned in ghoulish garb but mostly played with benevolence by James Beaman. The same cannot be said for Justin Michael Duval, who brings a legitimate sense of masculine threat to the show with a potent turn as villain Bill Sikes.

The emotional core of The Playhouse’s “Oliver!” is YouTube star Gina Naomi Baez, a magnificent singer who imbues warmth and magnetism into Nancy, the tragically abused lover of Bill and Fagin’s criminal accomplice who eventually helps rescue Oliver. Baez has a big, clear, pop-star voice, taking over the show and giving a contemporary edge and heart to Bart’s classic songs.

"Oliver!" runs through Aug. 20.

James Beaman as Fagin Photo by Aly Morrissey

Gina Naomi Baez as Nancy Photo by Aly Morrissey

  

James Beaman as Fagin Photo by Aly Morrissey