Oliver!: An Unexpected Treat at Desert Stages Theater in Scottsdale

By Jorgen Hansen

You probably wouldn’t imagine you’d find Victorian London in Scottsdale Fashion Square, but tucked in a corner of this mall is Desert Stages Theater, who has just opened the classic Broadway show, Oliver! Oliver! is the Broadway rendition of Charles Dickens‘ classic novel Oliver Twist, the story of an orphaned workhouse boy whose fortunes change through a series of… well… unfortunate events. (My apologies to Mr. Snicket.) Despite the book being written nearly 200 years ago, published in 1839, Lionel Bart rendered this classic novel into a hit English musical in 1960. (Before writing this, I didn’t even know the English had musicals…) Soon after in 1963, it hit Broadway and became one of its best loved musicals, received a Tony for Best Musical Score, and was adapted to an Academy Award-winning film. As you can see, the show has a reputation to live up to, and Desert Stages’s rendition does an admirable job of being both visually interesting and emotionally charged.

Before I launch into this review, I feel it my duty to say something about the venue and theatre. Though I had a little difficulty finding it, this theatre is a beautiful venue, contains fascinating architecture, and awesome theater seats. I have rarely been as comfortable in a theatre.

The dingy set and background designed by Dan Ashlock and Dale Conklin (Scenic Design) evoked the feel of lower class Victorian London very well, with steep staircases, dingy colors, and a smoky skyline in the background. Listening to the overture performed by the marvelous Elise Kurbat (Music Director), I relaxed in my seat, ready to see an excellent show.

The opening number, “Food, Glorious Food” is well done, the child actors playing the workhouse orphans starting the show right, showing how the most wonderful thing in their lives is food. Elliot Noah Thompson, is an excellent representation of Oliver, our hero, who is one of these workhouse orphans. He maintains a great British accent and has a voice that easily evokes a young and vulnerable Oliver. When he goes to ask Mr. Bumble (Ian Moncivaiz) for a second helping of the watery gruel, with the classic line, “Please, sir, may I have some more?”, Moncivais erupts in a bombastic “What?” that made me flinch inside. His voice truly would keep a workhouse of orphans in line. The physical foil to and initial love interest of Mr. Bumble is Widow Corney, played by Carolyn Paski, who supports Mr. Bumble in his iron grip of the workhouse orphans. Not happy with having the rebellious, greedy Oliver in the parochial workhouse, Mr. Bumble goes to the streets to find someone that will take Oliver, eventually selling him to marginally better masters than Mr. Bumble: Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry (Will Rippenkroeger, Alex Palmatier). Both of them seem to be altogether too cheerful for undertakers, especially Rippenkroeger, whose energy and enthusiasm in this role creates quite the amusing paradox with his line of work. Oliver is treated poorly by the other, older hired boy, Noah Claypool (Matthew Eads) who is really something of a jerk. Eads’s condescending, bullying attitude plays well into Noah’s character. Because of Noah’s bullying, Oliver attacks him and runs away to London.

Naturally, a young man without a home in London may garner the attention of certain characters, and Oliver is noticed by a boy who calls himself The Artful Dodger (Nathaniel McNamara). It’s not entirely clear what The Artful Dodger does for a living, but he’s dressed in a coat and a top hat, ready for anything London can throw at him. He shares some food with Oliver and welcomes him to London in “Consider Yourself,” which involves the entire ensemble. The Artful Dodger brings Oliver to an older man, Fagin (Ted Frumkin), who houses many young boys, and trains them to become pickpockets, passing it off as a game to get virtuous Oliver to join in. I especially enjoyed, “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” because during the song, each child stole a handkerchief out of one of Fagin’s long trench coat pockets. It was like watching a magic show, and I found myself thinking, “That has to be the last handkerchief,” then another three or four came out of another pocket. Even though Frumkin doesn’t hide the fact that Fagin is a manipulator, he lets some humanity show in him, and I believed Fagin actually cares about the children he provides for. Fagin uses the same manipulative tactics on Oliver, convincing him to go with The Artful Dodger and Charley Bates (Brady Fiscus) the next day so Oliver can learn how to “make” handkerchiefs and wallets. Fiscus does a fantastic job portraying Charley and was a delight to watch sassing Fagin and befriending Oliver. During the night, the infamous burglar, Bill Sikes (Max H. Reed) stalks in, delivering Fagin several stolen items to fence, hinting to the audience about his erratic, violent personality. The next morning, two women, Nancy (Lizzie Baggleman) and her sister, Bet (Quinlyn Ashlock), known as “the girls” to Fagin’s boys, come to visit Fagin, taking a break from Nancy’s abusive live-in husband, the aforementioned burglar, Bill Sikes. Nancy meets Oliver and sees his good soul, and begins to care about him, not wanting him to have the same life as all the other street rats in Fagin’s employ. Baggleman’s portrayal of Nancy has her provide a smiling facade that covers Nancy’s discontent with her life, which made me ache inside for her, especially in the next act. She and Bet soon depart, and Oliver goes with the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates to learn their trade. Unfortunately, when Oliver goes with them, he gets caught by the first person the other two boys pickpocket, Mr. Brownlow (Jonathan Perry Brown), who grabs Oliver and accuses him of their crime. The whole of the first act, though enjoyable, only hints at the darkness that is to come in the second.

The second act opens in a cheerful pub, Nancy, and Bet leading the ensemble in a well-choreographed, rowdy pub song, “Oom Pa Pa” when suddenly, Bill Sikes stalks in. Immediately, everyone on stage except nonchalant-acting Nancy becomes very interested in the drinks in front of them. The mood on the stage is tense, and the contrast between the previous moods is easily felt as Reed quietly sings Bill’s menacing song, “My Name.” After he finishes his song, and mostly empties the pub at the same time, The Artful Dodger comes racing in looking for Fagin, and reports that Oliver was caught. Immediately, Bill and Fagin are on the defensive, realizing that Oliver could reveal information that would lead to their hangings. They decide to kidnap Oliver from Mr. Brownlow’s house and Bill physically abuses Nancy to force her to help after she initially refuses. Reed depicts an over-reactive, dangerous criminal, an abusive husband, and general bad guy very well, and watching every contentious interaction between him and Nancy made me tense, anxious to know if this was the moment I remembered in the book. I had read Oliver Twist, but I did not get as much a sense of impending evil from the book as that which emanated from Reed. I knew what Bill would eventually do, but I didn’t know when, and the waiting made me tense. When Fagin and Bill go to plan things for capturing Oliver, Nancy stays behind in the pub, and tells how she still loves Bill and believes he needs her, that his rough ways are his way of showing that he needs her. Abuse is not a topic I would have thought I would have encountered in a children’s show, nor how deeply Nancy’s song, “As Long As He Needs Me,” reaches into the mental state of the abused party in a relationship. For this reason, I understood a little more of the facade Baggleman creates for Nancy, but I also found I wanted to break Nancy out of her false assumptions about the monster she lived with. I don’t pretend to know any of the mental issues that go along with abusive relationships, but I know that seeing Baggleman depict Nancy in this way made my heart ache for her. Oliver, in the meantime, is recovering from a fever in Mr. Brownlow’s house, listening to the street vendors call their wares. I really enjoyed the “Who Will Buy?” song, which takes the calls of the street vendors and weaves them together with Oliver’s song to create a well performed, complex song. When Oliver is allowed to get out of bed and get dressed, Mr. Brownlow, who feels oddly connected to Oliver, entrusts him with some books to return for him. I don’t know where the show’s Costume Designer Richard Courtney found the red velvet suit for Oliver, but it was so perfect, I grinned when Oliver came onstage. Overall, the costume design is fantastic. Old Sally played by Cathy Merrill figures into the plot and Merrill is wonderful in the role.

As I watched this show, there were several things that especially caught my attention about this production. One was the number of children Director Dan Ashlock worked with, not a small feat. Another was how well the Sound Design by Chad Henderson enhanced Oliver!. For an opening night not to have any major hiccups in sound and adjust sound levels for mics in the middle of a song to perfection is a major achievement. When a song included choreography (by Lizzie Baggleman), I enjoyed it, both the simpler choreography made for the younger performers and the more complex choreography for other songs.

I recommend Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre’s Oliver! for audiences 12 and up, due to sporadic mild language and potentially disturbing scenes of violence. Desert Stages is a good community theatre company, with a lovely venue, talented performers, and a great crew.

Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre presents Oliver! by Lionel Bart. Book and Music by Lionel Bart.
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre, Inside Scottsdale Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 0586. Scottsdale, AZ 85251
April 5 – May 5, 2019, Fridays-Saturdays 7:30 PM, Saturdays and Sundays matinee 2:00 PM
Tickets: $28, Student/Senior discount, $22
Contact: 480-483-1664
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre Facebook Page
Oliver! Facebook Event