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Oliver

Feature Article May 5

Feature Article May 5, 2004

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Oliver!

Sharbot Lake was the meOlivercca for theatre goers last weekend as North Frontenac Little Theatres production of the musical Oliver! played to full houses.

Michael Cota, in the lead role of Oliver, was the essence of a vulnerable orphan waif whose spirit is never broken, and who never loses faith in love and goodness, even though he has been born into a cruel society seemingly without kindness or mercy. Michael Cotas strong acting and singing throughout the performance set the caliber for the show.

Besides Oliver, the 47-member cast included 18 other orphan/ragamuffins, and naturally, they stole the show. Throughout all the shows it was obvious that the actors were greatly enjoying their roles. They camped it up with exuberant performances and an array of attempted British accents.

Oliver! really has everything: lots of villains to hate, orphans to love, beautiful songs, and a fast-moving plot with cliffhangers and melodramatic twists. However it differs from other musicals in that it is anything but a light-hearted tale of love and happiness. Although the humour, the songs, and the excellent performances made for enjoyable productions last weekend, one could not help but be aware of the grim realities portrayed in the story - realities which belong to the present as well as the past.

The play is an adaptation of Dickens novel Oliver Twist. While most people are familiar with the musicals plot and know that Olivers story has a happy ending, the depiction of the lives of orphans, for most of whom there is no happy ending, is haunting. When Oliver is thrown out of the orphanage for daring to ask for more food, he is led down the street by Beadle Bumble (well played by Paddy OConnor), singing Boy For Sale.

Oliver is bought by an undertaker, looked over like a piece of property, and fed scraps meant for the dog. Rebelling at the insults and injustice heaped on him, he runs away, only to be lured into the den of a gang of thieves led by Fagin (John McDougall), and a convincingly creepy Artful Dodger (Mark Duarte).

The stark set portraying the den, with bare wooden bunks for the young children who have also been trapped by Fagin, is reminiscent of a concentration camp.

Light and kindness are first brought into the story with the entrance of Nancy (dazzlingly played by Sarah Magie) a former pupil of Fagins, who alternately befriends, betrays, then tries to rescue Oliver. Sarah, 16, captures the stage with an amazing performance as a seductive, brazen woman with a shy, vulnerable heart.

Eventually, through many twists in the plot, including an audience-pleasing, gasping deathbed confession by old Sally the pauper (Martina Field), Olivers high birth is discovered and he is restored to his rich grandfather (Doug Boulter); Nancy is murdered by Bill Sikes (Renny Stopford), the villain she tragically loves; Fagin reforms; and to our relief it turns out that Victorian society did have laws against the exploitation of children.

John McDougall as Fagin manages to convince us that his character is at once totally, irredeemably evil, and yet capable of reform. Renny Stopfords character Bill Sikes dies as he lives, violently, and although Renny is not physically the big, loutish type, he projects a brute with conviction, leaving the audience, which is caught up in the story, to wonder why a beautiful girl like Nancy suffers his violence. When he is shot, his fall from the top bunk in the den is a memorable stunt.

Speaking of the audience being caught up in the story, at one of the performances, a wonderful moment occurred in the audience when Fagin asked Who will go? and a young viewers hand immediately shot up.

And so North Frontenac Little Theatre puts to bed another in a long list of great productions.

For the last 24 years, NFLT has been staging professional quality theatrical productions in northern rural communities, uncovering a wealth of talent, and giving many young people an opportunity to become familiar with the world of theatre.

This September NFLT will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary, and the whole community is invited to help them celebrate. More details will be announced as the time draws near.

With the participation of the Government of Canada