OLIVER!  

OLIVER! was presented April 15, 16, and 17, 2005 at the WMCA in Brandon, Manitoba.

Congratulations to the cast and crew!

Cast picture, taken onstage prior to the show on April 17.  More pictures.

 OLIVER! is based on the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist.  Set in early Victorian England, it is the story of a young boy who is orphaned at birth and raised in a series of charity homes or workhouses.  Eventually he runs away because of the cruel treatment he has received and joins a London "street gang" run by a disreputable man known as Fagin.  After a series of typically Dickensian coincidences, Oliver is rescued by a kindly older man. 

Lionel Bart, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics, left out many of the serpentine plot twists and focused on the broadest characters:  Nancy, Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Bill Sykes, Mr. Bumble, and of course Oliver.  The play opens at the workhouse where Oliver has the audacity to ask for "more".  The line, "Please, Sir, I want some more," one of fiction's most famous lines, is the highlight of the first scene.  The key songs, "Food, Glorious Food" where the children imagine what it would be like to eat real food as opposed to the gruel they are forced to eat, and "Oliver," the title song, are part of this scene.  Other musical numbers that audiences may recognize include "Consider Yourself"  where Londoners welcome Oliver to town and "Pick a Pocket" where Fagin instructs Oliver on the fine art of stealing.  The ballad, "As Long As He Needs Me," sung by Nancy about her difficult relationship with Bill Sykes, and "Food, Glorious Food" were huge hits when the show was first produced on the London Stage in the sixties. 

If you have seen the film, these songs will be familiar.  The stage production includes additional songs that were left out of the film, and which provide comic relief.  All in all, Oliver! is a show with truly beautiful music, clever lyrics, and a clear message about social issues and individual responsibility.

If you have pictures from the show that you would like to see on this page, please email them to 7 Ages.