After waiting for over a decade, Capital City Productions founder Rob Crouse finally gets to direct the musical of his dreams: "Oliver!"
"I never had the opportunity because we at Capital City Productions do all the new, exciting stuff and only occasionally do a classic," Crouse said. "The time seemed right to do 'Oliver!'"
"Oliver!" is based on Charles' Dickens's novel "Oliver Twist." A young Oliver finds himself in the streets of Britain after the death of his mother. He tries to find a new sense of belonging throughout the show, which proves difficult.
Oliver meets Dodger, played by Alex Armstrong, who invites him to join a gang of pickpocketing boys led by Fagin, played by Michael Brand, who is also the show's musical director. Dodger and Fagin are both experienced criminals who try to influence Oliver to follow in their footsteps.
"Oliver!" was the first show Armstrong ever performed in, playing Oliver himself 10 years ago.
"Coming back to it as a 19-year-old instead of a 9-year-old is like a rebirth of innocence," Armstrong said. "It's cool doing it a second time and being the character that literally corrupts Oliver."
However, long-time member of the gang Nancy, played by Margaret Graham, sees that the gang is not the place for Oliver.
"For her, the gang is her family. That's what she knows," Graham said. "And this sweet little innocent boy comes in? Sure. We'll make him one of us. Then she sees that it's different for him, so she tries to get him out of the situation."
After being accused of a crime he didn't commit, Oliver is taken in by the kind Mr. Brownlow, played by Bill Debo), and the story develops from there.
According to Armstrong and Brand, all of the characters have lots of dimensions throughout the show.
For example, Fagin struggles with an internal battle between good and evil.
"He kind of has this internal conflict. He would love to be a respectable man, but that's too much work," Brand said. "He's kind of a father figure to the orphans, but at the same time, what they're doing is incredibly immoral."
Crouse attributes this wealth of character depth to Charles Dickens himself, calling him a "frustrated actor at heart."
Dickens often performed live readings of his books, where he acted out each character enthusiastically.
Cole Riney, who plays Oliver Twist, also noticed the dramatic and descriptive nature of Dickens's writing. When he read Dickens's "David Copperfield," Riney would act out scenes from the book to better understand the story.
"It was hard for me to keep all that description in my head, so I had to say it out loud to retain it," Rinery said. "I would be doing silent reading at school and be whispering in a British accent."
Lionel Bart interpreted "Oliver Twist" into "Oliver!" the musical. Though Dickens's original version of the story is pretty dark, Bart's family-friendly musical bursts with humor and classic songs like "Consider Yourself" and "Where is Love?"
"Oliver gives you the key at the very beginning," Crouse said. "He sings the song 'Where is Love?' and he spends the entire play trying to find love in a legitimate family instead of on the streets."
Capital City Productions will run "Oliver!" Aug. 12-14 and 19-21. A catered dinner buffet is included with the tickets, which cost $38 each. Tickets can be purchased at ccpjc.org, calling/texting (573) 681-9612 or emailing [email protected]. Capital City Productions is located at 719 Wicker Lane.
