You can tell the cast and crew of the latest Spotlight Theatre production, “Oliver!,” have been bursting to do this show for a long time, since it explodes from the stage with tremendous enthusiasm and heart.
The classic 1960 musical, based on the 1838 Charles Dickens novel “Oliver Twist,” was originally scheduled for April 2020 and was in rehearsals at Spotlight when shut down by COVID. The current cast has five people from that original group, and everyone seems ideally cast in the new version – which has just two performances remaining, tonight at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Director and Spotlight co-owner Sara Tubbs played Bet in the show when she was in college, and her affection for “Oliver!” (including the fact that her 11-year-old son Cooper plays the title role) is palpable. Her kids Cooper and Taylor were in the original children’s ensemble, and they’re back among the 14 kids in the energetic show.
The boisterous boys shine in the opening song (one of many catchy numbers, if only since many are reprised by composer Lionel Bart), “Food, Glorious Food.”
The musical boasts many colorful, enduring characters, brought expertly to life by the talented Spotlight cast. Matthew Downey cuts an imposing figure as the village beadle Mr. Bumble, dominating the show’s early scenes with his booming, smooth voice. Downey’s flirty number with Regina Knobloch as the Widow Corney (“I Shall Scream”) is amusing and endearing.
After the beautiful ballad “Where is Love?” (performed with appropriate innocence and longing by Cooper), we get another of the memorable upbeat hits, “Consider Yourself,” led by another indelible role – the Artful Dodger, here wonderfully embodied by Jack Carslake with an adorable, welcoming and peppy air.
The musical’s penchant for repeating songs and lyrics almost excessively is seen in the first number of the vital Fagin, the boys’ workhouse leader, “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.” With his disheveled shock of a gray wig, Joe Urbaitis is one of the best things in this production, chock full of standout performances.
While more villainous in the original Dickens story, the musical considerably lightened Fagin’s character to be more sympathetic, and the often chuckling Urbaitis provides a winning portrayal. His second act “Reviewing the Situation,” in which he wrestles with a crossroads, is an impressive tour-de-force soliloquy.
Veteran actress (and Circa ’21 Bootlegger) Kirsten Sindelar dominates each scene she’s in as Nancy, who’s the partner of the truly evil Bill Sikes and becomes a mother figure to the orphan Oliver. “I’d Do Anything” and “It’s a Fine Life” are two of her highlights in the first act, but Sindelar really pulls out the stops in her big emotional ballad in Act 2, “As Long as He Needs Me,” and of course its pummeling reprise near the show end.
She sings it with awesome power and conviction, but rationally the song doesn’t make sense because what we see in Mark Kulhavy’s brutal, sinister performances as Sikes, it’s clear he doesn’t need Nancy at all. It’s a cold, abusive relationship, where we see Bill hit her twice, before the terrifying, dramatic climax of the story. So why does she love him?
Kulhavy makes his true entrance near the start of the second act with the menacing, insistent and intense “My Name,” which made me think of “Heisenberg” in “Breaking Bad,” demanding “Say my name” (Kulhavy even has the Walter White goatee). Later, he gets even meaner and it’s chilling.
One of the best musical showcases is the quartet of vendors in “Who Will Buy?,” showcasing some terrific harmonies. Steve Trainor also is perfect as the kindly Mr. Brownlow (who takes in Oliver) and little Betsy Bergthold briefly dazzles at the end of “Consider Yourself.”
The Spotlight production is a visual feast as well, with a two-level set and London backdrop designed by Brent Tubbs (theater co-owner), who also handles the lights and sound. As Spotlight has often done, the play area extends into the main floor, and actors occasionally emerge from the audience.
I had never seen it before, but “Oliver!” also makes clever use of a trap door upstage, in which actors enter and exit through the floor, which leads into the dressing room under the stage.
The solid 12-person orchestra is great, led by music director Amy Trimble. Kudos also to choreographer Shana Kulhavy and costume designer Heather Blair. It clearly takes a village to raise up a beloved work of theater like this. Don’t miss it!
