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Oliver!
Presented by: STAG (Shepparton Theatre Arts Group)
Venue: West Side
Arts Centre, Mooroopna
Reviewer: Christian Cavallo
Date Reviewed: 21st June 2008
It was with great anticipation that I travelled up to Shepparton to
see my first STAG production, Lionel Bart’s classic, Oliver!.
Not having experienced anything by the company before, I did not
know what to expect, but I was looking forward to seeing what they
had to offer based on its reputation alone.
As I found my seat, I was able to look upon a very dark and smoky
opening set. The lights came up after the prologue to reveal an
impressive vision. With many levels and layers throughout it, it was
quite detailed and conceptually very smart with a bridge and
city-scape in the background, side platforms and a revolve in the
centre.
Complementing it was the lighting. Whilst dark and shadowy in many
scenes, the lighting was always appropriate and effective. Costumes
too were of the highest standard. Considering the size of the cast,
it was great to see the detail and effort that went into everything
worn on the stage. Everything from Nancy’s dress, the dozens of
orphans and Fagin’s multi-layered jackets to the mole on Widow
Corney’s jaw was evident of the work and thought that obviously went
into the creative process. Overall, most of the production values
were of a very high standard and impressed greatly!
The opening scene began and a flood of children rushed onto the
stage. This young ensemble knew what they were doing. With some
children who must have been as young as four or five years old, not
only were there some very cute little munchkins onstage, but they
all knew the words and executed their movents professionally. Sadly
for some, there were a few who upstaged the rest of their peers at
various times, but only because they really were so cute you wanted
to take them home!
Before you knew it, the iconic phrase “Please Sir, I want some more”
had been said and so began Oliver’s journey. Oliver was played by
Connor Deakin who did a good job in the role, although at times
struggled with the higher range in his songs and maintaining a
consistent accent. To his credit though, he held his own against the
other more dominating and mature characters on stage.
Mr Bumble and Widow Corny were played by John Tracey and Tricia
Sargant respectively. Tracey had a lovely tenor voice, although I
felt that physically he was not right for the role being of an
obviously tall and slender build. He played the character with less
authority than I would have liked, but got laughs from the audience
when interacting with Sargant who showed great characterisation and
physicality in all her scenes.
Mr and Mrs Sowerberry were played by Aaron-David Palmer and Marcia
Ratcliffe who were made up to look Transylvania-esque. Their
combined characterisation was strong and dark although Palmer stole
the scene, partly due to Ratcliffe seeming distracted and unsure of
her lyrics.
The Artful Dodger was played by Matthew Sneyd who performed well,
but most notably displayed a strong dance ability. He was a more
grown-up Dodger and I loved the way in which the show ended with him
replacing the dead Bill Sykes. Sykes was played by Jade O’Shea… This
guy was born to play it bad! From seeing his headshot in the program
prior to the show, I looked forward to him appearing. O’Shea was
menacing and crafted a gravely voice that he sang and spoke with as
if it were his own. He looked perfect and commanded the stage when
he entered and made you want to hate him.
In contrast, Fagin, played by Michael Molony, was quite likable. He
was physically well suited to the role and had a good presence. I
would have liked more comedy in the character, however he carried
his solo moments charismatically. Emily Zierk was lovely as Nancy.
She sang beautifully and brought heart to the show. Clearly the
audience favourite, Zierk was powerful and moving, especially in her
reprise of ‘As Long as He Needs Me’.
The orchestra played well under the direction of Steven Sargant.
Overall the cast sang well, but due to sound issues some lyrics and
harmonies were lost or hard to understand. The sound started off
really well, but unfortunately through the night it became apparent
that some microphones weren’t working consistently.
Direction by Rob Robson was evident. At times I found there were too
many people onstage, and I do think the space could have been
utilised better as the majority of the action took place in the
centre whilst the side and back levels were mainly used when
everyone was onstage. Also I felt that more of the dialogue was
played to the audience than was necessary, but ultimately the story
ran smoothly and solidly.
I’d like to congratulate the STAG crew for producing what was a well
polished and visually pleasing, production. Unfortunately, the
season has now ended, but I’d like to point out how impressed I was
with the company and their production, and would recommend them as a
high quality company who are definitely worthy of the 2.5-hour drive
from Melbourne if you are keen to see what they have to offer in the
future!
Originally from Geelong, Christian has performed in a wide
variety of productions with Geelong Lyric Theatre Society, Geelong
Musical Comedy Company and Footlight Productions where highlights
included, ‘The Lion’ and ‘The Tinman’ in two productions of The
Wizard of Oz, ‘Sonny’ in Grease, ‘Tommy’ in Annie Get Your Gun,
‘Nick’ in Fame, ‘Marius’ in Les Misérables (two nominations,
Victorian Music Theatre Guild) ‘Michael’ in The Witches of Eastwick
(Judge’s Award, VMTG) and ‘Billy’ in Anything Goes.
Since moving to
Melbourne
in 2007 to study Graphic Design at
RMIT
University, he has performed with Whitehorse Music Theatre in A
Chorus Line as ‘Paul’ and most recently as a ‘Wickersham Brother’ in
Seussical: The Musical. He was ‘Eddie’ in CLOC’s acclaimed Blood
Brothers and following Bare with SHooSH! Productions, Christian is
excited to be rehearsing for the Australasian Premiere of I Love You
Because. |