I went to see Oliver! tonight. I didn't go with a notebook ready to jot down criticisms or endorsements, just went to enjoy the show. But I came out with some thoughts, and I'll put them down here. Not intending to be gratuitously critical; I am sure that many/most/all of these things will soon be ironed out; it was only the third or fourth performance tonight.
JODIE PRENGER
I thought her acting was very good. In the first scene I felt a little bit like Bet had a more powerful set of lungs than her; a tad of a flashback to Connie Fisher being outsung by her understudy playing Liesel. But this may simply have been that Jodie was singing in a much lower key than Bet.
I can't say I was utterly knocked out by her IDA and It's A Fine Life. It was all great, but I didn't have hairs standing up. The first ALAHNM, it wasn't her fault but it was so ridiculously fast. That's the musical director's fault. I know it was always going to be shorter than in the tv program, but it felt like McDonalds on acid, and I didn't enjoy it at all. Black mark (not to her personally). However, the second ALAHNM, that was the first time I really warmed to Jodie and thought she had a "moment". Her emotional distress came through powerfully, as it had done in the scene where she stands up to Bill. She was convincing, though I thought that the last few notes of the song, her overwroughtness slightly compromised the singing. But that's a minor objection. Nb her Oom Pah Pah was meaty and great.
Overall, I admit I would have rather seen Jessie in the role, and I really don't want to be mean about Jodie. I enjoyed her overall, I thought she was good, I think the first ALAHNM should be slowed down a bit, and I will give her a big thumbs up.
ROWAN ATKINSON
I wouldn't say I was disappointed. I wasn't. It was great to see him; he is a superstar. But that's kind of the problem. It's like watching Red Rum in a greyhound race. Or it's like watching the world's greatest ever greyhound in a horse race. Rowan Atkinson is the world's greatest exponent of a certain style of physical and naif comedy. And the role of Fagin does not lend itself to that. I am sure he was wary of people accusing him of playing Blackadder or Bean in a green coat, and he played it classically, really quite ferally. Until Reviewing The Situation. And then he and the director/producer weakened and gave the people what they wanted, which was Rowan Atkinson Physical Comedy. It was great, I loved it, and so did everyone else, and it sounds incredibly ungrateful to suggest that it made a mockery of the portrayal up to that point and shattered the dramatic illusion (more of which later).
The problem can be summed up with Fagin's lyric "If you want to eat, you've got to earn a bob!" It's right that he didn't accentuate the word bob. But I really would have liked him to. But it would have been beyond wrong if he had done. But I really wanted him to. But it would have been a bad move. But I really wanted him to. Etc.
OLIVER
Gwion played Oliver. I thought he was great. There were a couple of moments where you do think he's about to start playing rugby or do a quick spot of coal mining.
THE DODGER
Robert Madge was the Dodger again tonight. I am not sure, but he might have featured in the audition stages for Oliver (not the finals). I am probably wrong. But he has a distinctive look and it looked familiar. The big problem with him is that he is tiny, he seemed even smaller than Gwion. The Dodger, I think, should have authority over Oliver, exude a little menace even, and as it was he looked very dinky. He was the Austin Drage of Dodgerdom. But he sang well and his accent was accomplished.
THE KIDS
There are three groups of kids: Farthings Team (including Jonny), Shillings Team (including Sam, Chester and Arthur) and Tanners Team (including Jordan and Gareth). There's a Joseph M in Shillings and one in Tanners - not sure if either is Joseph from the tv show.
I think tonight was Farthings, but am by no means confident in that guess.
SARAH LARK
This is the bit 99% of the cultists, sorry, Sarah fans, on this subforum have been waiting for.
I thought she was great. She appeared in a crowd scene and then she appeared touting ripe strawberries. I personally didn't buy any - I got a chocolate ice cream instead - in the nick of time - blimey, previews is one thing but don't underestimate chocolate ice cream volume and run out of stock during the interval. People, that's serious stuff!
I digress.
I thought Sarah was great, and it was nice to see her at the front. Though after a few times of her walking back and forth across the front of the stage it did feel a bit like she was being touted - "see here, the girl from the show. Yes, she's from the telly!"
The bad news: I went with my cousin, who is a vocal coach. Afterwards he had negative words to say about her. Apparently she trilled; there was no support for the high note, it lacked something this, and problem that. I didn't know what he was talking about but it sounded serious. Oh dear. I liked her anyway.
Oh, and he also said about Jodie, she's not singing properly. He foresees potential voice problems if she carries on pushing her voice in a certain way. Though he conceded, she's not going to have the volume of vocal action that Connie Fisher had, so maybe it won't be critical.
BURN GORMAN
Oh dear. I am Negative Nigel tonight. I had heard, oh he's a great choice, he exudes menace, when he enters a room your teeth fall out, your bowel opens and your knees knock furiously.
Erm, No, not really. I felt he was a little caricatury. An unpleasant piece of work, but if you compare say the memory of Oliver Reed from the film, well, it's best not to compare. I don't want to put backs up or destroy morale here. He was good. But I wouldn't call it memorable.
One of the things that will improve from the previews will be the timing - of his blows and also of the ladling of gruel. In some of it there was, let's say, ample air space.
OTHER STUFF
I thought Mr Sowerberry was excellent. Julian Glover as Mr Brownlow was very good.
DEVIATIONS FROM THE FILM
I had never seen Oliver! the play before. Only the film. I was disorientated a couple of times as a result. The biggest surprise was that Oom Pah Pah only appears once, at the start of the second act; it doesn't appear again as Nancy's diversion just before the bridge scene. I am sure Oliver! afficionados are rolling their eyes at my ignorance. Anyway, it knocked me sideways. I wasn't expecting the bridge scene at that point. It felt far too early and I was not in "Ok, let's be having some murder" mode; I was in "There's a Litte Ditty" mode.
The other thing was the dodger not appearing at the end. When this didn't happen, I remembered having read that this was a device which was created for the film only. Problem is, I think the device, like the Oom Pah Pah refrain, was created for a reason, and I (personally) think it works briliantly. I think it improves the show. I feel that Fagin's farewell without the dodger, post 1968, is perfunctory and even flat. But hey, everyone thinks Sam Mendes is a genius, so who am I to enquire as to whether the emperor is wearing underpants.
Nb also, the scene where Mr and Mrs Bumble go to Mr Brownlow. I can't remember exactly how the film version went, and I only have a hazy recollection of the book. But it didn't seem to make sense. Mr and Mrs Bumble show admirable honesty - one minute they learn of the locket and the next minute they are straight to Mr Brownlow. I would have given them a civic medal. Instead, Mr Brownlow boots them out in outrage whilst defamatorily suggesting that they are only in it for the reward. I felt like happy slapping the ungrateful bastard.
OVERALL
My cousin's professional view was that it was quite a perfunctory production. Not in terms of the cast or set, which was magnificent. I understood what he meant. There wasn't much scope for the characters to breathe. It was just a series of show and tells. Maybe Oliver! as a theatrical musical is innately like that. For me, knowing the show only from the film version probably created an unrealistic expectation of dramatic flow. But then the Rowan Atkinson interlude and the swiftness of the ending - well, I don't know. Look, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend that you go see it. It got a standing ovation from a very sizeable section of the audience. I didn't stand at the end. But I did enjoy it a lot. My knee hurts.
What will I remember from the show?
Some of the big numbers were rousing: Who Will Buy etc. I actually really enjoyed Mr Sowerberry, for the brief time he was on stage. I completely love Rowan Atkinson, but I just can't say that his Pick a Pocket or Reviewing the Situation will endure in my memory in ten years' time. I feel bad saying that because I know that he is a sensitive man and a perfectionist. I hope he doesn't browse the internet and come across this opinion. I wouldn't say he was miscast. It just felt like Cameron Mackintosh has tried to stuff a magnificent African bull elephant into a Maclaren F1 car.
I left feeling happy, rewarded, entertained and gratified. Moody? No.
JODIE PRENGER
I thought her acting was very good. In the first scene I felt a little bit like Bet had a more powerful set of lungs than her; a tad of a flashback to Connie Fisher being outsung by her understudy playing Liesel. But this may simply have been that Jodie was singing in a much lower key than Bet.
I can't say I was utterly knocked out by her IDA and It's A Fine Life. It was all great, but I didn't have hairs standing up. The first ALAHNM, it wasn't her fault but it was so ridiculously fast. That's the musical director's fault. I know it was always going to be shorter than in the tv program, but it felt like McDonalds on acid, and I didn't enjoy it at all. Black mark (not to her personally). However, the second ALAHNM, that was the first time I really warmed to Jodie and thought she had a "moment". Her emotional distress came through powerfully, as it had done in the scene where she stands up to Bill. She was convincing, though I thought that the last few notes of the song, her overwroughtness slightly compromised the singing. But that's a minor objection. Nb her Oom Pah Pah was meaty and great.
Overall, I admit I would have rather seen Jessie in the role, and I really don't want to be mean about Jodie. I enjoyed her overall, I thought she was good, I think the first ALAHNM should be slowed down a bit, and I will give her a big thumbs up.
ROWAN ATKINSON
I wouldn't say I was disappointed. I wasn't. It was great to see him; he is a superstar. But that's kind of the problem. It's like watching Red Rum in a greyhound race. Or it's like watching the world's greatest ever greyhound in a horse race. Rowan Atkinson is the world's greatest exponent of a certain style of physical and naif comedy. And the role of Fagin does not lend itself to that. I am sure he was wary of people accusing him of playing Blackadder or Bean in a green coat, and he played it classically, really quite ferally. Until Reviewing The Situation. And then he and the director/producer weakened and gave the people what they wanted, which was Rowan Atkinson Physical Comedy. It was great, I loved it, and so did everyone else, and it sounds incredibly ungrateful to suggest that it made a mockery of the portrayal up to that point and shattered the dramatic illusion (more of which later).
The problem can be summed up with Fagin's lyric "If you want to eat, you've got to earn a bob!" It's right that he didn't accentuate the word bob. But I really would have liked him to. But it would have been beyond wrong if he had done. But I really wanted him to. But it would have been a bad move. But I really wanted him to. Etc.
OLIVER
Gwion played Oliver. I thought he was great. There were a couple of moments where you do think he's about to start playing rugby or do a quick spot of coal mining.
THE DODGER
Robert Madge was the Dodger again tonight. I am not sure, but he might have featured in the audition stages for Oliver (not the finals). I am probably wrong. But he has a distinctive look and it looked familiar. The big problem with him is that he is tiny, he seemed even smaller than Gwion. The Dodger, I think, should have authority over Oliver, exude a little menace even, and as it was he looked very dinky. He was the Austin Drage of Dodgerdom. But he sang well and his accent was accomplished.
THE KIDS
There are three groups of kids: Farthings Team (including Jonny), Shillings Team (including Sam, Chester and Arthur) and Tanners Team (including Jordan and Gareth). There's a Joseph M in Shillings and one in Tanners - not sure if either is Joseph from the tv show.
I think tonight was Farthings, but am by no means confident in that guess.
SARAH LARK
This is the bit 99% of the cultists, sorry, Sarah fans, on this subforum have been waiting for.
I thought she was great. She appeared in a crowd scene and then she appeared touting ripe strawberries. I personally didn't buy any - I got a chocolate ice cream instead - in the nick of time - blimey, previews is one thing but don't underestimate chocolate ice cream volume and run out of stock during the interval. People, that's serious stuff!
I digress.
I thought Sarah was great, and it was nice to see her at the front. Though after a few times of her walking back and forth across the front of the stage it did feel a bit like she was being touted - "see here, the girl from the show. Yes, she's from the telly!"
The bad news: I went with my cousin, who is a vocal coach. Afterwards he had negative words to say about her. Apparently she trilled; there was no support for the high note, it lacked something this, and problem that. I didn't know what he was talking about but it sounded serious. Oh dear. I liked her anyway.
Oh, and he also said about Jodie, she's not singing properly. He foresees potential voice problems if she carries on pushing her voice in a certain way. Though he conceded, she's not going to have the volume of vocal action that Connie Fisher had, so maybe it won't be critical.
BURN GORMAN
Oh dear. I am Negative Nigel tonight. I had heard, oh he's a great choice, he exudes menace, when he enters a room your teeth fall out, your bowel opens and your knees knock furiously.
Erm, No, not really. I felt he was a little caricatury. An unpleasant piece of work, but if you compare say the memory of Oliver Reed from the film, well, it's best not to compare. I don't want to put backs up or destroy morale here. He was good. But I wouldn't call it memorable.
One of the things that will improve from the previews will be the timing - of his blows and also of the ladling of gruel. In some of it there was, let's say, ample air space.
OTHER STUFF
I thought Mr Sowerberry was excellent. Julian Glover as Mr Brownlow was very good.
DEVIATIONS FROM THE FILM
I had never seen Oliver! the play before. Only the film. I was disorientated a couple of times as a result. The biggest surprise was that Oom Pah Pah only appears once, at the start of the second act; it doesn't appear again as Nancy's diversion just before the bridge scene. I am sure Oliver! afficionados are rolling their eyes at my ignorance. Anyway, it knocked me sideways. I wasn't expecting the bridge scene at that point. It felt far too early and I was not in "Ok, let's be having some murder" mode; I was in "There's a Litte Ditty" mode.
The other thing was the dodger not appearing at the end. When this didn't happen, I remembered having read that this was a device which was created for the film only. Problem is, I think the device, like the Oom Pah Pah refrain, was created for a reason, and I (personally) think it works briliantly. I think it improves the show. I feel that Fagin's farewell without the dodger, post 1968, is perfunctory and even flat. But hey, everyone thinks Sam Mendes is a genius, so who am I to enquire as to whether the emperor is wearing underpants.
Nb also, the scene where Mr and Mrs Bumble go to Mr Brownlow. I can't remember exactly how the film version went, and I only have a hazy recollection of the book. But it didn't seem to make sense. Mr and Mrs Bumble show admirable honesty - one minute they learn of the locket and the next minute they are straight to Mr Brownlow. I would have given them a civic medal. Instead, Mr Brownlow boots them out in outrage whilst defamatorily suggesting that they are only in it for the reward. I felt like happy slapping the ungrateful bastard.
OVERALL
My cousin's professional view was that it was quite a perfunctory production. Not in terms of the cast or set, which was magnificent. I understood what he meant. There wasn't much scope for the characters to breathe. It was just a series of show and tells. Maybe Oliver! as a theatrical musical is innately like that. For me, knowing the show only from the film version probably created an unrealistic expectation of dramatic flow. But then the Rowan Atkinson interlude and the swiftness of the ending - well, I don't know. Look, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend that you go see it. It got a standing ovation from a very sizeable section of the audience. I didn't stand at the end. But I did enjoy it a lot. My knee hurts.
What will I remember from the show?
Some of the big numbers were rousing: Who Will Buy etc. I actually really enjoyed Mr Sowerberry, for the brief time he was on stage. I completely love Rowan Atkinson, but I just can't say that his Pick a Pocket or Reviewing the Situation will endure in my memory in ten years' time. I feel bad saying that because I know that he is a sensitive man and a perfectionist. I hope he doesn't browse the internet and come across this opinion. I wouldn't say he was miscast. It just felt like Cameron Mackintosh has tried to stuff a magnificent African bull elephant into a Maclaren F1 car.
I left feeling happy, rewarded, entertained and gratified. Moody? No.
