Last night I had the exquisite pleasure of attending a school production of Oliver! I am familiar with the musical because i've seen the movie with Oliver Reed as the baddie, and quel surprise I actually sang that mournful classic of mother-love, "Where is Love?" for an audition for something when I was just a wee lass. (I hated every minute of that, but that's beside the point, and for another discussion.)
It was the quintessential Cast of Thousands. Some highlights:
It was the quintessential Cast of Thousands. Some highlights:
- About 30,000 ladies wanted people to buy their roses, milk and the other thing
- Live cats on stage!
- Nancy is brutally murdered by Bill Sykes. The Doctor yells "Murder! Murder!" and another 30,000 orphans et al come flooding to the scene
- The Artful Dodger was played by a girl in Grade 5 who is obsessed with dragons and castles (as mentioned in the program notes). She could pull off a better cockney accent than me and was hilarious
- The front line star appeared to be a grain-fed starving orphan, feeling the pain nonetheless
- Many kiddies adjusting costumes, each other, contents of their nose, hair etc
- Hitting of high notes colla voce colliding with teeny projection issues
- A not half bad Fagin
- The musical director being very helpful with prompts, diction and general morale
- My surprise at how many kiddies actually fit on the stage for the Grand Finale
Despite having to nudge the lady sitting next to me when she yawned, I found myself laughing, giggling, grinning, craning, crying... well.. not quite tears, but nearly.
What a pageant of prodigious artistry it was.