THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230022
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
THERE'S SO MUCH energy and toe-tapping peppiness on stage at Chrysler Hall these nights that we feared a perennial nightmare might have come true. In this horror fantasy, the orphans of ``Annie'' mate with the orphans of ``Oliver!'' and their offspring belt out 50,000 verses of ``Tomorrow'' with ``Oom-Pah-Pah'' thumping in the background.
Call it the Orphans' Sonata as the urchins stomp on Miss Hannigan and Fagin and take over musical theater forever.
It's a gruesome contemplation but there's enough noise over at Chrysler Hall to effectively snap one out of it. Actually, coming after a dismal Tim Conway misfire, an overripe ``South Pacific'' and an amateurish ``Chorus Line,'' all in Chrysler Hall's Broadway series, this ``Oliver!'' is no nightmare. It's blessedly close to being a dream.
Marred only by a thin orchestral accompaniment, it is the show we've been waiting for, one that suggests there are professionals on the road these days, and that some of them will visit Chrysler Hall.
``Oliver!'' is blessed with an ample variety of great tunes and upbeat sunniness. It seems almost ironic that this show, based on Charles Dickens' ``Oliver Twist,'' is about poverty, murder and lowlife thieves in the slums of Victorian London.
Jeffrey Schneider's set design brilliantly suggests the raffish quality of slums in Victorian London. Quickly and deftly, the stage varies from London Bridge to pickpocket's hideaway to courtly drawing room and bawdy tavern. Mary Jo Dondlinger's lighting, though, is too relentlessly dark, with little contrast among tavern, drawing room or slum.
The standout performer is Kathy Halenda as Nancy, the slut who sticks by her man even if he's done her wrong. She makes the hall echo with her rendition of ``As Long as He Needs Me.''
David Lee has the showpiece role of Fagin, that sly old master of thieves. He's a bit young and thin for the part, and lacks the hammy art of snarling and wincing. This is a part that encourages overacting. He's fine, though, in the show's delightful farewell piece, ``Reviewing the Situation.''
Directed by Dallett Norris, this is a rushed, condensed and fast-paced version. Indeed, I've never seen ``Oliver!'' played at this rapid-fire pace. You're out in two hours, including intermission. It trots the songs out fast, sells them and moves on. There's something to be said for this treatment - reprises and nuances are not important to a show this well-known.
The only failure is the thin, smallish orchestration, with an emphasis on synthesizer.
The on-stage performers do much to make up for it. Graham Bowen as the title Oliver is refreshingly free of the high-pitched crack that often afflicts young boys required to sing ``Where is Love?'' Michael Chimenti seems a bit mature for the Artful Dodger, but he dodges with relish. Steve McCoy is suitably evil and brutish as Bill Sykes.
The Lionel Bart score makes us wish that Lionel Bart had written many other shows. (His ``Blitz,'' a musical about London during World War II, has, regrettably, never found a place in American theater.) Of the songs here, ``Consider Yourself,'' ``Food, Glorious Food'' and ``It's a Fine Life'' are familiar. No less mischievous diversions are ``You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,'' ``I Shall Scream,'' ``That's Your Funeral,'' ``Oom-Pah-Pah'' and ``Who Will Buy?''
There isn't a slow moment in this break-neck version of ``Oliver!'' MEMO: THEATER REVIEW
What: ``Oliver!'' the musical by Lionel Bart
When: Tonight through Saturday at 8; Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 2
and 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chrysler Hall in Norfolk
Tickets: $27.50 to $35; to charge, call 671-8100
Boxoffice Info: Call 441-2764 ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Kathy Halenda as slutty Nancy is the standout performer in
``Oliver!'' at Chrysler Hall.
by CNB