Oliver

Introduction:

    Hello everyone! Once again, I am back with ANOTHER review to add to the Toms River Theater Extravaganza segment. I promise I will get to my other ones soon! This time it is the musical Oliver!, done by the Donovan Catholic High School theater family. Before diving right into my review of Oliver! I want to share my experience with everything that happened before the show because it was interesting.

    The initial reception was quite cold, especially on a chilly November night. From what I saw, many people were forced to wait in the freezing cold and could not get into the lobby until around 6:40 (at the earliest 6:35). As a result of not letting people into the show early, it became overcrowded quick. To make matters worse, many of the audience members who came early were elderly people. So not only did the school make people come in late, but they also made the ELDERLY wait in the freezing cold because they were not letting ANYONE in that door. I think the school should have allowed people to come to the performance area starting at 6:45 if they had bought tickets beforehand to let them get settled, especially the elderly, so they did not have to freeze in the November cold. It also would have helped the lobby be less crowded, considering it is small. Or, if the cast and crew needed all the time up until 6:50-ish, at least let the elderly into the lobby early; so they did not have to suffer in the cold.

    Not only that but there was one faculty member who was not quite understanding of my situation. I showed up extremely early to get this review out and surprise a friend so that I would not inconvenience my mother and so I could pick up my ticket. I was even told I could pick up my ticket after school by the person I corresponded with through email. I also brought things to do to not be a distraction for the staff, actors, and crew members preparing for the show. I genuinely did not want to cause issues. Once a faculty member realized I was a regular audience member, she started screaming at me. It even seemed like she was close to threatening to kick me out, even after I explained my predicament. The situation happened because a friend of mine (she found out about the surprise) wanted to take me backstage, and the faculty member got mad. Now she had every right to be angry about that, I will not lie. I get it. But to get mad at me for even being inside the school to wait to WATCH the show extremely early and get my ticket was unnecessary. I calmly addressed the fact that I understood I was not allowed backstage and even explained to her that although I was an ordinary audience member looking to get my ticket and wait inside because it was cold and for my mother to go to work, I had brought things to do to not be a distraction. I did my best to de-escalate the situation. However, she was shouting and screaming because of my very presence, which frightened me. She even refused to let anyone get me something to write with since I forgot to bring a pencil so I could jot down notes during the musical. Because I felt very threatened, I started bursting into tears. To put it into perspective, I sobbed at this school, where I was technically a GUEST, more than I have ever cried because of AP Chemistry, one of the more difficult AP courses. Not only that, but this event made me sob more than La La Land, and I sobbed my heart out because of that movie. So, it was not a great start to my experience with Oliver.

     Apologies if that was long, but the reception for this play had to be mentioned. Those in line around me felt that getting into the show could have been better and less stressful, so I wanted to shed light on it. I also wanted to bring up my experience so that people do not try to go there incredibly early, or they will get yelled at sadly (no matter the circumstances). Even with this rough start, I did not let this affect my opinion of Oliver. With all that stated, let me give you a little summary of the musical!

Synopsis:

    Oliver!, based on Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, follows a young boy named Oliver Twist, an orphan in a workhouse who becomes an apprentice of an undertaker due to being "troublesome" in the orphanage. But due to being neglected, Oliver makes a grand escape to London in search of a home, a family, and for love. This search, however, leads Oliver to meet Artful Dodger, a boy around his age who picks him up and welcomes him into a gang of child pickpockets and thieves led by the conniving but charming Fagin. As a result of going on a stealing expedition with his fellow pickpockets, Oliver gets accused of a theft he did not commit. But, wealthy and kind Mr. Brownlow, the victim of said theft, takes Oliver in. Afraid of his hideout being found out, Fagin recruits menacing Bill Sikes, and warm-hearted but trapped under Sikes's control, Nancy to kidnap him back. Thus, Oliver's chances of finding a home, a family, and love are at risk.

Review:

    Wow. Before watching the show, I thought I would be writing about how much of a scam the $15 ticket price was for the performance the Donovan theater family would put on for Oliver. I mean, Donovan is not a specialized performing art school in the area (like GPAA) or a school with a specific program that focuses on the arts and theater (like the Art Academy, specifically the Theater strand, at Toms River High School North) to justify a ticket price like that. However, after watching the show, this private catholic high school in my area has honestly baffled me.

    As always, let me start off with the positives. The acting in the show was stellar. A lot of the actors and actresses had great facials throughout their performances. They were also able to effectively convey the emotions they were portraying. In particular, I thought that the actresses playing Widow Corey (a worker at the orphanage Oliver lived in and in a relationship with Mr. Bumble) and Nancy were fantastic throughout. The actress playing Nancy even got me to shed a couple tears during her solo "As Long as He Needs Me" due to how well she embodied the character and song. The singing in this production was also solid. Most people sounded great, so it was clear whoever cast the show knew which voices fit the role. A note I want to make about the casting is that Fagin is actually an elderly woman in this show! I thought it was cool to see this since Fagin is usually an elderly male. The actress who portrayed the character did an excellent job keeping true to Fagin's character but with a breath of originality. Overall, stellar performances by the cast in general.

    Now with musical performances come songs, and the songs did indeed deliver. A lot of the music in Oliver! was entertaining. I laughed during a lot of them because, out of context, they were about the most random things ever. "Food, Glorious Food," especially, was a song that I thoroughly enjoyed but more so for what it meant out of context and not because of the performance put on by the cast. The song is the opening act for the entire musical and is about kids at the orphanage fantasizing about having good food when getting their gruel. Some of the lines sung include: 

    Food, glorious food!

    Hot sausage and mustard!
    While we're in the mood --
    Cold jelly and custard!
    Peas pudding and saveloys!
    What next is the question?

    Rich gentlemen have it, boys --
    In-di-gestion!


    Clearly out of context, these lyrics are just goofy to read and hear. So I had fun with some of the songs due to how comical the lyrics could get.

    With the acting and songs being fun, a topic to also address would be crew work. Such work includes how the costumes, lights, and set design were handled. If there is one word to describe the overall look of this production, it would be expensive. For costumes, they looked gorgeous. I do not have a background in Victorian fashion, so I do not know if the wardrobe was accurate to Victorian times. But I can say that they looked fantastic. Everyone in the cast looked great. I especially loved the dresses chosen for the actresses as they looked incredible.

    I also have to sing some praises to the lights. Whoever worked the lights deserves snaps and jazz hands because the lightwork was great. I loved how spotlights were used to center on the characters actually singing or on stage. As a result, the background faded, and I could stay focused on the actors or actresses the lights were centered on. The color switches were also a fun part of the show. Say something terrible was about to happen? Bam! All of a sudden, the lights were switched to red. It was a tiny detail that was great since it subtly helped with foreshadowing.

    What was also detailed was the set design. MONEY went into set design with just one glance at the stage. There were balconies. There were detailed rooms. There were even background drops and a HANDPAINTED background. If there was one thing that blew me away the most with Oliver!, it was the set design. The theater family at Donovan KNOWS how to make use of the gym they performed in, and perform they did because cast members were even walking down the aisles where audience members were sitting for some numbers. Overall, it was some of the best set design work I have seen in my area.

    However, I am also aware that Donovan has the funds to have an expensive set design since it is a private school. With this musical, I fully understood the differences in set designs a private school or at least a school primarily focused on the arts would have compared to a production done by public high schools. Private and specialized schools can have bigger productions since more funding can be given to the arts program. Public schools, even with a focused art program, do not have such a luxury due to a lack of funding. I go to a public school with a specific theater arts program students can apply and take, but due to a lack of funding public schools often receive, the program has been severely limited by what they can do for set design. Because of Oliver!, it was interesting to see how even school theater productions can really exacerbate the differences in increased budgeting could do and the inequalities between public and private schools due to public schools not often getting the funding they need from the government.

    Finally, with that tangent out of the way, let's focus on some of the messages portrayed in Oliver! Anyone could relate to Oliver's struggles of finding belonging and his wish for love, universal themes helping Oliver! be timeless. These struggles are further emphasized through how he is an orphan and has no money for most of the show. Abusive relationships were also explored, with the dynamic of Bill Sike and Nancy. Bill Sike is verbally abusive to Nancy and even threatens to hit her multiple times, doing so once. Meanwhile, Nancy is endlessly devoted to and in love with Bill but is torn on what to do because she does not want to kidnap Oliver. It was honestly heartbreaking seeing Nancy in this position since abusive relationships are very unhealthy. Nancy represents the millions of women today still stuck in abusive relationships out of "love," giving them representation in this show. Then there is also the distinct difference between the rich and poor, exemplifying the social structure in Victorian London. Oliver covers themes that are especially apparent today. I loved the theme revolving around Oliver and how that was portrayed since it was very fleshed out. But, the execution of the themes, which could have been with the writing, felt very one note. Throughout the show, I was confused about the show's goals. But, this also could have been due to my short attention span.

    Onto the negatives, and I promise this will be short. For a school that invests heavily in set design, I am shocked by how bad the mic system is. During the entire show, some mics were not working, even for the main characters. It was also noticeable as one mic issue got fixed midway through someone speaking. Now I am aware mic issues are normal, but for the amount of them that happened, I hope for some investing in something better. I do not recall Radium Girls having as many mic issues as here. I also thought the acting, although great, was overdone at times. Because of the overacting, sometimes Oliver! was cartoony, which was not the vibe the show was going for, I think. The lighting, although fantastic, confused me at some points. Specifically when there was this one green spotlight used. Now I got clarification on why it was done, but it still was out of place, considering the other spotlight was not green. If you are going to add some fun to the show, at least be cohesive and deliberate about it because I initially thought someone messed up on the job. Another gripe I have with the show is the ensemble. Now, they were not horrible. But it was certainly a mixed bag. Some could not sing, and others could not dance. It was quite the spectacle if someone was paying attention to the ensemble for some reason. I do not think the dancing is entirely on the ensemble, though. I thought the dancing throughout the show was horrendous if they were group dances. People were out of sync, like in "Food, Glorious Food, and "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two," but some choreographed moves also looked goofy. I should not have been laughing through some songs, but I could not help it because of the way some of the dance moves looked. Overall though, dancing was quite mediocre. There were some standout performances, but most of the time, the dancing, especially with the ensemble, was rough.

Conclusion:

    Back to the "million dollars" question I implicitly proposed earlier: Is the $15 ticket price for a private catholic high school theater production worth it? Now that is a question I do not have a direct answer to. Maybe we will get back to this question if I watch their spring production. Kidding, keep reading, and maybe you will find out. Oliver! was a great show overall. I was invested throughout, hoping Oliver would have a happy ending. I mostly loved most aspects of the show, like the acting, lights, and set design. But I also thought some things could have been improved, like the dancing and the mic system. To finally answer the "million dollars" question, I do not regret the $15 I spent on the show. I still think the ticket price was steep,  but it was a good show, so I will excuse it. I just hope the Donovan Catholic theater family can invest in a better mic system or at least work out the kinks with whatever they are using since it is a shame that the show quality was impacted by some tech issues.