“Please, TWN… I Want Some More”

by Sarah Teach

You’re well-read; you get references to the squeaking request of Charles Dickens’ scrawny ragamuffin: Oliver Twist, the innocent.  Oliver Twist, the protagonist wrapped in the rags of others’ vices.  Oliver Twist, the dirty 1830s English riffraff turned out of the government work house where he subsisted for nine years after being orphaned at birth.  Theatre Workshop of Nantucket has chosen this great classic as their season finale, and they’re doing it right.

With Laura Gallagher Byrne in the director's chair, every actor from smallest street urchin to foreboding adult antagonist has become their character for the evening.  TWN called in a dialect coach for this show; Shirley Streets has exacted expertise from everyone's tongue.  The musical energy of the children in the cast blends beautifully with the adults’, the theatrical result being just the squalid, damp dungeon of a world that you can—or cannot help but— believe in.  Your heart breaks for the hungry children, so deprived of the basic necessities of life, not to mention a true childhood.  When injustice teases the famished children with daydreams of steaming meats and splendid sweets, your blood boils right alongside the kettle of hot, disappointing reality: yep, it’s gruel.  Again.  With small faces so somber and costumes so ragged, you might forget these kids do have loving parents who may well be sitting next to you in the audience.  Nantucket Elementary School fourth grader Matthew Holdgate hails as Oliver himself, bringing a sweet temper to the stage.  Played by 11-year-old Nantucket native Sawyer Phillips, the Artful Dodger is that unbelievably cool kid who can always charm his way out of paying for his behavior.

It seems as if TWN wrangled Nantucket’s most versatile talents, threw them into a room, and told them to make something great.  Since you know the story, of course you’re most excited to meet Fagin.  In his role as the trainer and keeper of young criminals, David Lazarus is entirely smarmy. Fagin, whose off-kilter brain functions only add to his grossness, will not release you from his spell as long as he’s on stage.  Next, if you’re island art savvy, you know John Devaney can seriously paint (see the front cover of the program).  And if you caught The Seafarer earlier this year, you know he has acting talent to boot.  Lo and behold, the man’s vocal abilities are as far-reaching, as he demonstrates in belting out full-bodied notes as he nails his role as Mr. Bumble.  Donald Dallaire seems to have a knack for playing the villain.  Casting menacing glares and employing a sinister posture, Dallaire delivers a fearsome Bill Skyes.  Susan Stewart is all-around enchanting as Nancy, a “lady of the evening” whose youthful zest for existence is overflowing.  Nancy’s confident demeanor exudes fun above all, though you find her moral fiber lodged betwixt two extremes.

Though this story undoubtedly settles within the dark comedy genre, Dickens did not write it to enshroud legitimate ugliness with humor.  Peeling back swarming lies that bestow normalcy upon the practice of child labor, Dickens was ahead of his Internet-news-less time.  Not only is Oliver! a highly amusing musical theater experience, it provides a broadly palatable commentary on the severe social stratification of the Victorian era.  TWN’s portrayal doesn’t shy away from the story’s grave implications.  A poignant picture is painted of the Victorian world’s destitute, leaving room for Dickens’ finishing brush stroke: a warning against passing judgment on people based upon their position on the financial hierarchy.  By the end of the show, I daresay even Fagin would agree that society is, after all, the real villain.

Oliver! is selling out fast, so reserve a spot with the box office as soon as you can: 508-228-4305 or online at www.TheatreWorkshop.com.  Tickets are $17 for 13 and under, and $25 for adults.  Shows are at Bennett Hall, 62 Centre Street.