How About a Revival of OLIVER!- Page 2

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:09pm

What I meant was that for Broadway insiders, we know the names. Nancy is the type of role where it gives an unknown a chance to be discovered.

I was at a meeting a few months ago for a new New York production. The leading name was secured and they were discussing featured roles. It literally went "we can get Kristin or Audra for this role and Karen or Bebe or Charlotte for that role." Nothing wrong with using these talents, but I hate how they don't even open up the roles for unknowns (for the record, they did of course hold EPAs for the roles but still ended up casting who they wanted. This business truly IS who you know.)

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:16pm

Great way for Ruthie to return to the states!

[JulianHookbucks]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:40pm

Nancy is 17... and I want to see a revival that shows the true nature of the piece... to show the dark and terrible side of crime in London. No kitch please... thanks.

other than that...

YES PLEASE.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:44pm

Celia Keenan-Bolger could possibly work as Nancy?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:47pm

I think Alice Ripley would be superb as well as Ruthie Henshall. How about Anika Noni Rose if you want to go for a younger-looking Nancy?

And apparently the show does need names attached to it, the last revival starring Patti LuPone as Nancy was a BIG flop so the name OLIVER! alone won't sell. I saw the Cameron Mackintosh tour a couple of years ago and it was quite good, was anyone well-known in that tour?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:48pm

The Carolee and Julia jackhammer comment is so tired and unnecessary.

I would love to see a revival of this! I once saw the show with a girl playing Fagin. Interesting...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:49pm

I remember the last revival from the 80s which was a quick two-week flop despite starring Patti LuPone (fresh off her triumph in EVITA) and Ron Moody (the Oscar-nominated Fagin from the movie) and being produced by Cameron Mackintosh (one of his only flops). I don't recall exactly why it failed so miserably, but it's a very expensive show to run with a huge ensemble. There has been talk over the years of another revival, but producers here seem to be very gun-shy because of the risks involved.

[Sykes24]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 2:56pm

All those kids... it'd be expensive... that's why it hasn't happened. Plus, I'm not sure american audiences respond to it as much as they do in london. I'd LOVE to see it done, though. It's in my top five favorite shows.

I think Amy Spanger could make an interesting Nancy... and I'd love to see Bill Irwin as Fagin (I'm sure he sings).

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 3:21pm

I'm all for Amy Spanger

[jg4892]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 3:23pm

She would be great! So would Janine LaManna.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 3:48pm

JulianHookbucks: You would like to see a dark edged version of OLIVER! which would make it have more similarity to the 1948 British non musical film which is very dark(and in black & white); even the scenes with Bill Sykes's dog are frightening. I'm not sure if that would work with a score that has so many upbeat songs, even when dealing with potentially serious subjects ("Food, Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "It's a Fine Life", and "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two"). Such a darker approach worked with Hyntner's 1993 CAROUSEL at the Vivian Beaumont, but OLIVER! is another matter, I think.

Updated On: 4/21/07 at 03:48 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 6:10pm

If you actually LISTEN to the dialogue of the play, it is clear that Nancy is supposed to be no older than early 20's. At one point, she says to Oliver, "I've been working for Fagin since I was your age". Later, Fagin says, "Nancy's been with me for nearly twelve years". If Oliver is 10, Nancy is 22.

As discussed in another thread, OLIVER was certainly NOT the first show to use a turntable.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 6:43pm

Nancy may be written as old (gah! I meant young!), but on stage I really don't think the actress has to be young. I mean, Georgia Brown was at least thirty years old when she did it on Broadway and Sally Dexter was 34 when she did it in the Mackintosh London revival. Even though she would be past 40 I love Broadway audiences to see Dexter's interpretation of Sally, but that is unrealistic. The one person I want to see do it is Daphne Rubin-Vega, but after the press she got from Les Miserables it will never happen. I never thought about Audra before and BobbyBubby, I absolutely love the idea! If not her then Marin Mazzie (who reads younger on stage) would be the ideal, American, Nancy.

P.S. BobbyBubby- Even though it is not Broadway we will get to have Ruthie Henshall back on stage for the last Encore show (Stairway To Paradise).


Updated On: 4/22/07 at 06:43 PM

[Doogie]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 7:51pm

If we could Emily Skinner could (again) lose a little, she would be fabulous.

Hey Al Dente, Orfeh would actually work here!

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 9:06pm

In response to Nancy's age: Shani Wallis was an incredible Nancy in the movie, my personal favorite, and she was in her early 30's when she did the role. Nancy doesn't have to be the actual 17 years old as written in the novel, we can look at any actress under 35 as far as I'm concerned.

I absolutely adore the movie (one of my all time favorites) but the show, not so much. Literally every five seconds there's a song that's usually not needed. I hate "I Shall Scream", "That's Your Funeral", "My Name" and the incredibly long "It's a Fine Life Reprise" and thought that the movie was smart for not including them. As far as I'm concerned, the show is slowed down because of those songs and "Oom Pah Pah", though a great number, was far less, well, random in the movie than it was on stage.

I guess this means I would rather the revival be more faithful to the film than to the original show. But I have no problem with that belief. As I've stated, the movie's better than the show anyway.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 9:57pm

Shows like "Oliver" and "Annie" don't really need Broadway revivals because there is always some group doing it because it's a show that you can bring children to.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 4/21/07 at 11:47pm

I've never been a fan of the show...but I'd rather have this than a Spider-Man musical...or would I? Hmmmm....

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 1:27pm

I disagree that the movie of OLIVER! is superior to the stage version. As I mentioned earlier, the film is too long and of course does not have the excitement of live entertainment. And it is possible that the score might be trimmed for any revival. Incidentally, the score won the Tony that year.

As for the use of the turntable, I remember that in 1963 the "Unit Set" on the massive turntable was discussed as being original and ingenious and the set designer Sean Kenny was singled out for praise: "Handsome and imaginative in themselves, the sets designed by the brilliant young Irishman, whose work has put him at the head of his profession in the London theatre, have a functional deftness that enables the performance to move smoothly and rapidly. What is more important, though, is the pictorial excitement with which they capture the dramatic quality of the raffish slums of Victorian London."(Richard Watts, critic for the NY Post.) Sean Kenny won the Tony that year.

Updated On: 4/22/07 at 01:27 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 1:43pm

Well, no one "needs" a revival of anything but I would love to see a first-rate production of ANNIE or OLIVER! on Broadway than a terribly mediocre production in Hackensack, NJ.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 2:15pm

I disagree that the movie is too long. I think that the length is just fine, and it uses that length to fulyl develop some of the characters, which I think the musical doesn't do at all with the slight exception of Fagin during "Reviewing the Situation".

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 3:11pm

I think that the character of Oliver is very well developed, both in the script and in his songs, starting with "Oliver", continuing with the haunting "Where is Love?", "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" and "Who Will Buy?"

What production of OLIVER! did you see, Wicked? I'm talking about the OBC of 1963 and a London production that I saw in the 1980's.

Updated On: 4/22/07 at 03:11 PM

[ahmelie]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 3:29pm

Patti LuPone was 35 when she played the role, so I don't think age is a huuuge issue.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 4:01pm

Well, no one "needs" a revival of anything but I would love to see a first-rate production of ANNIE or OLIVER! on Broadway than a terribly mediocre production in Hackensack, NJ.

Couldn't agree more with you, Munk, particularly when you consider the casting choices and production values that a Broadway production can afford.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 4:38pm

Gypsy- I've seen two regional productions in my youth and fell upon the material last year when I had to choreograph it for my high school. While reading the script, I found it to be a lovely little show, but I didn't find the character of Oliver developed, nor Nancy, Bill (I'm sorry, but "My Name" is a laughable song), and the Artful Dodger. The ending is forced and so many things are unexplained. For example, anyone who hasn't read the novel, would not know who the hell Bill Sykes is in the show until Act 2 because his name is mentioned a few times in Act 1 without any explanation.

I'm sure the original production was great, but as a show, it is flawed by undeveloped characters and too many juicy dramatic moments are ruined by having the character go into song.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 4:50pm

Wickedfan- have you heard the 1994 London Revival recording? I promise you My Name will send chills down your spine. That recording is really worth a listen.