Palace reimagines Oliver!
By Michael Witthaus
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Musical theater season opened at the Palace Theatre on Sept. 6 with a timeless Tony winner, Oliver! With an ensemble cast significantly drawn from the Palace’s youth program, it was also a continuation of a summer effort that included “Jr.” productions of Willy Wonka, Little Mermaid and Moana at the downtown venue.
The Palace’s annual slate of musicals — this year’s include Jersey Boys, Piano Men, Escape to Margaritaville, Jesus Christ Superstar and A Chorus Line — is a shining example of quality professional theater, and the city of Manchester deserves to be proud. The first production continues their winning streak.
The story of an orphan’s travails in Victorian London was given a makeover by director Carl Rajotte, a steampunk motif with shiny colorful costumes designed by Jessica Moryl. Some of the inspired touches included a coat worn by villain Bill Sikes (Jacob Medich) festooned with cogs and gears, along with a top hat wrapped in goggles.
Avery Allaire is brilliant in the title role, quite a feat for the young actress, who was present in nearly every scene. Her heart-rending performance of “Where Is Love” was a show highlight, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Another young actor delivering a star turn was Chris Montesanto, most recently seen in The Prom, as The Artful Dodger.
Oliver! has some difficult moments, touching topics like human trafficking and domestic violence, but its book is packed with enough joyous songs like “Consider Yourself” and “It’s a Fine Life” to rise above it. There are enough moments of peril for its various characters for the audience to know the source material comes from Dickens.
The undeniable star of the show is Palace veteran Jay Falzone in the role of Fagin, the irascible ringmaster of the young pickpocket gang that Oliver is recruited into after being discharged from an orphanage and sold to an undertaker he later escapes from. Falzone balances Fagin’s avarice with his love for the kids in his sway, delivering plenty of laughs along the way.
The love/hate relationship between Mr. Bumble (Cody Taylor) and Mrs. Corney (Jill Pennington), who run the orphanage, provides ongoing hilarity. Longtime Palace alum Michelle Rajotte also shines as Nancy, navigating her brutal relationship with Sykes and delivering one of the show’s best vocal performances, “As Long As He Needs Me.”
Most impressive are the young actors in the cast, who handled challenging choreography assignments flawlessly and performed as a chorus with the skill of professionals. Also remarkable are on-stage musicians who augment the orchestra with violins and horns played with both precision and attitude.
Director Rajotte said after the opening night performance that a new group of kids will be on stage each weekend, through the show’s closing Sept. 29, noting that all of the PYT actors began rehearsing in mid-August. “On Wednesday, we do their costume fittings and get them up on stage to rehearse again,” he said.
Rajotte chose the steampunk costume and staging direction after re-reading Dickens’ Oliver Twist.
“Everyone should read a Dickens novel,” he said. “I found myself wondering what an 11-year-old would think reading this. That pushed me to sci-fi, and that’s what steampunk is about in the Victorian age. I thought that a child’s imagination would go that way if they were reading it chapter by chapter. That’s when we went full throttle.”
Oliver! is special, Rajotte continued. Like Phil Collins, the Monkees’ Davy Jones and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, each of whom played the Artful Dodger in their teens, he experienced it as a springboard. “It was my first professional show as a kid as a performer,” he said. “I was the understudy for Oliver and Dodger, and I was a pickpocket. I just love it so much. This is my fifth time; I’ve directed it three times.”
Oliver!
When: Through Sept. 29. Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester
Tickets: $45 and up at palacetheatre.org
Featured image: Photo by Michael Witthaus.
