Young Performers Take The Spotlight In Drury Lane's Oliver!
By Melody Udell in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 16, 2013 3:30PM
The young orphans in Drury Lane's Oliver! dreaming of seconds. Photo courtesy Drury Lane.
Rachel Rockwell, who directed a glorious reimagining of Annie at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora last year, might as well be the kid whisperer. Her penchant for finding talented kiddos and showcasing their abilities on stage is nothing short of impressive, and that’s especially true in her newest show, Oliver! Rockwell’s retelling of that infamous orphan is transporting the audience at Drury Lane Oakbrook to Dickensian London eight shows a week. But if you’re looking for a plucky, more optimistic staging of down-on-their-luck street urchins, look elsewhere. — Rockwell’s take is darker, more honest and immensely more satisfying. Consider yourself lucky.
The show starts by introducing us to a gaggle of 10-year-olds daydreaming of “Food, Glorious Food” within the confines of a dreary orphanage. The kid performers are as close to perfection as they can get without seeming robotic. Thankfully, Rockwell's choreography isn’t just diluted adult moves, it’s refreshingly kid-appropriate — there’s a youthful energy to all that jumping around and banging spoons against bowls. The remarkably voiced Brady Tutton is heartbreakingly vulnerable as Oliver, who gets sold into servitude after politely asking for just a little more morning gruel. He eventually makes his way to the streets of London (with iconic Victorian-esqe set design by Kevin Depinet), where a spunky trickster called the Artful Dodger takes him under his wing. J.D. Rodriguez’s Dodger commands the spotlight with his spirited version of “Consider Yourself.” Somehow, Dodger is both loveable and shrewd as he introduces Oliver to a gang of young pick-pocketers led by an old criminal named Fagin (John Reeger).
Lucikly, Oliver meets the kind-hearted Nancy (Heidi Kettenring), who’s a bit hardened from her own childhood spent on the street. Perhaps that’s the reason Nancy can’t seem to leave her abusive boyfriend, Bill Sikes (John Gawlik). As the stand-out adult performer in a show full of talented kiddos, Kettenring sings the power ballad “As Long as He Needs Me” without apology. But Oliver and Nancy form a connection, even as other relationships in their lives (Oliver and Fagin, Nancy and Bill) are tenuous at best. The final dramatic scene might be a dark one, but there’s a glimmer of light that shines within the intrepid Oliver, reminding us that it is indeed, a pretty fine life.
The Drury Lane Theatre is at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Box Office: 630-530-0111. Tickets on sale now.