The stage at the Vanity Theater transforms into Victorian-era London this weekend for the opening of “Oliver!” — Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ second novel, Oliver Twist, published in 1837.
The film adaptation of Bart’s musical was wildly successful, taking home six Academy Awards. The Vanity’s production of “Oliver!” runs Friday through Sunday and Dec. 8-10 under the direction of John Blair with choreography by Stefanie Deaton.
“Oliver!” follows the story of young orphan Oliver Twist (Hutton Haas) who was born into a workhouse, the central theme of Dickens novel and a noteworthy political statement at the time, as he navigates the streets of London with a group of orphans, including the Artful Dodger (Thomas Bowling), under the tutelage of the thief Fagin (Sam Deck) and his menacing accomplice Bill Sikes (Nik Beller, a Vanity veteran making his comeback after over 16 years of absence).
Dickens wasn’t as big of an influence for Blair as Bart’s interpretation was.
“Bart never read the book,” Blair said, “but saw the movie and wrote the script, music and designed the set. This production is more of a love letter to Bart’s work.
“I conducted extensive research for the show by watching all of the movie versions of Oliver and tried to highlight the strengths present in Bart’s work,” he added.
“Oliver!” sports classic songs like “Who Will Buy?,” “Food Glorious Food” and “It’s a Fine Life.”
While a classically beloved show like “Oliver!” usually provides a sense of familiarity for the crew staging it, Blair said some of the new challenges that accompanied the process.
“Getting period costumes was a challenge and working on dialect was a big part of bringing the show together,” he said. “Planning a week at a time has been difficult, but everyone has been very accommodating.”
Coming off her Chicago debut in Rebecca Gilman’s Twilight Bowl at the Goodman Theater, Blair described actress Mary Taylor as being the jack-of-all-trades during production, acting as costume designer, dialect coach and the choreographer for all fight scenes.
“I can be judgmental towards period pieces as far as costumes go,” Taylor said, “but now that I’m doing costumes it’s become something in terms of what works best for the scene, especially with a cast of 80.”
Blair said a lot of communication between the cast, crew and director has helped make the show a success.
Actress Drae Beller, who plays Charlotte, said the show is a heartwarming story.
“Everyone should try to come see it because we have all worked incredibly hard to make this show the best version of itself that it can be,” she said.
The Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m., with the Sunday show starting at 5 p.m. due to the Christmas parade and the Dec. 10 show beginning at 2 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.sugarcreekplayers.org or by leaving a message at 765-362-7077 .
Tickets are also available 3-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before performances at the box office, 122 S. Washington St.
