OLIVER!

[ERinVA]

Is there a new link for the rest of this casting info, please?

[jon01]

Links to the Oliver! UK Tour Cast info:

http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatr ... 21+Tour%2C


http://oliverthemusical.com/the-show/tour-casting/


Jon

[ERinVA]

Thanks.

[jon01]

I attended the first performance of the UK Oliver! Tour in Cardiff on Saturday December 10th

The WMC in Cardiff is a huge venue, my first time here, it's not easy to find the correct entrance to your seat amongst all the lifts, stairs, shops and restaurants!

My view from the second row in the stalls was very good, there was a full house in this massive auditorium. The sound quality and acoustics are the best I have heard in a theatre, although it could be different high up in the balconies. This place has the best legroom and seats I have ever experienced!

Warning: There are a few small spoilers about the set below!

The set is a brand new design and worked quite well, it is scaled down from the Drury Lane production as one would expect, but they have not used the modern trends of projections and LED screens, which I feel would not of worked in this show. In the opening number of 'Food Glorious Food' there are two small tables, compared to the large three in the West End, so the number of orphans has halved to 24, but they still made a rousing performance of the number. Fagin's Den slides in from both sides, but the entrance is now a door, rather than a lid in the street, the door is high above the Den on one of the two timber towers that occupy the stage sides, they both contain staircases and a lot of the scenes slide through them on trucks from the wings. There is a bridge that drops down for some scenes and a brand new background for 'Who Will Buy?' Despite the changes, the show is still spectacular with a total cast of around 50 that fill the stage for the big numbers. There is a big change to the way Bill Sikes is killed, which worked rather well and 'Who Will Buy' has been reworked with a small circus tent and some small explosives in the magic show. At times, I felt that I was sitting in the West End, it was that good!

The set can be seen in this video, where it was used for the Belgian/Dutch production a year ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etj9cphY0lQ

On to the cast, it was an impressive performance for a first public performance. Neil Morrissey was not on a par with Griff Rhys Jones or Rowan Atkinson, but he delivered the goods and has added a few new humorous lines and jokes here and there, I'm sure that he will get better given time. Samantha Barks is the perfect Nancy package, she has a beautiful voice and looked really at home with the role. Great to see Stephen Moore back as Brownlow. Jack Edwards seemed to be enjoying playing Bumble, he got a good reaction from the audience, with Suzie Chard as Widow Corney we have the perfect pantomime couple. Iain Fletcher as Sikes was ok, but not as frightening as those in the West End. There are three teams of Fagin's Gang, Tanners, Farthings and Shillings. Tanners went on for the first show and they were all excellent. Quite a few of the gang members performed at Drury Lane or have recently been in other West End shows and Matilda in Stratford. There are two teams of 12 Workhouse Kids, these consist of local children. I saw 13 year old Will Edden as Dodger, he was one of the original Nippers in London and has just finished playing the role of Gavroche in the West End, so a very experienced performer, he is quite small, but he was clearly enjoying playing the role and his acting and singing were first class. The role of Oliver was also played by a recent Gavroche from Les Mis, 9 year old Sebastian Croft. He is about the same height as Will Edden and had a lovely clear voice, I couldn't fault his performance, he was loud and quiet in all the right places and was clearly relieved at the finale displaying some dancing moves, giving us the impression that it had all gone very well!

So, the tour has got off to a fantastic start and is highly recommended

Jon

[Muppet]

Thanks for the review jon01.

My main worry was how much they would 'scale down' the production for the tour.

I have tickets booked for Manchester in February, so am looking forward to seeing it again!

[jon01]

I have permission to post this news:

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Gwion-Wyn Jones has recently ended his long journey performing as Oliver whilst on the Manchester leg of the UK Tour. Nature has taken it's course and it's time for him to move on, we wish him all the best and I'm certain that we will see him performing again in the near future


Jon

[jon01]

It has been announced that Cat Simmons will take over from Samantha Barks as Nancy from April 3rd on the UK Oliver! Tour

http://blog.musicaltheatrenews.com/2012 ... barks.html


Jon

[Muppet]

I caught the show in Manchester a few weeks back. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. It was an absolutely great production despite the scaled down set and cast.

Samantha Barks, who is quite possibly my favourite actress, was superb as Nancy, so it's a shame for all those who will miss her in the role.

We had Sebastian Croft as Oliver, who was definitely one of the best and most 'expressive' I've seen. Also had Max Greisbach as Artful Dodger who was pretty good too.

I thought Neil Morrissey did a fairly good job as Fagin too, but once you've seen Rowan Atkinson in the role, no-one quite compares in my opinion!

Go catch it on tour if you can!

[Dancer]

Go catch it on tour if you can!

I will be, in Norwich in July! Brian Conley should be Fagin and Cat Simmons should be Nancy. Really looking forward to it . I see that Stevie Hutchinson plays Noah Claypole and I saw him a couple of times as Tony in Billy.

[jon01]

Ex-Nipper, Daniel Huttlestone, has landed the role of Gavroche in the forthcoming musical film version of Les Misérables

Well done to him!

http://screenterrier.blogspot.com/2012/ ... e.html?m=1