Tokyo Performances

Oliver

Tokyo International Players
May 14

The TIP productions can be a crap shoot, but this was very good. Although Oliver is not close to being my favorite musical, this production milked it for all it was worth and in the end came up a great success.

The cast was strong - Oliver himself, played by Andres Clark, was perfect and nearly miraculous given that the boy is nine years old and this is a totally volunteer company. He was engaging and unselfconscious. The other strong character was Nancy played by Caitlin Kelly. She has an excellent voice, and her portrayal was quite touching.

Usually I am easily distracted during these productions, but this evening I remained focused and engaged. The direction was close to flawless and the acting was a cut above the usual standard - nuanced and subtle, not overwrought as has often been the case.

The set should be mentioned - a backdrop of a London cityscape was quite beautiful. A good night at the theater.

posted by Larry Wells @ 6:56 PM