The real drama was backstage at the Leah Posluns theatre Saturday night. It was the opening of The Yorkminstrel's production of Lionel Bart's OLIVER!   Mere hours before the performance, Kelly Lovatt found out that she would be playing the role of the doomed Nancy. She was a last-minute substitute for an ailing Lainie Bines.  Lovatt wowed the audience with her powerful voice, solid acting and magnetic stage presence. She proved to be one of the great joys of this production.

Another is young Shawn Molko as Oliver.  Shawn, though only nine years old, has a crystal clear voice, which he uses to great effect in the first act solo "Where is Love." He also has a winsome face and the capability to light up the stage whenever he appears. So it is crime that the staging relegates him to the background in several crowd scenes.

OLIVER! has always been a problematic musical due to its awkward construction. The show places several songs together in one scene only to be followed by a number of long book scenes. The cheerfully optimistic songs are frequently at odds with the dark subject matter and often have little to do with the plot.

To really work effectively the book scenes have to build tension as the story heads towards its dramatic finale.  The slow pacing and the clumsy scene changes in this production rob the final scenes of their power. 

There are missed opportunities in this OLIVER!  The director and choreographer could blend the scene changes into the numbers.  For example, in  "Consider Yourself" we could move through the streets of London to Fagin's lair. Here, it seems as if director Sarah Kitz and choreographer Chris Stanois have each staked out their own territories. A number like "Who Will Buy?" which cries out for musical staging is given a flat uninspired presentation. The singers just stand there singing at us with no movement at all.

Stanois has staged some inventive routines, notably the lively "Oom-pah-pah" the opens the second half, and Kitz coaxes some fine performances from the leads but somehow the show just never gels into a cohesive whole.

It's a shame because lost in the shuffle are some fine performances. In addition to Molko and Lovatt, Micha Baltman is a particularly nimble Artful Dodger; Harvey Cooperberg serves up a show stoppng "Reviewing the Situation" as Fagin; and Clive Gomperts offers a broad comic Mr. Bumble. The orchestra, under the direction of Keith Bohlender, provides excellent accompaniment and Bruce Jackson's sound design keeps the singers in the forefront.

All the elements are there but as the second act progresses, the production falls flat. I think they better think it out again.

The York minstrels present OLIVER! at the Leah Posluns theatre, 4588 Bathurst Street. Performances are at 8 PM April 27-29 with 2 PM matinees on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 & 30.  For tickets call 416-291-0600.

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