Theatre--Review (Firelight Performing Arts)

Last night (May 15) I went with friends to see the penultimate performance of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, produced by Firelight Performing Arts, the brain child of Laura and Ray Blum.  Since Firelight is a sort of training ground for young, some very young, protothespians, the playing space is modest and the young cast pretty much unfamiliar (to me, anyway) I didn’t know what to expect.

What a hoot and a delight!  The cast, with the exception of the geezers, were adorable and talented.  I am sure “adorable” because of their moms and dads.  But the total product- including dancing, singing, acting, set and costume changes- was the creation of Laura and Ray.  The performance I saw was throughly enjoyable with no pregnant pauses.  Since Oliver! had twelve performances with several parts double (or even triple) cast, one can marvel at the Blums' handling of the logistical problems.

Since I have appeared on stage with several of the “geezers” I don’t want to ignore them (we just aren’t adorable).  They did wonderful pro bono work to flesh out the musical.  Laura Blum (Nancy) has a wonderful voice and was “sweet”.  Vincent Barras (Fagin) has (had) a wonderful beard and was “slimy”.  Jackie Robinson (Bill Sykes) was just downright “evil”.  Ray Blum was just standing and smiling throughout like everyone’s favorite uncle.

Anyway, the whole evening was enjoyable to me and I had no nephew or niece in the show.

---Robert D. Sidman