Oliver

Because I am a student and cannot afford a regular prized theatrical ticket ($30-$90) my friend Mika and I went to the Pay-What-You-Can performance of OLIVER. I usually don’t write reviews, but I will make an exception for there is much to say about the set up of Pay-What-You-Can.

The way they have this set up is so annoying that if it wasn’t for my mammoth desire to see this production, I wouldn’t have gone. You have to arrive at 3:00 pm to pick up a numbered wrist band and then return at 7:00 pm to get your ticket. Tickets are granted by wrist band numerical order. Therefore if you want to guarantee a ticket, you have to show up well before 3:00. I got there around 1:40 pm and was pretty close to the front of the line. Approximately 40 people were in front of me. However because I was waiting for my friend, Mika, I couldn’t save her a spot in line. Thus I had to stay at the end of the line until she got there; which turned out to be an hour later. Fortunately there were 175 tickets to be sold so we ended up getting two tickets.

I finally quit being the caboose when I met two fun and interesting ladies. We ended up talking for a while and then Mika came. Instead of going to the back of the line, Mika snuck in line with us. It’s funny though, for the rest of the night, people knew who we were. I was the girl that was forced to be the caboose and Mika was the friend who was late than I.

As alluded to earlier, while I waited in line, I met two chatty, yet pleasant ladies. They were as excited for this production as I was. One of the ladies was actually there to see the dog perform. They informed me that auditions were held for the role of Reggie the dog. In the end, a 7 month old bull dog-bull massive got the part. I guess the pup was born to act. However, to my disappointment and others, the pup did not perform. I wonder if it was a sudden case of stage fright or a sickness. Or maybe he lost his voice and couldn’t rise to the occasion. It’s too bad, I was really excited to see the acting capabilities of this dog.

Most children have either read or seen some kind of production of Olive; but some how I have not. It only took me 26+ years to see it. Throughout the play I was contiuously overwhelmed and extremely impressed with the set design, casting, and overall production. The casting was excellent for everybody did a great job and sung beautifully. With that said, one actress stood out. Pamela Gordon, who played Nancy, had an excellent voice which made you want to hear more. One of the ladies that I met actually raved about her and told me that she never misses her shows. Wow, I can see why! Now, I really wish I could say the same thing for Mark McClintock’s (he played Oliver) voice. Mind you, he was a wonderful actor, but his vocal cords were not up to par. I found that when he was trying to hit the higher notes he couldn’t sing loud enough and ended up trailing off. However, his voice was youthful and innocent; which is what you would expect from a young boy.

Since moving to Edmonton, I have experienced various theatrical productions such as: Live Opera, Live Opera viewed at a Cineplex (premier of “The First Emperor”), musicals, and plays. I would have to say that I prefer musicals over the others by far. They are more lively and energetic. In particular, I really love the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”! All-in-all, I would recommend the musical, Oliver, to everyone.