Oliver! won multiple Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe awards when it debuted both on Broadway in 1963 and as a film in 1968. Prominent among those awards were the ones for its score by Lionel Bart, featuring such memorable songs as Consider Yourself, Food Glorious Food and I’d do Anything.
Director Patrick Tierney works with young cast members.
Now, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights is highlighting the score and its famous songs with Oliver! A Staged Concert. The show opens Jan. 21 and runs through Feb. 8.
“A staged musical typically focuses on the music and orchestrations a bit more than we can do in production,” says Johanna McKenzie Miller, Artistic Director.
“The size of the orchestra is one major difference. Here at Metropolis, it would be a big challenge to have a full set and 26 pieces in the orchestra just given the size of our space,” she adds. “So with a staged concert we can get the full original orchestrations that we love from a golden age musical, the glorious voices, and fully realized scene work from the talented actors.”
Patrick Tierney directs the musical, bringing his acting experience on stage at Metropolis to his directing of this unique show.
“The great thing about a staged concert is that it allows the focus to really be on the words and music,” Tierney says. “Yes, I love a flashy costume and set as much as the next person, but that’s not what we’re presenting here. What we are presenting is the Oliver score as it was originally intended, but so rarely done.
“We have 26 musicians playing the show as it was originally written,” he adds. “How cool is that!? It is a very rare and special thing indeed.”
The 26 musicians playing Lionel Bart’s award winning songs are part of the JAM Orchestra, led by Aaron Kaplan, its conductor, artistic director and co-founder. The orchestra also performed in Metropolis’ last two staged concerts, including Mary Poppins last year and The Music Man in 2024.
Music Director Aaron Kaplan rehearses for an earlier show with the JAM Orchestra.
Oliver! A Staged Concert is the result of a partnership between the theater and the Metropolis School of the Performing Arts. Consequently, the cast includes 17 adults and 26 children, who are all students from the school.
“This collaboration is an opportunity for our students to work with professional actors, a professional director and music director as well as sing with a full orchestra,” McKenzie Miller says. “Many professional adult singers can go their entire career without that opportunity.
“Our students get to witness firsthand what it takes to be a professional actor,” she adds, “the amount of prep that goes in at rehearsal, the level of attention and the expectations of what that means.”
Tiffany Gates formerly served as education director at the Metropolis School of the Performing Arts and she is thrilled to feature the school’s talented students on stage.
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