OLIVER!

at the Redondo Beach

Performing Arts Center

The 15-year-old Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities has resumed mounting large-scale musicals, following two years during which, due to budgetary challenges, it offered touring productions. The venerable group rises to the occasion with an Oliver! that's as pleasurable as a festive Yorkshire pudding with a cherry on top. Lionel Bart's beloved tuner, a London and Broadway stage hit that was parlayed into a 1968 Oscar-winning best picture, is an inspired adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist. Director-choreographer Jon Engstrom achieves a fresh and vibrant rendition of this classic.

Setting the tone of frivolity mixed with darker elements is a sumptuous production design, capturing the intoxicating Dickensian ambiance. The uncredited set is breathtakingly beautiful, highlighted by a picturesque backdrop of 1850 London and multipurpose rotating steps, enabling fluid scene shifts. Ambra Wakefield's lush costumes impart an authentic period feel, and Darrell Clark's lighting design heightens the dramatic tension.

With few exceptions, the performances are flawless. None is more impressive than Misty Cotton's bravura portrayal of the fiery heroine, Nancy. A bundle of plucky energy, she leads the rousing "It's a Fine Life" and "Oom-Pah-Pah" and unearths the passion and irony in the splendid ballad "As Long as He Needs Me," epitomizing the juxtaposed elements of joy and degradation at the heart of this tale.

The 11-year-old Quintan Craig, boasting a quietly sweet singing voice, perfectly captures the endearing innocence and resiliency of the title character—a victim but never a pushover. As Oliver's newfound pal, the cagey Artful Dodger, Caden Michael Gray is a sprightly song-and-dance man. Stephen Breithaupt is hilariously rascally as the greedy crime ringleader, Fagin, though he occasionally slurs words and lyrics, a problem shared by Robert Clink, who gives an otherwise capable performance as the dastardly Bill Sykes.

Purists will justifiably balk at the decision to integrate the orphanage and Fagin's den of pickpockets with distaff members. What's next, a co-ed Annie? The apparently wide age range and disparate heights of the young actors is likewise distracting. Standouts in other roles are Stephen Reynolds as the opportunistic orphanage head, Mr. Bumble; Monica Smith's coquettish Widow Corney; and Dink O'Neal in a wonderful double turn as the crotchety undertaker and a doddering physician.

Engstrom keeps the densely plotted story moving briskly and pulls off dazzling production numbers. Music director Steven Smith helms a crackerjack orchestra. This vintage musical treasure sparkles anew in CLOSBC's enchanting Yuletide-season treat.

Presented by Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach. Tue.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Dec. 2-17. (310) 372-4477. www.civiclightopera.com.

Reviewed by Les Spindle