Buy tickets for the musical "Oliver Twist". "The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Oliver Twist" at the Theater

The Natalia Sats Children's Musical Theater celebrates its 50th anniversary with the premiere of the musical “The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Oliver Twist.” In our unsentimental times, Dickens is generally considered a writer for teenagers. Artistic director Georgy Isaakyan thought differently: “a coming-of-age novel” little man able to unite all generations. The world famous musical "Oliver!" British composer Lionel Bart - in the 60s it was successfully performed on Broadway. However, our own "Oliver Twist" is a completely original work. They tell

The scenery for this story is familiar: monumental models of London streets, interiors of English pubs, prim Victorian living rooms - everything that Charles Dickens described in his book, and everything that hundreds of theater artists subsequently tried to reproduce. But as soon as the first artist appears on stage, it becomes clear that surprises are worth expecting from this musical!

Charles Dickens told this story about a street boy almost 200 years ago. The novel literally blew up the British public. For the first time, the main character of the book was a child. But on stage, well-made-up adults were increasingly hiding under the mask of little Oliver. Everything is in its place in this musical. Children's roles are performed by 25 young artists. Representatives of the older generation feel slightly dizzy from such proximity on stage.

“It’s very difficult to be organic with them. Because you turn to them as if they were an adult, but he seems to be in another dimension! They are characters, they have personalities, they act and will probably even come to the fore!” - says Honored Artist of Russia Nikolai Petrenko.

The young artists went through serious tests. First, casting, where about 400 children took part, then daily classes in vocals, choreography, and acting. In total, about a hundred children were selected for the musical; they will perform in several ensembles.

“Even the last two rehearsal weeks are every day from morning to evening. They have a school, a home, parents, a family, the child’s body is not adapted to a 24-hour stay in the theater, so they change, alternate,” explains stage director Georgy Isaakyan.

Oliver Twist is played by ten-year-old Natasha Kaidalova. This is her first time as a boy. It was not easy to get used to the role. “It’s very difficult to find a boy like Oliver. He is very kind and meek. He’s not like everyone else on the inside!” - she clarifies.

The dynamic music for the performance was created by composer Alexander Tchaikovsky, libretto and lyrics by Lev Yakovlev.

“I don’t really like musicals that are staged as a show, although it’s nice to watch! But not more! And here I just wanted to excite the child, so that as soon as the performance is over, he would go home and start thinking about it,” noted the poet Lev Yakovlev.

And after the musical there will be something to think about. Charles Dickens touched on a lot in his immortal novel social problems- orphanhood, crime, child labor, indifference of adults. Although the performance is still kept within the framework of the English classics, it has an optimistic ending.

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Yesterday my daughter (13) and I visited the Natalia Sats Musical Theatre. For some reason, it was the Sats Theater that remained out of sight for me all the time - I myself had never been to it as a child, and my children and I “discovered” it quite recently, we went to see “Swan Lake”.
Again we admired his, I would even say, greatness: so huge, bright, beautiful, children's theater! Amazing!
Yesterday, in the foyer on the bridges, guests were greeted by practically residents of old England :).
It’s very well thought out and immediately puts you in a certain mood. As lyrical digression- probably typical modern teenager- not an inveterate reader at all, but a kind of child of gadgets. Therefore, it turned out to be very useful for us that the program also contains a very briefly formulated " the main idea" works, and a full libretto.
Before the start of the performance, the little girl managed to get acquainted with summary. However, before the curtain opened, Roxana Satz herself came on stage and told what the musical was about.
I don’t know, it’s unlikely that this happens every time, but now the musical is dedicated to the 205th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens...

And finally the show began. You know, a well-staged musical on a huge stage, accompanied by an orchestra, is very, very impressive. Everything is wonderful - from the scenery (the world of old England) to the light. The music, naturally, is beyond praise: firstly, it was written by the famous Russian composer Alexander Tchaikovsky specifically for the theater, and secondly, I repeat - the orchestra!
By the way, it suddenly turned out that the composer’s name is familiar to me (and in general I’m completely ignorant about this) - not so long ago at the Chamber Theater. Pokrovsky watched the opera-phantasmagoria “Violist Danilov”, also written by Alexander Tchaikovsky.

Yesterday they played: Oliver - Nastya Naumkina, Artful Dodger - Timofey Govorun, Handsome - Ian Liburg, Fagin - Alexander Tselinko, Harry - Pyotr Sizov, Grimwig - Boris Shcherbakov, Monks - Timofey Kryukov, Policeman - Igor Kuznetsov, Rose - Maria Smirnova, Nancy - Elena Chesnokova, Oliver's Mom (voice) - Lyudmila Bodrova, Mr. Bumble - Yuri Dainekin, Mrs. Korni - Lyudmila Maksumova and others (a lot characters, Very).

Nastya Naumkina turned out to be a wonderful, touching Oliver :). And the girl definitely has good self-control and professionalism: despite a couple of hiccups, she coped with the situation perfectly, so my daughter didn’t even notice one moment :). I really, really liked the Artful Dodger (Timofey Govorun) - Bravo! Handsome (Jan Liburg) is also beautiful, and what’s great is really handsome:).

I was very impressed that there were as many as four names in the program for the role of Oliver’s mother, and Oliver’s mother was only a voice behind the stage! To be honest, I was sure that this was a recording (well, it’s just logical!) - but it turns out that it wasn’t. I really liked Fagin (Alexander Tselinko), the audience almost started dancing with him :).

Two and a half hours flew by, we really, really enjoyed it! In my opinion, this production wonderfully conveys the atmosphere of the work, and is generally ideal for getting to know the story of Oliver. The only thing is that on the tickets it says 12+, on the theater’s page it’s 8+, and in my opinion, children under the age of ten will be simply bored - the story itself is simply not for kids. Although there were some very, very kindergarten children in the audience.

By the way, a separate portion of my admiration for the theater for organizing bows and giving flowers: at some point, the audience with flowers was allowed onto the stage and for a couple of minutes there was a joyful floral chaos, because there were a lot of flowers and a lot of artists.

The musical "Oliver!" (Oliver!) was written in 1960 by British composer and librettist Lionel Bart. As has happened more than once with shows that were destined to win the love of the public for many years, its author did not immediately manage to find a producer. In the case of “Oliver!”, which is based on the first part of Dickens’s novel “Oliver Twist,” the London impresarios were not satisfied with the too dark plot. However, in the end, luck smiled on 28-year-old Bart: an amateur recording of the musical performed by Lionel and his friends was heard by producer Donald Albury. He immediately sensed significant potential in the musical and began staging it.

A young talented team worked on the performance. The impressive sets and costumes, recreating the atmosphere of Victorian England, were designed by Sheen Kenny. Directing was entrusted to Peter Coe. The rehearsal period became a real torment for the actors - not a day passed without changes being made to the text or music. And yet the premiere took place on the scheduled day - June 30, 1960.

"Oliver!" takes viewers back more than a hundred years. The action begins in an orphanage - also known as a workhouse. The boys walk in formation to the dinner table. They dream of delicious food, but all they get is thin oatmeal. Having eaten his tiny portion, one of them - Oliver Twist - dares to ask for more. The head of the orphanage, Mr. Bumble, becomes furious and decides to sell the obstinate boy as an apprentice. Oliver is bought by Mr. Sowerbury, the undertaker. The apprentice, hired before Oliver, mistreats the boy. One day, offended by the insult inflicted on his late mother, the boy hits back at his tormentor. Oliver is punished, but he manages to escape, and, after many days of travel, he ends up in London.

London overwhelms the boy with its noise and bustle. Here, Oliver is taken under the wing of the Artful Dodger, one of the main thieves of an entire gang, commanded by pickpocket master Feigin. The Dodger thinks that Oliver will suit them, and he invites him with him. In the den of thieves, Oliver meets Fagin, who explains to Oliver what he needs to do if he wants to stay with them - he must learn to rummage through his pockets. The boys show him how it's done. Beth and Nancy appear, a kind, broken girl, girlfriend of the formidable thief Bill Sikes. Nancy sings that this life is also beautiful, and risk only adds charm to it.

The next morning, Feigin sends his charges “to work” and tells them to return as soon as possible. Oliver begins his criminal career with the Artful Dodger, who snatches Mr. Brownlow's wallet. The thief manages to escape, and Oliver is captured by the police. Sikes is afraid that Oliver will report their gang to the police, and orders Nancy to return him. Nancy loves Sikes no matter what, so she, albeit reluctantly, agrees to find Oliver. Mr. Brownlow got Oliver released and took him to his home in Bloomsbury. But this bright and joyful life does not last long. Oliver is sent on an errand and is caught on the street by Nancy and Sikes. Oliver ends up with Fagin again.

Sikes takes the money from Oliver that Mr. Brownlow gave him to carry out the assignment and threatens him; Nancy stands up for the boy. Sikes and Nancy get into a heated argument, Fagin tries to calm them down. He sends the boys off to work and begins to wonder if it's time for him to give up his life as a criminal.

Meanwhile, the widow Corney, now Mr. Bumble's wife, learns from the dying words of an old woman that Oliver is the son of a rich woman who died as soon as he was born. From the name medallion it becomes known that she is the daughter of Mr. Brownlow, who ran away from home. Bumble and Widow Corny decide to visit Mr. Brownlow and demand money from him for information about Oliver. Having heard the whole story, Mr. Brownlow is outraged by their impudence and greed and throws them out, vowing that he will make sure that they are removed from their positions as managers of the orphanage.

Nancy decides to help Oliver without betraying Sikes. She comes to Mr. Brownlow and promises to secretly take Oliver away to hand the boy over to his grandfather. But before she can do this, Sykes, who mistakenly believes that she has betrayed him, brutally kills the girl. Sikes takes Oliver hostage and runs to Fagin's lair. The chase begins after him. Finally, Sykes is killed and Oliver finds his home. Feigin disappears. Will he remain a criminal or become an honest man?

"Oliver!" did not leave the stage of the New Theater (now Albery) for more than six years. By the time it closed, the show had 2,618 performances. This record was only broken by the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It is curious that four months after the show closed, it opened in another theater in a new, no less successful production.

Two years after its West End premiere, American producer David Marrick acquired the rights to the production; However, before bringing the musical to Broadway audiences, he took the show on a five-month national tour (Oliver! was performed in eleven cities in total). In addition, an album was recorded at one of the Hollywood studios with the participation of American actors, although the musical was still not on Broadway. Nowadays the release of a recording preceding a production is a common occurrence, but back then it was a forced step. It was explained by the fact that pirated copies of the recording of the London cast began to penetrate into the country, and in order to satisfy the public's interest in Bart's musical and the upcoming production, it was decided to release a record with a recording of the participants in the Broadway show.

It premiered on Broadway on January 6, 1963. On this day, four members of the original London cast also appeared on the stage of the Imperial Theatre. The play was performed 774 times and, until the advent of Webber's Evita, ranked first among British musicals in terms of the number of performances played on Broadway. "Oliver!" was received warmly not only by the public, but also by critics. Evidence of this is the three Tony awards for 1963, which were awarded to Lionel Bart (for music, libretto and lyrics), Donald Pippin (conductor and music director) and Shinn Kenny.

The most complex sets by Sheen Kenny were made in London, since the American Association of Designers refused to accept the British Sheen Kenny into its ranks and he could not work in America.

In 1968, a film was made, cementing the commercial and audience success of the musical. The film received six Academy Awards.

"Oliver!" brought its author world fame and fortune. However, when Bart needed funds to finance a new project, he sold all rights to the musical. Later in the '70s and '80s, Bart, addicted to drugs and alcohol, lived in poverty while "Oliver!" staged all over the world.

Along with My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver! still remains one of the most popular and beloved musicals of the 60s. It is regularly staged in various cities around the world, including in its homeland. The biggest comeback of "Oliver!" The production opened in the West End in December 1994 at the London Palladium starring Jonathan Pryce as Fagin, Sally Daxter as Nancy and Miles Anderston as Bill Sikes.

The show was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, who early in his theatrical career was a choir member and part-time assistant director on the tour of Oliver! in 1965. He not only gave the audience a great show, but also restored justice to Lionel Bart, giving him the rights to a portion of the proceeds from the musical. The director of the new version of the show was Sam Mendes, who previously staged Shakespeare's plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Steven Spielberg, who attended one of the performances, was so impressed by his interpretation of the classic musical that a few years later he invited Mendes to star in the film “American Beauty,” which brought Sam a huge number of awards, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

"Oliver!" directed by Sam Mendes, closed in 1998, after which the show went on tour and then to Broadway.

Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist began serialization in the London magazine Bentley's Miscellany in 1837. The novel was so popular that Dickens tried to finish it as quickly as possible, and a three-volume edition was published in 1838. However, despite the book's publication, Oliver Twist continued to be published in the magazine for another six months. In 1838, even before the book was completed, it was first staged as a play at London's St. James. The very next year, a play based on Oliver Twist was performed in New York. Since then, more than 30 dramatizations of the novel have been performed in the theater or become movie scripts. 250 young actors applied for the role of Oliver in the film adaptation of the musical. As a result, the role remained with nine-year-old Mark Lester. In addition to Ron Moody, the following candidates were also considered for the role of Fagin: Laurence Olivier, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Danny Kaye Danny Kaye), Laurence Harvey and Peter Sellers.

My son has not yet seen the musical, and the story is good and famous, so it was nice that we were invited.

March 19, Sunday turned out to be gray and rainy. An ideal day to plunge into the vibrant world of theatre. At the entrance we met Alena mbl_chertyata with Egor and they kept us company, thank you. The spectators are greeted from the balconies by the characters of the musical. This is a theater tradition, and for us it was a novelty, but how pleasant it was. I’ll say right away that I haven’t read any reviews about the theater or the performance. And the strangest thing is probably that we didn’t read the work either. Therefore, this is a first, fresh impression.

A postman bear greets children in the hall.

While waiting for the performance, you can admire the birds in a golden cage.

Multi-colored parrots live here

Fairytale walls all around

And a wonderful, wonderful wooden knight with a horse

The theater halls are very spacious and despite the large number of children and adults there are no crowds. True, there are a lot of temptations for children in the form of ice cream, toys and lotteries.

And the bell rings and we enter the hall. We had seats 41-42 in the amphitheater, row 8 on the right. The view was great, the scene was in full view. I noticed for the future that there are practically no bad seats in the theater.

Before the performance introduction said Roxana Nikolaevna Sats. Children whose parents died defending our country were invited to this performance.

And then the curtain rises and we are already in London in the 19th century. What is this story about? This is the story of the life of an orphan boy, Oliver Twist, who was left completely alone from birth. Life did not spare him. At birth he lived in an orphanage, where he was starved, then he ended up in a funeral home, where he was supposed to become a mourner, and then he met street thieves - mazuricks. But nothing could “spoil” Oliver and in every situation he remained, first and foremost, a human being. Oliver has some kind of natural nobility and, feeling this, people are drawn to him good people. It is thanks to them that the story has a good ending - the boy finds a family where he is loved.

The story is both sad and very kind.

My impressions. I was amazed by the scale of the production. There are many actors involved. So there are more than 20 children on stage. The impression of the performance is enhanced by live music performed by a whole orchestra. Bright costumes and literally a city on stage. But this is more of an opera than a musical, because here more is given to vocals than to stage action. I felt like the transitions between scenes weren't entirely smooth. And the performance of the main performer, Oliver Twist, was disappointing. Only later, when I came home, I saw in the program that this role was played by a girl (Natasha Kaidalova). And I kept wondering why Oliver seemed to be ashamed of something. But the Artful Dodger played his role perfectly. Of the adult actors, I really liked the voice of Garria performed by Vyacheslav Leontyev. And the most striking acting performance was distinguished by Alexander Tsilinko, who played the role of Fagin. The action is a little long, 2 hours 30 minutes with an intermission, but the children watch with interest. This is probably a wonderful performance to introduce a child to this famous work by Charles Dickens

Son's impressions. I liked it very much. Especially the acting of Oliver and the Mazuryks. I liked that everyone sang, although I didn’t understand everything.

On my own behalf, I will say that, surprisingly, my son watched with interest and during the intermission even read the libretto for the second part.

22. Judge - Vladimir Chernyshov