Oliver! (New York City Center) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (200)
See it if …..
Don't see it if ……
See it if you love musical theater and humanity . . .
Don't see it if [no reason not to see this.] Read more
See it if You will enjoy a fabulous production of a popular old musical with as great cast and inventive direction and choreography. Encores best!
Don't see it if An old fashioned musical with a few of weaknesses of the original would both you. But overall it a wonderful production with lots to enjoy.
See it if you like wonderful music, captivatingly sung and danced with infectious enthusiasm, in the context of a classic melodrama
Don't see it if want to avoid the darkness of Dickens' important story exposing the ills of 19th Century child labor and domestic abuse Read more
See it if you want to see and hear some of the best singing actors around. Wow! Pajak and Cooper are truly sensational. And the others not far behind.
Don't see it if you want an encyclopedic musical version of the book. This is, after all, a musical. And often a musical comedy. But the darkness is there. Read more
See it if you love great performing of lovely music. GREAT performances by Esparza and 12 year old Pajak (we'll be seeing a lot of him in the future!
Don't see it if you don't like musicals.
See it if Wow Oliver! What a fantastic young actor! Lilli Cooper and Raul Esparza also great. So many great songs.
Don't see it if It might frighten children or if the ending will upset you.
See it if You want to see a great production of the show featuring a wonderful cast of Broadway performers. Another great Encores show.
Don't see it if Themes of domestic abuse are triggering.
Critic Reviews (8)
“I too am doubtful about the possibility of change, at least for musicals like ‘Oliver!’...But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth reinvesting in what made them meaningful in the first place, if dividends of delight keep coming. For that, I’d do anything.”
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“ ‘Oliver!’ is a one-of-a-kind creation that truly deserves the exclamation mark in its title, made up of bright and bouncy tunes, earnest romantic ballads, low humor, melodrama, literary pedigree, and many child actors.”
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“While downplaying the musical's dark social undertones and horrific violence, this ‘Oliver!’ is a buoyant, swirling, and candied Victorian confection.”
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“The only challenge this marvelous Oliver! look-see offers a dazed—make that, dazzled—reviewer is where to start piling on the encomia....Probably makes sense to start with the focal Charles Dickens figures [Pajak &Esparza]...Because their performances enhance the revival equally, the only fair way to approach this is alphabetically.”
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“An interesting twist, though, is the way in which Fagin’s agenda—repurposing the obscenely excessive wealth of the rich—doesn’t appear especially radical in this rendition.”
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When Mary-Mitchell Campbell’s baton brought out the first notes of the Oliver! overture from the Encores! Orchestra, the memorable tunes just flowed and didn’t stop until more than two hours later at the standing ovation and exit music. Lionel Bart’s score is rich in melody, the lyrics and the libretto evoking Dickens while still being theatrical. Lear deBessonet, the show’s director (and the Encores!’ artistic director) has fashioned a fast-moving evening filled with great performances starting with the sweet, fresh-faced Oliver of Benjamin Pajak and the incredibly talented ensemble of kids who gambol about with abandon.
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"Despite its flaws, consider yourself fortunate if you get a chance to see this entertaining production. It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
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“This production fares poor-to-middling when, lately, the results at City Center have been excellent...The boys’ ensemble brings a hefty dose of joy, but the production desperately needs something else to juice it up.”
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