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"Please, sir, I want some more" might be the most iconic line in "Oliver!," that other iconic Charles Dickens stage adaptation.
Most theatergoers of a certain age remember the hit musical about the plucky orphan boy-turned-pickpocket from the Oscar-winning 1968 film adaptation, and the show's memorable songs such as "Consider Yourself," "Food, Glorious Food," "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" and "Who Will Buy."
Set in Victorian England, Lionel Bart's 1960 musical centers on what happens after the young orphan meets Jack Dawkins, known as The Artful Dodger. Jack invites Oliver to join a gang of boys instructed in the art of pickpocketry by the aging criminal Fagin and his brutal protégé, Bill Sykes. Sykes' girlfriend, Nancy, a prostitute with a heart of gold, becomes Oliver's protector.
Pioneer Theatre Company artistic director Karen Azenberg calls the show "a well-constructed musical," lauding the script for the way it adapts a dark, sprawling Dickens story and focuses on wonderful, full-bodied characters. "It is one of those musicals that can be appreciated by people at all levels, which is nice," she says. "It's worth doing these classics every once in a while."
For Azenberg, whose father worked for legendary Broadway producer David Merrick, the musical might be considered part of her family's furniture. When Karen was a child, the Azenbergs traveled by train with the national touring company in 1964, her recollections filtered through her 3-year-old eyes. She figures her father was done supervising box-office statements at intermission, and that's when her family must have regularly left the theater. "I definitely remember the first act more than the second," she says.
The Utah professional theater company produced the musical during its 1981-82 season, while Azenberg continued her family tradition by directing the show herself in Sacramento about 19 years ago, bringing her infant son along.
Joining Pioneer's cast of Broadway talent are local actors, including 13 children. Maxwell Rimington, 11, of Mapleton, plays the title role, while Christian Labertew, of Park City, plays the Artful Dodger. Broadway veteran Bill Nolte plays Fagin; Natalie Hill, a New York veteran who has returned home to Utah, plays the pivotal female role of Nancy. Hill, an Orem native, appeared on Broadway in "Wonderland," as well as "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Grease," and in Las Vegas productions of "Jersey Boys" and "Footloose."
Max says he loves acting, particularly stage combat. Oliver is a good fit for him, he says, because like his character he's also a kid who doesn't try to get in trouble. "He's got a great look and a beautiful little voice," says Nolte at a publicity photo shoot with his young colleague. "He's going to learn a lot [during the run], and I'm ready to teach him. All of us in the cast are. We all love him and want him to be successful."
Max describes the atmosphere of rehearsals in his first professional theater role as hard, but also jumpy and calm "and always happy." He's studied at the Utah Conservatory of Performing Arts and performed in shows at Hale Center Theater Orem, at SCERA Center for the Arts, and recently was invited to sing a solo at a large business convention.
Casting Nolte (noted for Broadway roles in "The Producers," "1776," "Me and My Girl" and "Cats") as Fagin is something of a stretch physically, as the character is usually played by an actor with a more skeletal frame. Nolte describes his Fagin as more of a Beefeater. "The way I make sense of it, I get to the food first," he says.
Fagin takes care of the boys and gives them a place to stay and a livelihood, even if pickpocketing isn't a great profession. To make the play work, "you have to see Fagin's heart," Nolte says. "Although he's the villain, he's got to have a big heart."
"We're having a ball creating this iconic character that everyone knows," Nolte says of working with Azenberg. "So far in rehearsals, it feels like a feast that I'm looking forward to partaking in."
The musical is challenging to perform because of its quick patter songs "that go on for verse after verse." In particular, Nolte says he is enjoying working on the character's 11 o'clock number, the five-verse "Reviewing the Situation," where Fagin considers living a new kind of life.
Hill is familiar to Pioneer audiences after performing in recent musicals such as "Sweet Charity," "In the Heights" and "Miss Saigon."
She thinks Nancy is going to be one of her favorite roles, despite the character's tragic ending. "I'm a good Mormon girl from Utah, and all I ever play are prostitutes," she says with a laugh. Her grandmother, she says, has never seen her perform a role where her character lives until the end of the show.
Her performance in 2014's "Sweet Charity" (as Helene, Charity's dancehall friend) remains significant, as her then-boyfriend, Utah Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen, proposed on closing night after buying tickets to every show in the run. "He's a basketball coach, so he would give the whole cast notes," she says with a laugh.
Now as the mother of a 6-month-old daughter, Hill wasn't sure if or when she would return to performing. After two years, she feels like she's still making the mental transition from New York's Broadway district to living on the Bountiful bench. It feels both surreal and wonderful to be able to dig into a role with such smart colleagues "at such a different stage of my life," she says.
She praises the cast of "Oliver!," saying the talent of the young cast will be particularly winning for audiences: "I think it's going to be a really, really special show."
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Consider yourself part of the family
Pioneer Theatre Company features a cast of 13 children in its big holiday musical "Oliver!"
When • Dec. 2-17: Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinees at 2 p.m.
Where • Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $40-$62 in advance; $5 more day of show; K-12 students eligible for half-price tickets for Monday and Tuesday shows; 801-581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org