Spring 2026
As we follow the fabled orphan through a world that has set him up for failure, Oliver's "want" remains consistent: love.
In the Dickens novel, he is hated by everyone who crosses his path. For one reason or another, we are not meant to trust any of the people who come into his life. Only does he find peace when under the roof of his mother, whom we never get the chance to meet.
When telling this story on stage, the challenge becomes tracking a young boy's decisions and their motivations. If not in the characters we meet, how do we know that he is on the right track - without softening Fagan, or cheapening Nancy’s challenging path, or infantilizing the pick pockets?
In our production, love is light. As Oliver sings the classic “Where is love?”, he insists that love, and light, must be elsewhere. He will follow that light out the windows of the workhouse, out the front door of the undertakers’, and onto the streets of London.
Once he enters Fagin's care, we begin to see that light might not exist out in the world, after all. Rather, these surrounding characters are struck by the light inside of Oliver. Fagin recognizes how this light might be leveraged. Nancy recalls a light she once had in herself that has since gone out. Sikes can’t engage with the light at all.
This take on the timeless story will highlight the burdens we inherit across generations, the roles we inherit from a rigid patriarchal society, and how to rely on the light we all carry. As Oliver fruitlessly continues his pursuit of love amidst his life of conflict, we begin to see darkness fill the void he leaves behind. So by the show’s conclusion, we are left to witness the source of the light all along.