Photo By Kathleen Cei

Ryan Tutton is the orphan everyone loves in Oliver.

You'd think the British would have had more respect for Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist, than this jollied-up version of the horrid life of an orphan in Victorian London. After two hours, Lionel Bart's musical rendition of the tale, Oliver! comes down to a 10-minute ending that made my head spin: Here's the eight-word summary I wrote down: "Nancy dead, Sikes shot, Fagin bolts, Oliver saved."

But this 40-year-old show offers musical rewards, thanks to a band of cute kids and several adults with good voices. In fact, this touring production tries to resurrect some of Dickens' bawdiness, most of which was drained away by the show's chipper tunes ("Consider Yourself," "I'd Do Anything").

This production looks good, with fluid evocative scenery that creates a dark, moody atmosphere. What's more, with 40 actors, it truly conveys the feeling of overcrowded London in the 19th-century. But the producers have cut talent costs (this is not an authorized Equity -- or union -- production), deriving most of the show's energy from a horde of kids. The young dancers are up to the choreography which is fun to watch. Sweet-faced Oliver (Ryan Tutton) and rubber-limbed, frenetic Colin Bates as his wicked mentor, The Artful Dodger, are perfect in their roles.

Renata Renée Wilson is a strong-voiced and sincere Nancy, defending Oliver from the brutal man she loves, Bill Sikes (Shane R. Tanner). Mark McCracken interprets Fagin, the manipulative mastermind behind the young pickpockets who take Oliver in, as a kind of borscht-belt comic, delivering asides that are distracting and only rarely amusing.

Even if Lionel Bart's jaunty tunes aren't very true to Dickens' dark themes, they are the best part of this show, the kind you leave the theater humming. They even survive musical accompaniment that has too much synthesizer and too few live musicians. (There are 10 of them in the pit, but their sound is so processed, you have to wonder what they're doing.) Oliver! is a good show for the kids, but it's a musical from another era. Grade: B-

Photo By Kathleen Cei

Ryan Tutton is playing sweet-faced Oliver at the Aronoff Center.