The History of Oliver!

Loosely based on the novel 'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens, the original 1960 production of Lionel bart's Oliver! opened in teh West End's New Theatre (now the Noel Coward Theatre) on 30th June 1960, where it ran for 2618 performances, until September 1967. The original cast included Ron Moody as Fagin and Barry Humphries as Mr Sowerberry.

The part of Nancy was originally written for pop singer Alma Cogan. However, Cogan was unable to commit to the musical, and the role of Nancy went to her childhood friend Georgia Brown, establishing her as one of the first ladies of the British musical stage. The show was an instant hit, and went on to become the logest running musical of its generation.

The first Broadway production of Oliver! opened at the Imperial Theatre on 6th January 1963, where it ran for 774 performances. This production saw Georgia Brown reprising her West End performance as Nancy. The cast also included a young Davy Jones, who would later be a member of The Monkees, playing the role of Dodger. This production was a critical success and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards. It won three, for Composer and Lyricist (Lionel Bart), Conductor and Musical Director (Donald Pippin) and Scenic Design (Sean Kenny).

In 1968, a version of Oliver! was released as a musical film, directed by Carol Reed, with the screenplay written by Vernon Harris. Ron Moody recreated his London stage performance in the role of Fagin, after both Peter Sellers and Peter O'Toole reportedly turned down the role. The film also starred Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes, Harry Secombe as Mr Bumble and Shani Wallis as Nancy. Youngsters Mark Lester and Jack Wild took the roles of Oliver and Dodger respectively.

The film version of Oliver! received extremely favourable reviews. In her review of the film in The New Yorker, Pauline Kael stated that it was one of the few film versions of a stage musical that was superior to the original show. This is reflected in the fact that it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won 6, including Best Picture, Best Director (Carol Reed) and Best Music Score of a Musical Picture. Oliver! was the last musical to win the Best Picture Oscar until Chicago 34 years later.

In 1994 Oliver! was revived for the London Palladium, with some additional music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. It was directed by Sam Mendes, who later received an Academy Award for directing the film American Beauty (1999). The production featured Welshman Jonathan Pryce as Fagin, and Sally Dexter as Nancy. Later in the run, future pop stars Jon Lee (later a member of S Club 7) and Tom Fletcher (later a member of McFly) played the title role. This show was a lavish affair, with designs by Anthony Ward, new and fresh orchestrations by William David Brohn and a move to a more cinematic feel, to accommodate an audience that was raised on the motion picture.

Oliver! has recently returned to the West End, with a new production opening at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on 14th January, 2009. This is a revival of the 1994 Sam Mendes production and is directed by Rupert Goold, with choreography by Matthew Bourne. The roles of Nancy and Oliver for this production were cast through the BBC television series I'd Do Anything, which saw Anrew Lloyd Webber overseeing the process, joined on the judging panel by Barry Humphries, Denise Van Outen and John Barrowman. The role of Nancy was eventually won by Jodie Prenger, from Blackpool, and the three young actors who won the role of Oliver are Laurence Jeffcoate, Gwion Jones and Harry Stott.

They are joined in this production by Rowan Atkinson, who is playing the part of Fagin. It has recently been announced that Iranian comedian and actor Omid Djalili will take over the role of Fagin in July 2009, which he and Jodie Prenger scheduled to appear until December 2009.

Although reviews of this latest production have been mixed, there is no doubt that it has become a "smash hit", after becoming the fastest-selling show in West End history, with record-breaking advance ticket sales worth 15 million pounds.

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