Opening
Nights

POliver!

The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave. 
625-1900, 5thavenue.org. $41 and up. 
Runs Tues.–Sun. Ends Dec. 31.

Consider yourself amused. This handsome, high-stepping production is perfectly suited to the holidays. Mind you, this is no Dickensian manifesto about orphans and income inequality; Oliver! is an entertainment focused on flooding the streets with throngs of happy patrons humming its tunes and recommending it to friends and relatives.

It’s been 23 years since the 5th last mounted Oliver!, and while Dickens’ template of street urchins making their way through Victorian England remains intact, director David Armstrong makes certain that his star-crossed ragamuffin is depicted as an indomitable underdog whose ultimate triumph is never more than a production number away. Accordingly, this is an ebullient Oliver!, done up in bright yuletide colors, wearing heart on sleeve, where a sturdy melody can overcome any adversity.

Composer/playwright Lionel Bart would certainly have approved, since it was he who in 1960 excised the grimy, unsavory aspects of child labor during the Industrial Revolution and replaced them with such sing-alongs as the beer-chugging “Oom Pah-Pah” and the showstopper “Consider Yourself.”

Armstrong’s light touch is everywhere here, from his winning Oliver (played alternately by Jack Fleischmann and Mark Jeffrey James Weber) to his feel-good Fagin (David Pinchette), whom the Jewish Bart mostly stripped of Dickens’ anti-Semitic stereotypes. This Fagin is less a villainous predator than some sort of chipper headmaster of a benign boys’ dormitory.

Darker elements are leavened either by songs or performers, as the Artful Dodger (Grayson J. Smith) steals one scene after another. As Nancy, Merideth Kaye Clark belts every ballad to the balcony. Even malevolent highwayman Bill Sikes (Hans Altwies) gets a makeover that renders him more rakish than dangerous—he’s a romance-novel cover boy with a mean streak.

The costumes, by Sarah Nash Gates, make great eye candy; Tom Sturge’s lights and sets work in dazzling synchronicity; and, leading the live orchestra, Joel Fram highlights every nuance he can uncover in Bart’s score. Purists will find this Oliver! has little of Oliver Twist ’s outrage about avarice and poverty. But we can leave that for the next election. For now, as a confection of songcraft, performance, and production, Oliver! is practically irresistible. Kevin Phinney

PThe Santaland Diaries

Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org. $15–$29. Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus Dec. 23 & 24. Ends Dec. 24.

Some iconic stage performances are impossible for actors to overcome. Holiday productions can be particularly cruel in this regard. Revisited again and again, year after year, yuletide perennials tend to sear a particular portrayal into our consciousness. Jimmy Stewart is George Bailey, Peter Billingsley is Ralphie Parker, Will Ferrell is Buddy the Elf. The most difficult role to repeat in the modern Christmas canon, though, has got to be David Sedaris in his The Santaland Diaries. Originally a short story, Santaland was made famous by the author’s wry radio recitation, first aired in 1992 and replayed seemingly every year on NPR, like a modern It’s a Wonderful Life.

What makes Santaland so difficult to stage is the remove with which Sedaris tells his story, recalling how he, a struggling artist in New York, worked as an elf at Macy’s. It’s a fish-out-of-water tale, owing much of its humor to Sedaris’ clear disgust at his self-inflicted predicament. It’s difficult to picture the humorist as a goofy elf; but when you do, laughs follow. The striped tights just don’t fit.

Achieving that dissonance is a herculean task for Patrick Lennon, who dons the striped tights and green smock for the hour-long monologue. Taken on its own, Lennon’s performance is a pleasure. He carries the one-man show with a mix of whimsy and dread, never missing a beat or a berating. The production, directed by Kelly Kitchens, stays true to its sardonic source material, with Lennon endlessly mocking his customers and co-workers. Lennon is good at acting miserable, but also expert at exuberance when dashing about the set and delivering Sedaris’ cynical lines with panache. But Lennon’s Crumpet isn’t Sedaris’ Crumpet. Some bits from the original fall flat here, like Sedaris’ famously dead-on impression of Billie Holiday singing “Away in a Manger,” which crumbles in Lennon’s hands. Yet others hit with unexpected humor in Lennon’s childlike telling; this Crumpet really gets to show his mischievous side when impersonating his customers.

Those accustomed to Sedaris’ patented irony might think Lennon is doing it all wrong. But if you can set aside the NPR reruns and grant him some artistic license, this Santaland will leave you delighted. Mark Baumgarten

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