“Reviewing the Situation”: Oliver! and the Musical Afterlife of Dickens's
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“Reviewing the Situation”: Oliver! and the Musical Afterlife of Dickens’s Novels Marc Napolitano A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by Advisor: Allan Life Reader: Laurie Langbauer Reader: Tom Reinert Reader: Beverly Taylor Reader: Tim Carter © 2009 Marc Napolitano ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Marc Napolitano: “Reviewing the Situation”: Oliver! and the Musical Afterlife of Dickens’s Novels (Under the direction of Allan Life) This project presents an analysis of various musical adaptations of the works of Charles Dickens. Transforming novels into musicals usually entails significant complications due to the divergent narrative techniques employed by novelists and composers or librettists. In spite of these difficulties, Dickens’s novels have continually been utilized as sources for stage and film musicals. This dissertation initially explores the elements of the author’s novels which render his works more suitable sources for musicalization than the texts of virtually any other canonical novelist. Subsequently, the project examines some of the larger and more complex issues associated with the adaptation of Dickens’s works into musicals, specifically, the question of preserving the overt Englishness of one of the most conspicuously British authors in literary history while simultaneously incorporating him into a genre that is closely connected with the techniques, talents, and tendencies of the American stage. A comprehensive overview of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! (1960), the most influential Dickensian musical of all time, serves to introduce the predominant theoretical concerns regarding the modification of Dickens’s texts for the musical stage and screen. These issues include the history of utilizing songs in theatrical adaptations of the author’s novels, the tendency of composers to eliminate the darker elements of his works when adapting him to the family-friendly standards of the musical genre, the modification or elimination of Boz’s iii narrative voice in such adaptations, and finally, the cultural exchange that is often essential to inserting the British writer into an American medium. Each one of these theoretical issues is then examined in greater depth through the exploration of additional Dickensian musicals including Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel’s Pickwick (1963), Rupert Holmes’s Drood (1985), Alan Menken’s A Christmas Carol: The Musical (1994), and various other adaptations produced in the years following Oliver! iv To my first and greatest teacher: my mother, Joann. v PREFACE As in the case of Mr. Dickens himself, my fondness for the theater emerged at an early age. While my elementary school never had a drama program in the strictest sense of the term, a team of soccer-moms annually undertook the arduous task of arranging a musical revue so that those of us who wanted to participate in dramatic productions would have an outlet for our theatrical interests. Although the shows were hardly masterpieces, and although our parents seemed more interested in photographing us in our costumes than paying attention to what exactly we were attempting to enact (which may have been for the best given our acting abilities, or lack thereof), I remember the palpable sense of excitement that everyone felt when the yearly set of musical numbers was revealed. In the fifth grade, my classmates were especially excited because the annual show was going to include songs from Grease . For reasons which I cannot quite comprehend to this day, my peers were all infatuated with this musical, almost to the same degree that today’s youth is entranced by the High School Musical franchise (though I am somewhat relieved that the current generation is idolizing clean-cut kids who dance on cafeteria tables and play basketball as opposed to venerating chain-smoking greasers who cut classes and go drag- racing.) Among the other songs in this revue were two numbers from a show called Oliver! with which I was likewise unfamiliar, though in this instance, I was not alone. None of my classmates seemed to know anything about Oliver! , and while the interest in performing songs from Grease was tangible, the interest in performing songs from Oliver! was virtually nonexistent. At the urging of my friends, I rented the film version of Grease , and though I found it moderately entertaining, I failed to see what all the fuss was about. I soon discovered that there was a film version of Oliver! as well, and my father, who remembered having been very fond of the movie, encouraged me to rent it. I did as he suggested, and from the moment that the workhouse orphans descended the dilapidated staircase to sing “Food, Glorious Food,” I was enthralled. I wept for Oliver, delighted at the antics of the Artful Dodger, cowered in the presence of Bill Sikes, fell slightly in love with Nancy, and was instantly captivated by Fagin, so much so that I could actually see myself joining the ranks of the pintsized pickpockets who made up his gang. Equally captivating was the film’s musical score, and Lionel Bart’s melodies immediately embedded themselves in my memory. Though few of my classmates seemed particularly excited about our singing “Consider Yourself” in the revue, I was delighted at the thought of stepping into the role of a Cockney urchin and crooning the Dodger’s song of welcome. If someone had told me then that I would one day be an aspiring Dickensian scholar whose doctoral dissertation would focus primarily on musical adaptations like Oliver! , I probably would not have believed him. Nevertheless, my fondness for Oliver! has brought things full vi circle, for it was Oliver! that served as my unofficial introduction to Dickens. Though I would be in for some unpleasant surprises a few years later when I actually took up Oliver Twist for the first time (the thought of Fagin as an evil villain was shocking), Oliver! marked the beginning of what would become a lifelong fascination with the world of Dickens’s stories. While my fondness for Boz’s novels has since eclipsed my fondness for the film and stage adaptations that first introduced me to the very concept of Dickensian London, I might never have found an entryway into this world had it not been for musicals like Oliver! , Scrooge , and The Muppet Christmas Carol . In many ways, my fondness for Dickens and my fondness for musicals are indelibly connected. I doubt that many graduate students are given the pleasure of working on projects that involve their studying the two subjects they love most—in my case, Dickens and musical theater. Consequently, I am deeply indebted to my dissertation director, Dr. Allan Life, for his constant encouragement in this endeavor. I could not have hoped for a more patient, supportive, and understanding advisor over the course of this process. I am also grateful to Dr. Laurie Langbauer, Dr. Tom Reinert, Dr. Beverly Taylor, and Dr. Tim Carter, the other professors on my committee, without whom this project would not have been possible. The guidance of Dr. Deborah Thomas and my former professors in the Villanova English Department has likewise been indispensable. Finally, I must acknowledge the friendship of my fellow graduate students, particularly Emily Brewer, Marc Cohen, Julie Fann, and Sarah Hallenbeck, each of whom played a role in my very decision to attend UNC. Over the course of my research, I have received a significant amount of assistance from a wide variety of people. I would like to thank the numerous archivists, librarians, producers, and theater managers who aided me in my exploration of the history behind Oliver! and the other musicals covered in this project, including Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Derek Dawson, Rosy Runciman of the Mackintosh Archives, Brenda Evans of the Lionel Bart Foundation, Paul Roy Goodhead of the Anthony Newley Appreciation Society, and John Watson of the Harry Ransom Center at UT Austin. I also had the honor of speaking with several of the creative artists who helped give life to the musicals documented in this dissertation, and their reflections provided fascinating insights into the development of these adaptations. My fondest thanks to Patti Cohenour, Al Kasha, Mark Lester, Howard McGillin, Jill Santoriello, and Paul Williams. To conclude, no expression of gratitude would be complete without acknowledging my family, whose faith has sustained me throughout the rigors of graduate school, and whose love I am thankful for every day of my life. To my mother, father, brother, sister, nanna, and nonno (Requiescat in Pace), I am grateful to you beyond words. As such, I will let Lionel Bart’s words speak for me in this instance: I’d do anything for you, dears, anything For you mean everything to me! I’d go anywhere for your smiles, anywhere For your smiles, everywhere, I’d see! For your kindness, patience, prayers, and wisdom, I am eternally grateful. God bless you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………ix LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………...x Overture: Boz Goes Broadway………………………………………………………………..1 SECTION I: Oliver! .................................................................................................................37 Chapter 1: “Consider yourself at home” – The Cultural Contexts Framing Oliver! ...........41 Chapter 2: “It’s A Fine Life” – The Triumph of Oliver! ...................................................115 Chapter 3: “Oliver! Oliver!” – A Reading of the Musical……………………………….192 Chapter 4: “Boy for Sale” – Oliver! From Stage to Screen to Stage…………………….266 SECTION II: History……………………………………………………………………….339 Chapter 5: From Pickwick to Drood – The Evolution of the Dickensian Musical………344 SECTION III: Audience……………………………………………………………………382 Chapter 6: Disneyfing Dickens – That Charming Mr. Quilp …………………………....386 SECTION IV: Narrative……………………………………………………………………419 Chapter 7: Sing Me a Story – Setting Pip and David’s Voices to Music………………..423 SECTION V: Culture……………………………………………………………………….458 Chapter 8: Singing Christmas Carols – Musical vs.