Local troupe fires up stage in ‘Oliver!’

At last week’s opening night of the State Theater of Maine production of “Oliver!” at Lakewood Theatre, there was a surge of energy that’s possible only with townsfolk on a hot August night. It sounds unbearable, really: to come up with vibrancy in the midst of wilting heat and sticky air. But leave it to one of Maine’s dogged community theater troupes to do just that. The State Theater actors – kids, parents, the local softball coach, the president of the garden club – love singing and dancing and firing up the stage.

Director Jeffrey Quinn has bitten off a major chunk with this production, and what he offers the audience is a sweet taste of neighborhood fun. You need to know that community theater productions cheerily lack the polish of more sophisticated venues. Actors miss lines, miss notes, miss dance steps and, if they’re lucky, they also miss running into a set piece that wasn’t there a minute ago. If you can forgive all that, then the payoff is magical homegrown charm.

You might find yourself thinking that the musical accompaniment with keyboards by Quinn, Peter Foxwell on bass and Erin Hayden doing percussion is a bit thin for the size of the cast and the heft of this musical. You might even want to pick up the pace a bit.

But the gem of a community production – and this is true for “Oliver!” too – is that it has a heart of gold. Young Dustin Sposato, as the rags-to-riches hero Oliver, has a voice so tender, it may cause a tear to pop up in your eye. Jeff Johnson, as Bumble, and Stephanie Irwin, as Widow Corney, show a gift for shtick. Nic Jewell, as Fagin, strikes the right balance between wiry and wily. As Nancy, Lisa Neal belts out some of the strongest tunes in the Lionel Bart score. And Jason Cook, as the Artful Dodger, bursts with animation.

The list could go on and on, especially since the cast includes more than 30 townspeople. Suffice it to say that you could fill in the blank with nearly every name and find entertainment.

There’s something hauntingly grand, too, about watching this Victorian tale of Dickensian coincidence in a place like Lakewood, which, after 101 years, is an antique bastion of summer theater in Maine. Nothing seems to have changed there. Though this musical was written in the 1960s, you can imagine the whole thing happening back in the 1930s just exactly this way – right down to the set that looks as if a good strong wind would send it sailing over the lake. Somehow, it’s all rather refreshing.

The State Theater of Maine will present “Oliver!” through Aug. 12. For show information and reservations, call 474-7176.