| Oliver! The musical first appeared on the stage in | | | | several changes and a key change was the |
| the West End in 1960 and achieved immediate | | | | portrayal of Fagin as a comic character rather |
| success. The British public appreciated the drama | | | | than as the book's villain. |
| and the music in this Lionel Bart production and | | | | The opening scene of Oliver! shows half-starved |
| little known actors introduced in this play, went on | | | | orphan boys entering the lunchroom for dinner |
| to attain enormous popularity as adults. Among | | | | ("Food Glorious Food"). They are fed only gruel |
| them, notably were the young boys playing the | | | | and when Oliver asks for more, he is promptly |
| title role, and Ron Moody as Fagin and Barry | | | | asked to pack his belongings by the heartless and |
| Humphries as Mr. Sowerberry. | | | | greedy caretakers' Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney |
| The musical is a loose version of Charles Dickens' | | | | and sold ("Boys For Sale") to Mr. Sowerberry, an |
| 1838 novel Oliver Twist. To make it more | | | | undertaker. |
| audience friendly, the musical adaptation made | | | | |