Moorestown Theater Company Debuts 'Oliver, Jr.' This Week

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Theater Company’s (MTC) next production opens Tuesday night with what Artistic Director Mark Morgan calls one of the best show scores ever.

MTC’s production of “Oliver, Jr.”opens Tuesday night at the MTC/Bayada Care outdoor parking lot, 1 West Main Street in Moorestown, 7 p.m.

The family-friendly musical, which is directed by professional actor and MTC Choreographer/Performer Dante Brattelli, features such classic songs as “Food, Glorious Food,” “Where Is Love?” “Consider Yourself,” “Pick A Pocket Or Two,” “I’d Do Anything,” “Oom-Pah-Pah,” “Who Will Buy?” “It’s A Fine Life,” “Reviewing The Situation,” and “As Long As He Needs Me.”

But the music wasn’t the only reason MTC chose to run the Academy Award-winning musical about “Fagin,” “The Artful Dodger,” and, of course, “Oliver.”

“The score is one reason to do it, but we’ve also never done it before,” Morgan said. “There are a lot of lead parts. The kids are having a great time doing it.”

MTC is telling the story of “Oliver” for the first time, but it is also the first time the “junior” version of the show is being performed in Moorestown, Morgan said. It just became available for local theater groups to perform within the last year, and the cast consists of 26 kids ages 6 to 18.

It is the tenth outdoor show MTC is performing since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. It is the first that will have reserve seating, as well as tickets that are sold at the door. Tickets are $12.

“We built our biggest set yet in this outdoor space,” Morgan said. “It’s a two-level set. We’re learning more and more how to use our space.”

After Tuesday night, the schedule for the show is as follows:

• Wednesday: 11 a.m.; 7 p.m.
• Thursday: 11 a.m.; 7 p.m.
• Friday: 11 a.m.