The discussion, and esp. Eve's reflections (and Ethan's footnote) on OLIVER! have been, indeed, glorious food for thought. I'm intrigued by Eve's and others' Jewish spin on the musical's Fagin character, and it absolutely resonates with me.
I have neither cold jelly nor custard to add to this discussion (let alone, certainly, hot sausage and mustard), but feel impelled to add two personal associations: 1) I saw the original Broadway musical, from orchestra seats (only cause my uncle took me!), and remember it vividly. Seeing and hearing "Who Will Buy?" on stage--and it was almost as much seeing as hearing--made for a snapshot that feels as if it were taken a week ago. (That song, by the way, was most certainly adapted from English street cries, as per one poster's note; I'm not sure about others.) The original Fagin was played by Clive Revill (who--oddly?--was from New Zealand, more or less the same neck of the woods as Australia, though not a Staten Island Ferry ride away, as I used to think). He's a versatile actor, who plays an Irish arms smuggler to perfection in the last of the original (NBC) Columbos. 2) By a truly weird coincidence (insert Twilight Zone theme if you wish), I was singing "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" to myself half an hour before I logged on--first time since Friday--and found this raft of "Oliver!" messages. Strange ... I *always* sing it with heavy Yiddischer inflection--and I think I was implicitly aware of the more benign Fagin that Lionel Bart's lyrics (and Revill's delivery of them) conveyed; I grew up on Dickens' novels, including OLIVER TWIST, and saw the David Lean movie as a child. But it's enlightening to hear this made explicit through Eve's rich observations--for which many thanks! --Robert Cohen, reviewing the situation in Boston, Mass. ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------+ Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network http://shamash.org A service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/ * * FREE JEWISH LEARNING * * Shamash invites you to join MyJewishLearning.com, a comprehensive, objective, authoritative and interactive learning resource in all areas of Judaism. Free membership via http://www.myjewishlearning.com/shamash ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------=
