REVIEW:
OLIVER
Stumptown Stages
As directed by Patrick Nims, Stumptown Stages production of the 1960 show brings out the rousing cheer of Lionel Barts music, even as villainous adult characters cackle over their mistreatment of unfortunate children.
In July of 2020, New York Times critic Laura Collins-Hughes wrote an article entitled "Digital Theater Isn’t Theater. It’s a Way to Mourn Its Absence.” I must respectfully disagree.
As directed by Patrick Nims, Stumptown Stages production of the 1960 show brings out the rousing cheer of Lionel Barts music, even as villainous adult characters cackle over their mistreatment of unfortunate children.
"Director Patrick Nims brilliantly choreographs humans under the microscope. We are observing the intimate collapse of the U.S. middle class?economic, medical, and emotional. Nims and the great cast make it funny and touching, as they look at the grim neighborhood and feel their fate descending."
"'Company' at Novato Theater Company is nothing short of wonderful. Michelin three-star: 'Worth a special journey.' Terrific ensemble, a couple of standout performances, excellent work from top to bottom.
Perhaps the best thing about this cast is how they come together as an ensemble under the skilled hand of director Patrick Nims."
"There are many excellent aspects of this production. Most notably, the direction of Patrick Nims. Working on a very simple set (by Sam Transleau) with impressionistic projections that establish locations, Nims has staged this George M! with verve and dynamism. He has an artist's eye for composition, creating some lovely tableaux, most notably a Last Supper-esque scene at a boardinghouse where the Cohans lived during one of their stops on the vaudeville circuit. And once those tableaux break, Nims keeps the pace rocketing along.?
"It did not take long for Patrick Nims directing style to transcend the platform. Rather than pretending that nothing is wrong with the world, Nims embraces the strange, eerie atmosphere of 2020."