Bravo! to Bedford Middle School’s seventh and eighth graders, who did a great job in “Oliver!”

The seventh and eighth graders put on amazing performances under the direction of Karen McCormick, Ryan O’Neil, a great tech crew, costumes and makeup crews, an amazing band, and many other volunteers.

The show was a hit!

“Oliver!” is an English musical, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens.

The students did a great job portraying the characters and the culture they “lived” in for the three hours they were on stage.

The students NAILED the English accents; even while they were singing they were able to maintain the accents through each song the whole way through. The accents sounded very authentic and were suited perfectly for each character. Also the cast’s passion throughout the show was consistent.

The choreography was a perfect balance to remind the audience that they were attending a musical, and not a play. The actors and dancers made the dance moves look incredibly easy and effortless.

All the scenes in the play were outstanding, well written, and very passionate. You could tell that each actor felt very connected to his or her role. Each character had spunk and unique elements incorporated that shaped the performance around each individual actor.

The makeup done by the makeup team topped off the show. It was absolutely amazing. All of the characters looked very creative and suited their character. They were able to make a 13-year-old student look like a 70-year-old man. The makeup team is truly talented and deserve a hand for its great work.

The costumes helped make the play authentic as did the right kind of scenery. The costumes helped make the actors fit their characters. They were able to turn simple fabrics into fabulous outfits. Many people in the audience couldn’t stop gazing over the wonderful costumes that were brought to the stage during the performance.

By the end of the play, the audience could tell the cast put in a lot of work through their singing, dancing, and acting.

The directors taught the cast this perfect combination, and led the them to a standing ovation and overall great show!