The story of Oliver!

Act I

The curtain opens on the sinister interior of the workhouse with a bare dining table where the boys will sit. These pale-faced wretches can be seen peering through the bars of a door at the back. The door is opened, and the boys file to the table and sing Food, Glorious Food. At the end of the song, the Widow Corney, who runs the workhouse, and Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle, enter, and a thin gruel is served. Wolfing the meager fare, the boys hopelessly stack their bowls, but the hapless Oliver approaches Mr. Bumble with the entreaty, “Please, sir, I want some more.” He is instantly subdued – Mr. Bumble, Mrs. Corney and the boys sing the derisive Oliver! Oliver is then locked behind the barred door as the rest of the boys exit upstairs. With Oliver as onlooker, Mr. Bumble dallies with Mrs. Corney, who sings I Shall Scream, but winds up giggling on his lap. Oliver is brought forward, bag and baggage, and is led off by Mr. Bumble, who sings the haunting Boy for Sale.

Walking through the streets of London, they arrive at Mr. Sowerberry’s, the undertaker. Oliver is “sold” to the undertaker. Alone and frightened and surrounded by coffins, he sings the plaintive Where Is Love? He runs away the very next morning and is picked up hungry and tired in the streets by The Artful Dodger, who cheers him up with Consider Yourself. The Dodger leads him through the crowded streets to Fagin’s kitchen. The boys come in, and Fagin himself appears. With a mock solemn welcome to Oliver, he sings You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two. Nancy, Bill Sikes’ girl, and Bet arrive. The two of them, accompanied by the boys and Fagin, celebrate their way of life in It’s a Fine Life, and then all mock polite society by singing I’d Do Anything. As the boys retire, Fagin is seen counting the day’s take.

Gradually, the action moves to the next morning, when Fagin sends the boys off on a pocket-picking expedition, Oliver among them. Fagin’s farewell admonition is Be Back Soon. The boys set out into the city, and Oliver is captured, not for picking pockets, but for simply looking guilty.

Act II

The second act begins at “Three Cripples” – an underworld tavern – where Nancy is being encouraged to sing a music-hall number, Oom-Pah-Pah. At song’s end, Bill Sikes appears at the top of the stairs and sings the threatening My Name. At this point, Fagin’s boys pour down the stairs, telling of Oliver’s apprehension by the police, at the same time revealing that his innocence has been established and that he is presently ensconced in the home of a rich old gentleman. Fearful lest he give away their setup, Fagin and Sikes dispatch Nancy to get Oliver back. Reluctantly, and having been treated roughly by Bill, Nancy exits, singing the beautiful As Long As He Needs Me.
Meanwhile, at the home of his new-found benefactor, the erstwhile ragged Oliver has become a well-tailored, well-cared for little lad. Looking out of his bedroom window he observes some passing street vendors crying their wares; he sings Who Will Buy?, a plea that his good luck and new situation in life will be permanent. However, the moment he sets foot outside his benefactor’s house, he is seized and dragged off by Nancy to Fagin’s.

In the next scene, Fagin occupies the empty stage and considers going straight – Reviewing the Situation. Subsequently, Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Corney, now uncomfortably married, discover that Oliver is the scion of a rich family. Their scheme to get him back fails, and Nancy, regretting her part in the capture of Oliver, plans to return him to his benefactor at night on London Bridge. Fearful of Sikes, she reprises As Long As He Needs Me. Sikes stalks her and kills her. He grabs Oliver and, after a chase, is himself shot dead.