Oom-Pah-Pah indeed! All eyes are on producer Cameron Mackintosh, who is looking ahead to his next musical endeavor: a Broadway revival of the musical Oliver!, according to the New York Post.
Based on the Charles Dickens novel and featuring music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart, Oliver! tells the story of the orphaned Oliver Twist, who goes from mistreatment in London workhouses to falling in with a gang of pickpockets led by the roguish Fagin, brassy prostitute Nancy and the menacing Bill Sykes, before finally finding a home.
According to the Post, Mackintosh says Oliver! is his "favorite musical" because it’s how he got his start in the theater. When Oliver! played the New Theatre (now the Noel Coward Theatre) in London in 1960, a teenage Mackintosh got a job polishing the brass railing in the theater's lobby.
Oliver! originally premiered in the West End on June 30, 1960 before transferring to Broadway ‘s Imperial Theatre on January 6, 1963. That production earned three Tony Awards. A 2009 London revival, featuring Rowan Atkinson as Fagin and Jodie Prenger as Nancy, was nominated for three Olivier Awards.