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Trust the musical theater to make life as an orphan sound, well, almost fun. After opening on the West End in 1960, Lionel Bart's Oliver! successfully transferred to Broadway, prefacing the British invasion of the 1970s and 1980s. Sam Mendes, who also directed acclaimed London productions of Company and Cabaret (the latter one moving on to Broadway) was at the helm for this version and certainly got things moving at a clip--especially since Lionel Bart wrote some new music and lyrics and the score was snappily rearranged. Jonathan Pryce is a suitably larger-than-life Fagin, and Sally Dexter shines as Nancy--her confrontation with Fagin and Miles Anderson's Bill Sikes in a new reprise of "It's a Fine Life" is pricelessly nasty. Going for maximum oomph and minimum sappiness, this swell recording may make even Oliver! haters reconsider. --Elisabeth Vincentelli