Consider yourself part of the audience for ‘Oliver!’

W.C. Fields once said that anyone who hates kids and dogs can’t be all bad.

He’d have hated “Oliver!,” Heritage Theatre Festival’s first summer offering, which opened Thursday in the Culbreth. Though there’s no dog on stage, there are, at various times, some 17 kids, all of them talented.

That talent is both abundant and apparent in Cooper Timberline, a Richmond third-grader who’ll steal your heart as surely as Oliver’s pal the Artful Dodger can slip a silk kerchief out of a rear pocket. It’s hard to believe that such a small body can sing such big songs, and keep hold of a character without ever appearing to be acting.

The show, of course, is based on Charles’ Dickens novel of the same name. Set in London in the 1850s, it’s the life of little Oliver Twist — born in a workhouse, sold to an undertaker, adopted by a den of miniature thieves and finally finding his real home.

It’s hard not to like “Oliver!,” first performed in London in 1960. It’s a feel-good musical with a lush score. With a lineup of songs that includes “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself at Home” and “As Long as He Needs Me,” this may be one of the most recognizable scores in English-language theater.

Book, music and lyrics were all written by Lionel Bart, a son of a Jewish tailor with a gripping story of his own: Bart couldn’t read music, was one of the first managers of the Rolling Stones, eventually sold the rights to “Oliver!” — his only truly successful show — and died nearly penniless in 1977. But that’s another story, one that could make pretty compelling theater in its own right.

For now, though, we have Bart’s powerful legacy — a show that can’t help but make you happy, at least for a little while.

As usual, Bob Chapel directs this first big musical of the season, and, also as usual, has done a terrific job. How many directors, after all, have to include a “child wrangler” in the company?

Chapel has his cast use deliberate accents, mostly cockney, because they are a real part of the story. On opening night, though, it seemed that some actors were trying so hard to get the accent right their characterizations suffered a bit. And there were times when the show seemed a bit choppy and, in the second act, a little slow. But those are typical opening-night glitches that tend to disappear with fewer nerves and more performances.

Young Timberline isn’t the only pint-sized talent in the show. Sam Scott gives a sparkling debut performance as the Artful Dodger, pairing up nicely with both Timberline and the other kids, many of them from the Charlottesville area.

A standout among the adults is Catherine Ogden as Nancy, the tart with a heart of gold. Ogden’s singing voice does full justice to the score, and she has some memorable numbers. Michael Horan’s Fagin, the adult leader of the young gang of thieves, is also a standout — but, then, both Nancy and Fagin are plum parts, beautifully written.

Evan Bridenstine and Lydia Horan are a duo to reckon with — and very funny — as the two wicked workhouse adults.

This is a large cast, and it’s very nice to see the choreography for Heritage continuing to improve, this time under the direction of Perry Medlin.

The heart of this production, though, is the lush, full orchestral sound that complements the terrific voices on stage. Musical director Michael Slon has made 14 musicians sound like more, and the music becomes far more than just accompaniment.

Sara Ward’s set design evokes the dreary London of the period, and though Benoit Beuchamp’s lights serve their purpose and are occasionally quite beautiful, it would be nice to see richer lighting instead of or in addition to follow spots.

But those are small things, and the important small things in this show — the kids — shine brightly.

No matter what W.C. Fields might have thought.

Note that all shows in the Culbreth this season, including “Oliver!,” have a 7:30 p.m. curtain. Helms shows will begin at 8.

theater review

“Oliver!”

Heritage Theatre Festival

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Culbreth Theatre

$30; $26 for University of Virginia faculty and staff members; $15 students

http://artsbox office. vir ginia.edu; 924-3376