I also thought the Jewish (Yiddish?) accent was very weird and discomfiting. If Fagin was Jewish in the book and there was an element of antisemitism that they wanted to keep in the play for some purpose, that would have been unnecessary but I could have accepted it since it was in the book. However, there doesn't appear to be any purpose to it; Fagin doesn't appear to be Jewish most of the time, and no one ever refers to him as Jewish. His turn as Shylock is entirely out of context and is never explained -- there's just the association of an unsavory character with a Jewish stereotype.
Edward Gorey has a very nice short illustrated story that resembles Oliver Twist, but without the triumph of insipidity and improbability. I don't know what I did with my Gorey book but I'll try to find it.
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Edward Gorey has a very nice short illustrated story that resembles Oliver Twist, but without the triumph of insipidity and improbability. I don't know what I did with my Gorey book but I'll try to find it.
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