OLIVER!

"What makes Oliver worth seeing is the performance Bowling gets from 8-year-old Edgar. He’s tiny — about a third of the size of Mr. Bumble, for example. When Oliver asks for 'more' gruel, Bumble towers over him like a giant. The optics are straight out of a child’s nightmare. Edgar looks the part of a half-starved, cruelly vulnerable child. And with the wistful, angelic 'Where is Love,' it’s clear that he’s a precociously gifted vocalist, too."

Chicago Sun-Times

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"In the fervent melee at the opening of Marriott Theatre’s splendid new revival of Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!” something truly wonderful pops up out of nowhere. That would be the pint-sized powerhouse Kai Edgar, an 8-year-old heartbreaker who barely looks eye-to-eye to a yardstick. Young Edgar is measured here by a crystal-clear vocal range and a captivating presence—in the title role that he shares with Kayden Koshelev—surrounded by a colossal company jam-packed with talent."

PicksInSix Theatre Review

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"In Nick Bowling’s excellent new production of 'Oliver!' at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Kai Edgar, whom I saw play Oliver Twist, is eight years old…Both of them are terrific; Edgar, in fact, turned in a perfectly pitched and generally flawless vocal performance that rendered the ballad 'Where is Love?' as beautifully as I have heard it sung without any surfeit of sentiment."

Chicago Tribune

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"On press night, pint-sized Kai Edgar performed the title role, which he alternates with Kayden Koshelev. Though a very young actor making his professional debut, Edgar's remarkably sweet vocals charmed the audience."

Broadway World

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"Most important, the theater has seized on its opportunity to charm the audience with Kai Edgar's stellar performance."

Chicagoland Theater Review