Hi Melinda,
I've directed "Oliver!" twice, in very different productions, and it's been a great experience both times. It's a very dark play, even though many at school seemed to think of it as "singing, dancing, happy orphans". Both times, I had girls playing Oliver and Dodger, as well as many of the other "boys" in Fagin's gang. They played the roles as boys. Here are some of the things that I discovered when I worked on it:
-The real villain of the play is the social structure of Victorian England, not Sikes. If you can find a way to make that a part of your story, it's much more compelling. (We had a set that appeared to "lock" the entire cast onstage, and we kept the ensemble as "witnesses" for much of the play.)
- almost every character is both corrupt and a victim. They are all fighting for survival. This would include Dodger, Fagin, Nancy, and Sikes. This makes them more interesting for your actors.
- the role of Oliver doesn't require your strongest actor. I focused on casting Dodger before Oliver. He's the more complex character.
- make sure that you have a fight choreographer. The violence at the Sowerbury's and the final Nancy/Bill confrontation need to be real and terrifying.
- For one of the productions, I rented costumes. For the other, I hit up thrift shops and asked the kids to bring in old clothing that we distressed. I wasn't concerned with historical accuracy.
The shows were both huge successes and drew big crowds. We were also able to tie them into our English and history curriculum.
Break a leg and have fun with it. There's a lot of value in doing the show and a lot to discover for your actors.