By Lucy Komisar
Jeffrey Scharf’s Copperfield! is that rare theatrical experience that reminds you why live performance matters. This astonishing musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s semi-autobiographical novel doesn’t just tell the story—it pulls you into the 19th-century world with an accomplished cast who act, sing, and play musical instruments at the highest level of creativity.
Dickens’s tale of family love and abuse, of a child’s suffering and survival, and of a man’s growth in career and naïveté in love remains as fresh now as it was when first serialized in Britain in 1849–1850. The musical captures this timelessness, presenting a soap opera melodrama of the best kind—because the text is engrossing and the actors are outstanding.
The story follows David Copperfield from birth. He is born in Suffolk southeast of London after his father has already died. His early years with his loving mother, the sweet Clara (Cathryn Wake), and kind housekeeper, Peggotty (Amelia Cormack), are happy.
But then Clara, wanting to not be alone, marries Mr. Murdstone (Will Reynolds). (Was Dickens a feminist to know what a mistake that was?) Murdsone is a nasty, rigid, brutal man who thrashes David with a stick, telling him, “If you break the rules, I will beat you,” and he moves the boy to a dingy stall in the house. He first sends him to a horrific school, then to a factory cleaning wine bottles twelve hours a day for his company. Fortunately, David is put to lodge with kindly Mr. Micawber (Alexander Sovronsky). After the Micawbers leave London (fleeing creditors), David runs away to his Aunt Betsey in Dover.
Betsey Trotwood (Kara Mikula), his father’s sister, takes him in and sends him to school. Betsy (another early feminist?) declaims against men. But she is charmed by the male child. Struggling to become a writer (reflecting Dickens’s own childhood), fast forward to years later, David gets a job as a writer at Parliament.
Meanwhile, Agnes (Tatiana Wechsler), the child of Betsy’s solicitor, who he grew up with, is in love with him, but he doesn’t know it. He meets Dora (Cathryn Wake), a charming young woman of an aristocratic family, and is entranced by her. Like his mother, she is sweet but not too worldly bright. He becomes infatuated with Dora and marries her, but in a few years she falls ill and dies. But there will be Agnes! Indeed, the tough women in this play are smarter than the men!
Bobby Conte delivers a powerhouse performance as David Copperfield, anchoring the show with a powerful baritone and strong leading-man presence. His deep voice brings gravitas to the role. Calvin Kngten as Young David is a genuine charmer—a child performer with a strong presence who seems old beyond his years, admirable and tough.
The casting of Cathryn Wake as both Clara and Dora is clever, both portrayed as naïve, Clara for marrying the obviously cruel Murdstone, Dora for her childish innocence—and while Wake is sweet in both parts, that may simply be who these characters are—Dickens’s study in the cost of naïveté —especially when set against the formidable women around them, Peggotty and Betsey.
Because make no mistake: this is just as much a story about women. Kara Mikula as Aunt Betsey Trotwood is a charmer, a woman who clearly has it out for men and thinks we should ban the male of the species—and she’s got a great soprano to match. All the women have fine voices, as of course does Conte. Tatiana Wechsler shines in dual roles as the tough Jane Murdstone (David’s stepfather’s sister) and the steadfast Agnes, while the women of lesser status—Mrs. Peggotty and Mrs. Micawber (Amelia Comack)—stand up for themselves admirably. Even the villainous characters are given depth.
Will Reynolds is deliciously villainous as both Mr. Murdstone and Uriah Heep, two very different monsters. As Heep, he’s a creep—humble, plotting, learning secrets, planning to marry Agnes. Reynolds clearly relishes both roles.
The direction is terrific, with a young visit to Betsy’s brother in Yarmouth becoming a highlight as the cast skips around playing violin, drum, and accordion while singing sea shanties. The choreography is inventive—at one point, David’s schoolfriend Steerforth (the enormously appealing Owen Squire Smith) dances and jumps into a split.
The music is varied and effective, not the repetitive sounds of many pop musicals. There’s Broadway-style operetta and slapstick, vaudeville routines, and moments where the music shifts dramatically—as when David meets Dora at her estate and the sound becomes something different from the unified strings heard elsewhere. The second act features violins, cello, and bass with a soft crescendo that underscores the emotional weight. A Yarmouth hurricane is rendered with great sound and light. (Sound by Shannon Slaton, lighting by Jeff Croiter.)
The musical wisely embraces the story’s melodrama. The horrible headmaster Creakle (Alexander Sovronsky) appears in top hat and white beard, threatening and evil in a Broadway-style operetta slapstick way.
Copperfield! has a brilliant cast with voices that should be recorded, bringing Dickens to life with creativity and heart. It’s a riveting production that honors its source while finding new theatrical vocabulary for it. As good as or better than anything you’ll see on Broadway. At a fraction of the price.
Copperfield! The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street NYC. 2hrs30 min. Opened October 19, closes December 6, 2026.