Identifying Characteristics Of Bart's 'Blitz !'

Clearly identify characteristics of Bart 's work, providing examples where these are evident using as main focuses Oliver! (1960) and Blitz! (1962).
Lionel Bart created a number of musicals and popular songs during the 1950s and 1960s. He wrote songs for Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and many others. Amongst his series of musicals, he created the title musicals ‘Blitz!’ and the award winning show ‘Oliver!’

Bart’s family fled Galicia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when the Russian’s invaded in 1914. ‘A quarter of a million decided it was time to up sticks’ (2011, pg 13) and Bart’s parents travelled with their eldest child.
Lionel Bart was born Lionel Begleiter in London’s East End, to Morris and Yetta. He was their youngest child,
The story follows the tale of an orphan, born into the workhouse. Oliver is sold to an undertaker. Whilst here, he sings ‘Where is Love’ which was the first song of the show that Lionel wrote and the other songs came about because of this one. Oliver then escapes to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger. Dodger then introduces him to Fagin, who has lodgings locally and looks after the children, whilst they work for him as pick pockets. Fagin takes Oliver in and teaches him the trade. However on his first outing, he is unjustly arrested for stealing a ‘gentleman’s purse’. The gentleman, Mr Brownlow believes Oliver’s story and takes him into his home.
Although Oliver seems to have found happiness, Bills Sykes, who works for Fagin doesn’t trust Oliver to keep quite. Nancy, Bill’s lover reluctantly helps bring Oliver back to Fagin, but finds it hard to live with what she has done. The Song, ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ where she admits her undying Love for Bill, Lionel comments:
‘I suppose (it) is about my own dying love.’ (2011, pg 89) She risk’s everything to help Oliver escape Bill and Fagin and pays the ultimate
In both shows, Lionel appears to use underscoring to progress the story. Within Oliver, underscores are used in ‘Oliver’s Escape’ and ‘On the Bridge’ Two moments of tension in the show, where the music helps to build that atmosphere. Similarly in Blitz, underscore is used throughout an air-raid sequence and for the purpose of a ‘knees up’

Where Oliver begins with an Overture, Blitz does not, and where Blitz contains an entr’acte, Oliver does not. Entr’acte means between the acts and this idea again was drawn out from opera. The entr’acte works in the same way that an overture does; reflecting and recapturing an atmosphere, allowing the audience to travel back to a time and place, before the action starts. However, Oliver does not have this time, instead it jumps straight in with the rousing song: ‘Oom Pah Pah’, a big chorus number that sets the scene and takes you straight back into the heart of the