Copperfield!
(L-R) Amelia Cormack, Jed Feder, Bobby Conte and top, Alexander Sovronsky (Photo: Jeremy Daniel)
By Fern Siegel (posted 10/20/26)
It’s easy to see why Charles Dickens’ novels endure.
The author was an astute critic, detailing the many cruelties of Victorian society, while creating memorable characters, compelling story lines and a potent mix of satire and happy endings.
That’s especially true in David Copperfield, a novel that follows a young boy through a brutal childhood to marriage and eventual success. Since its publication in 1849, it’s been remade into movies and TV series. Now, Copperfield! is an off-Broadway musical at The Duke, with book, music and lyrics by Jeffrey Scharf.
And this latest iteration is well worth seeing.
Adapted from Dickens’ most autobiographical novel, the musical features an impassioned Bobby Conte as the adult David. Throughout the show, he interacts with his younger self (Calvin Knegten). It’s a clever device to illustrate the totality of a life, while introducing some of the author’s most famous creations: eccentric Mr. Micawber (Andy Taylor) Uriah Heep (Will Reynolds), Aunt Betsey Trotwood (Kara Mikula) child-wife Dora (Cathryn Wake) and the Peggottys (Amelia Cormack and Alexander Sovronsky).
The excellent ensemble plays multiple roles and various instruments, upping the talent quotient, which is energetically directed and choreographed by Gabriel Barre.
En route, Dickens reveals the horrors of Victorian life — from placing children in sweatshops to the subjugation of women to the unrestricted power schoolmasters and corrupt lawyers held over their charges. Young David suffers all such abuses. Yet by chronicling his experiences, as Dickens meticulously did, he illustrates both the strength of the human spirit and how good, in the face of evil, can triumph.
Add in 24 original songs, which underscore its coming-of-age themes, and Copperfield! revisits Dickens in a lively fashion. The pacing is brisk, enhanced by Jeff Croiter’s lighting, Shannon Slaton’s sound design, Jen Caprio’s costumes and Sonny Paladino’s orchestrations.
The props are economical — minimal furniture pieces set the stage for everything from a schoolroom to a seaside home. The raging storm in the second act is particularly notable, while the music and quick scene cuts move the tale forward.
This panorama of mid-19th century English life is compelling and special shout-outs to Conte, Knegten as young Copperfield, Reynolds as the obsequious Heep/hideous stepfather, Wake’s tenderness as David’s mother/child-bride Dora, Tatiana Wechsler’s Agnes/Miss Murchstone and Mikula’s nuanced Aunt Betsey Trotwood.
The story remains popular for several reasons: Its first-person narrative, the seamless swings between social critique and warm friendships, and the ultimate personal victory at the novel’s end. Copperfield! conveys all the substance and gives it a unique twist.