Yes of course it's Dickens meets Gershwin -- but what are other sources?

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2007)

Part of the fun for me in watching such a highly derivative (I will not say clichéd) fable is divining the filmmakers' sources -- it's like having something obscure in common!
So yes, it's Oliver Twist -- and they let you know they know how obvious this is by even naming the kid who brings Evan to the Fillmore "Artie."
But there's at least one specific scene that I KNOW I've seen somewhere else, not from Dickens, almost verbatim -- this is where Wizard barges into the Philharmonic rehearsal and drags Evan back with him to the streets. Where does this come from?
I remember an episode of Little Rascals, an extended dream of Alfalfa's where he achieves some success in grand opera, then discovers that his true calling is to become a radio crooner, but is dragged back onto the operatic stage by the Svengalian impresario ("I've got a contract!")
That episode does exist, I know, but I think I may be thinking also of something else, even closer, where the young protégé literally does wind up back performing on street corners. Could it be St. Martin's Lane? I'm not sure, years since I've seen it and that only once . . . Someone help me out here?