Reviewed
by Claudia Perry
Look
out Broadway, the Doctor will soon be in. That's right, first seen in London in
1998, the Premiere American Tour of Doctor Dolittle will be charming audiences around the country for
the next year. Based on Leslie Bricusse's 1967 Oscar winning movie, this
delightful family musical has the entire shebang (book, music and lyrics)
penned by Mr. Bricusse. And from the original movie score come such wonderful
songs as "Talk to the Animals", "When I Look in Your
Eyes", "After Today", "Beautiful Things",
"Fabulous Places" and "At the Crossroads". Well, the list could be endless
because the entire score is melodic and memorable. For the purposes of the
musical, some of these songs have been given new verses or been expanded upon
to flesh out the story and/or add dance numbers.
For
those of you who have never seen this adorable movie starring Rex Harrison,
Samantha Eggar and Anthony Newley - the story concerns the small town of
Puddleby, England where Dr. Dolittle stands accused of throwing an unknown
woman off a cliff into the sea. The doctor, who claims that he can converse
with the animal world, explains that she was in reality Sophie the Seal, who
only wanted to visit her husband at the North Pole. Supported by Polynesia, his
faithful parrot, Matthew Mugg, a devoted friend, Tommy Stubbins, an innocent
boy and a menagerie of animals, the doctor tries to convince the court of his
innocence.
Tom
Hewitt's name
rests solidly above the title of the show and with good reason. As Doctor
Dolittle, Mr. Hewitt is in almost every scene and never seems to leave the
stage except to change his costume. His performance as John Dolittle is
completely disarming. Aided by a smooth Bari-Tenor voice, Mr. Hewitt can at one
moment seem forceful and pigheaded (oh, pardon me!) and at the next, vulnerable
and sweet as a lamb (oh, dear, there I go again!) Tony Yazbeck is outstanding as the young
Matthew Mugg, with a spectacular voice. Nancy Anderson plays a sweet but prissy Emma
Fairfax and delights us with her rendition of "Fabulous Places". Susan
J. Jacks is
terrific as Polynesia, flying about the stage like a feather. Michael McGurk is irresistible as the tap
dancing dog, Jip. Shadoe Alan Brandt as Tommy Stubbins has a big voice for such a small
looking fellow and Sophie the Seal (Kathleen Nanni) does a moving balletic lament.
In short the entire cast is well cast and highly entertaining.
If
you are a fan of the original Dr. Dolittle book series, then you will
appreciate the scenery (Kenneth Foy) and costume design (Ann Hould-Ward). A large drop curtain sports
pen and ink figures that look like Hugh Lofting's original drawings, and the
set pieces are like exploded pictures from a book, while the costumes are
strange and fairy-tale fanciful.
A
note about the animals used in this production. I personally hate puppets. But
these aren't puppets. These are big, stuffed, fluffy, colorful creatures that
are extensions of the actors. That's right. You can look at the actor and the
animal and they are one and the same. No puppeteers here. And I leave this
wonderful phenomenon to their designer - Michael Curry and to the director, Glenn
Casale. Credit
must also be given to Kenneth Foy (Scenery & Animal Design) and Ann Hould
-Ward (Costumes, Animals & Mask Design) for their hand in designing these
vivid and fantastic creatures. If I were a kid, my eyes would still be popping
out of my head for the Giant Pink Sea Snail and the Great Lunar Moth are simply
both not to be missed!
At
a talk back after the show it was evident that the Producer, Pittsburgh
CLO/Van Kaplan,
and Columbia Artists Theatricals backed by the Nederlander Organization has plans for the Doctor down
the road and is eager to improve the show as the tour progresses. A most humble
suggestion offered only as constructive criticism would be to not have
"Beautiful Things" and "When I Look in Your Eyes" back to
back. They are both lovely ballads, but since the median age for this audience
is going to be on the young side - it's going to be hard to keep their
attention - regardless of the dramatic worth of the situations. So perhaps a
little song shuffling might be advisable.
But
in the meantime, a word to anyone with children who loves the theatre - see
this show now while it's on the road - before it gets to Broadway. Because, number
one, it's totally delightful, and number two, once it gets to the Great White
Way - it will be impossible to get those Saturday matinee tickets!