Dr Dolittle does little.........- Page 2

[justme2]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 5:50pm

Thanks for the info! He's playing Dr DoLittle, and directing it, then? That should be enough of a job!

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 5:55pm

Yes he is. But the program says "Production Staged by Tommy Tune"

[justme2]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 5:58pm

I wonder if he is mentoring her the way he did for so long with Jeff Calhoun?

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 10:06am

A correction to my earlier post. The changes are being made before going to LA and the week off is for vacation. Mr. Sandler did not speak of the technical problems. I already knew about a problem with a scrim before the show and since Mr. Tune called the technical crew out onstage, everyone figured he did this as there were a few glitches during the show.

Updated On: 2/2/06 at 10:06 AM

[jimmirae]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 11:55pm

I wonder what drew TT to this piece, He MUST have seen it beofre and knew it just wouldn't be worth the time. He is too talented to waste time with this - I didn't even think Doolittle was a good kids film. Are we lacking for material these days? It sure seems like it.

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:47pm

I was thinking the same thing. This just not seem to be the vehicle that will bring him triumphantly back to Broadway.

[craftymarley]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:25am

I worked on this show. The poor review from Houston is entirely accurate. The book is terrible. It is the one thing that really ruins the show. The entire thing is so disjointed that you don't care about anyone. The entire opening trial sequence should not exist- there shouldn't be a flashback aspect, the story should just be told straight through. There are so many things that just don't make sense or seem forced. I could go on, but I'll just say that when you have to wrap up the major plot line during the curtain call, it should be clear that there's a problem.

The music is vaguely catchy- the opening sequence, Talk to the Animals, When I look in Your Eyes, even Never Seen Anything Like It is alright. A couple songs are terrible- Save the Animals is ridiculous- it has no context. Impossible is the same (why is Emma Fairfax even at the circus?). Even Dee Hoty can't make the love songs (with the possible exception of Fabulous Places) not boring- the chemistry and context just aren't there.

The design lacks consistancy within each element as well as an overall concept. The set and large scale puppets remain untouched from the old tour, while the costumes and smaller puppets have been completely refurbished. One might forgive Dona for the design if they're aware of the time and budget constraints, as well as the problems finding non-union labor (particularly since the costumes that were shop built are mostly stunning- everything for Tommy and Dee as well as the Pushmi-Pullyu- though what were they thinking with those sock monkeys?), but Ken and his cardboard giraffe have no excuse.

The ensemble cast is as talented an ensemble as I've ever seen assembled in professional theater. The puppeteers do a remarkable job, especially considering not one of them had experience with puppet manipulation. Dee Hoty is flawless in a a role undeserving of her talent. Tommy Tune plays himself, but he's so talented and charismatic and the tap dancing is so great that you would have easily forgiven it had the book been better and had he been given lines that were remotely natural sounding.

I personally like the choreography and kind of enjoy the juxtaposition between it and the large period costumes. The tap dance numbers are enjoyable. The direction isn't even worth discussing because no director in the world could save the book.

That's pretty much my two cents. It will never go to Broadway- it's too short and just not that good. I would be surprised if the tour was shut down early like the last version. Tommy Tune's name will sell two weeks worth of tickets in every city they go to. I'll be interested to find out what changes before LA. I hope they're rehearsing every day in Denver because their NY lay-off next week is supposedly a break, and they don't have time to do much before they open in LA.

I feel for them though. Such a friendly and talented cast. They've been put through so much getting this show up and aren't going to get the success they deserve.

Updated On: 2/6/06 at 08:25 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 3:59am

can we all agree, though, that the original London cast recording is at the very least close to perfection? I dunno what kind of reviews the show got in London, but it couldn't be as bad as this tour could it??? The CD is great. I didn't understand how anyone could complain about the score, but then I looked at the song list for the tour and I see that some of the best songs from the OLC have been cut. My favorite being "Where Are the Words" ... why, after the show got such horrid reviews, didn't they just go back to the original London scripts?

[craftymarley]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 5:10am

I've never heard the OLC recording, but fyi "Where Are The Words", was originally in the show and was cut sometime between Chattanooga and LA. I think there were just too many love songs and the show was dragging, particularly since that ship scene already has "Fabulous Places" and "Something in Your Smile".

[alterego]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 7:09am

And what about the song 'After Today' ? Is it in it. From what I've read( I have the OLC but never saw the show) they should never have changed the show from what it was in Britain. I believe it ran well over a year at the London Apollo and then did a long provincial tour. The animal creations were from the Jim Henson Creature Shop, no puppeteers were visible and Julie Andrews was the voice of Polynesia. Why change it?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 2:14pm

I believe "After Today" is the finale on tour...

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 2:17pm

CATS, I think you are right. He sings it as he is mounting that flying moth thing. Actually it was the best part of the show! Visually it was cool.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 4:32pm

I still don't understand why EVERYONE doesn't own the OLC. It's one of my favorite CDs in my collection. There are way too many gems in the "complete score" to ignore. And since it's available used and new on Amazon for as low as 3 dollars that's a mega steal...