101 Dalmatians - The Musical?- Page 2

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/14/09 at 2:43pm

Given how iconic the Disney films and characters (particularly Cruella) are, I just don't see an adaptation not affiliated with Disney being the least bit successful.

[RevolutionaryCostume]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 11:05pm

I went to the Broadway In Chicago concert at the Taste of Chicago tonight. Dennis DeYoung was there, and he said he is "writing the score" currently. Two songs were sung. The first one was called "101 Dalmations" (sung from the point-of-view of Pongo, so I guess live animals won't be used) and it was AWFUL! The cheesiest bull**** I've heard in a long time. Some lines were similar to "You're never prepared for unconditional love" . .and the chorus was "one hundred and one dalmaaaaaaaations . . . " I really thought a company of actors was going to jump out and scream "DALMATIONS!" as the lights went down. Yeah, that bad.

Then, Joanna Glushak came out as Cruella and sang a song that I believe was called "I Always Get What I Want." It was a little better, but the whole thing was a synth-heavy nightmare.

-Jacob.
Updated On: 6/29/09 at 11:05 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 1:53pm

It is not Disney and it is coming to Denver next season. Just announced today with the new season. It will be here next year. Here is what we were sent about it:

THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL hits The Buell August 31?September 12, when one of the world?s most beloved stories comes to life on the national stage for the first time. Based on the book by Dodie Smith, THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL is a one-of-a-kind adventure for the entire family, all about what it means to be a family, canine and courageous. The musical is led by an award-winning creative team including four-time Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks (A Bronx Tale, Smokey Joe?s Café, Guys and Dolls), acclaimed bookwriter and co-lyricist BT McNicholl (Billy Elliot, Spamalot, The IT Girl), and Dennis DeYoung, founding member of the legendary rock band STYX, as composer and co-lyricist. In keeping with the spirit of the original story, THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL promises a quirky, upside-down view of the world, where the audience sees life from a dog?s point of view. In addition to the bevy of talented human actors, the musical will showcase fifteen talented Dalmatians, many of which were rescued from animal shelters across the country and given a new lease on life with this starring role.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 2:06pm

This show is coming to Toronto as well, and in a release announcing the "official" tour dates, they slated it playing the Princess of Wales Theatre, where an open run of the Sound Of Music is playing

Here is the article with the tour dates:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/130948-101_Dalmatians_The_Musical_Tour_to_Launch_in_Minneapolis_Will_Play_NYC

Then, here is an article talking about the venue mix up, with the statement from the owners (Mirvish) about 101 Dalmatians:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/663736

[jovie27]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 2:06pm

YES, this has nothing to do with DISNEY at all. This based on the original books that are not owned by DISNEY..only the source material based on the books and the film are DISNEY'S.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 2:12pm

I heard a minor rumor a few months back that Buckley was doing Cruella...however if this isn't a one-off production, I'm guessing she isn't.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 3:14pm

Both Disney films are diabolical.

The stage adaption is wise to go back to the original material but will still be weak, as it is impossible to stage the book without losing what makes it so special.

The book is simply too good to improve upon.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 1:13pm

Here are just a few random thoughts about this after attending last night's first performance. Obviously, things are still brand new to everyone involved in the production, so my criticisms could easily be worked out soon...

1. The use of the real dogs was completely unnecessary and added a great deal of confusion for me (I didn't understand why they were being represented by humans in spotted outfits one second and real dogs the next). That being said, I'm sure for all the kids, that was probably the highlight of the show and without it, their experience would have suffered greatly. If they'd just stuck with one way of representing the dogs vs. humans, I think it could've worked better. But, I can understand why the real dogs were needed.

2. The set is just nonsensical. I don't know what was going on - every set piece was slanted oddly (I'm sure they were attempting to give a sense of heightened perspective), but it was an inconsistent perspective and just came across looking weird. It was also very cheaply put together - it looked like there was no attention to detail - everything had big black lines and solid fills (like a cartoon). This might have been okay, but the costumes were the exact opposite - quite a bit of detail.

3. Rachel York rocks. In a completely bizarre and underwritten role, she easily gave the strongest performance. She was chewing scenery right and left, trying to live up to preconceived notions of who Cruella is while forging her own interpretation - excellently executed. Pongo and the Misses were also very, very strong.

4. Cut about an hour from this show. I see no reason why an hour could not be cut. The plot isn't that complicated and most of the songs seemed to be inserted while serving no real narrative purpose (in some cases, no entertainment purpose either). Most of the kids were squirming and the adults seemed bored (I think everyone who didn't come with kids left @ intermission), so why not shorten the whole thing? First to go: Perdita's song and the accompanying ballet. She could have had a nice paragraph long monologue and we would have gotten the jist. Otherwise, this moment was just a huge yawn in the middle of the first act.

5. The choreography needs some serious help. Because all of the humans were on stilts, their choreography was limited to kind of waddling around the stage and occasionally throwing in a hand gesture or two. It was required that the dogs do all of the dancing. Unfortunately, every move they did was so cheap and repeated ad nauseum, that they did not manage to pick up the slack. The show just dragged when the humans were doing human-only numbers and the dogs just looked like a cheap high school swing choir who learned one variation on the grapevine and little else.

So, those are the few first thoughts. Did anybody else go last night? What did you think?

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 12:04am

Thanks for the detailed review. That is really to bad about the sets. Aren't all the characters on stilts too?

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 12:25am

The Star Tribune seemed to like the sets/staging. Adored Rachel York. Agreed it was too long.

I wonder if they'll make changes along the way. I can't imagine it. When would they have time to tinker on tour?
Star Tribune Review

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 12:41pm

I'm going to pass on this. After hearing two of the songs sung at Broadway in Chicago, the show seems like it could only be liked by a pre-school audiance. It seems too much like a "Blues Clues" or "Dora the Explorer" live show. When I heard demos from "Shrek the Musical" like "I Know It's Today" and "Who I'd Be" I thought it had potential, but this show doesn't excite me at all.

Updated On: 10/16/09 at 12:41 PM

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 1:23pm

101 Dalmations - the Musical.

Sounds like the makings for a challenging, intelligent, sophisticated evening of theater.

What's next? Burger King - the Musical?

[yeomansden]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 1:26pm

Not everything has to be challenging, intelligent and sophisticated. There is nothing wrong with sheer entertainment and fluff.

Now, having said that, still not optimistic about this one...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/15/09 at 2:03pm

101 Dalmations - the Musical.

Sounds like the makings for a challenging, intelligent, sophisticated evening of theater.

So don't go see it. Obviously, this show was not specifically created for you.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 11/5/09 at 12:32am

The title song from this musical makes the song from this televison movie of "Peter Pan" sound like the greatest song ever written. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZt3L9JjyK8 The song starts at 4:23. This is another musical version of "Peter Pan" satrring Danny Kaye as Captain Hook and Mia Farrow as Peter Pan.

I didn't think was no other song that had no effort put into it until I heard this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adyoRNBNTO0
Updated On: 11/5/09 at 12:32 AM