Off-Broadway bound - "Bark! the Musical" in West Hollywood

[voztimbrada]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 12:21am

Any of you West Coasters seen this show in West Hollywood? I hear they just opened a second company in Chicago, and it's supposed to open off-broadway this summer. What's the scoop on this show? Is it good? I did a thread search, and found one thread, but it's old. Just curious if anyone has seen it lately or knows any of the gossip. Here's the website:

www.barkthemusical.com

[eslgr8]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 3:22am

The show just got re-reviewed in this week's L.A. Weekly. I saw it early in its run and it's a lot of fun, with a very talented cast and good songs. The show lacks a book, though I've heard that the version in Chicago has more of a plot. The lovely Kristi Holden is currently one of the stars.

Here's the Weekly's Review:
BARK Directed by Kay Cole, this unusually popular musical (it opened here 16 months ago and has received other productions around the country) by Gavin Geoffrey Dillard and Robert Schrock (with additional lyrics by Jonathan Heath, Danny Lukic, Mark Winkler) explores the highs and lows of six canines who are all passing time at the Doggie Daycare Center. Known as “the Pack” (Katy Blake, Kristi Holden, Ginny McMath, Jamey Schrick, Blake Pullen, Joe Souza), the canines appear onstage (not in doggie costumes) and skillfully mimic the habits and manners of man’s best friend. That’s really the show’s cutesy, facile essence. There is no plot, but each dog has a distinguishable personality. The show’s most compelling elements are David Troy Francis’ songs, ranging from the sublimely reflective to the hilarious. In “Mutt Rap,” the studs engage in a rap dittie that catalogs just about every breed known to man, while heralding the virtues of being a dog. The vocal highlight is Kristi Holden’s stunning “Il Cane Dell ‘Opera,’” about a poodle and her mistress. Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd.; W. Hlywd; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat. 3 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru April 2. [phone] (Lovell Estell III)

[Sheri]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 6:09pm

It's a cute show! Lots of talent in the cast... Kristi Holden is wonderful as "Chanel" and Katy Blake (who I'd seen previously in "Spitfire Grill" in Laguna as a last minute replacement when Misty Cotton got ill) is a great "Molly"! Others in the cast who are understudies/swings are equally talented... Just saw it the other week and Mindy Reid was a great "Chanel" and Brandon Alameda was a wonderful "Charlie."