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Musical adaptation of 101 Dalmatians feels like a missed opportunity – review

Zinnie Harris’ new stage adaptation of the classic Dodie Smith novel, with music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge and book by Johnny McKnight, is a show with a lot of potential. Originally expected to debut in summer 2020 but delayed two years due to Covid, it’s now on in the coveted prime slot of the Open Air Theatre’s summer season. It stars the excellent Kate Fleetwood as the infamous Cruella De Vil and is packed full of puppetry – it has all the ingredients for a perfect summer’s evening in the park.

Sadly it doesn’t live up to expectations. Given the rich source material, we were expecting something far more entertaining and exciting – much of the music is quite forgettable, the lyrics are often a tad juvenile, the book is a bit bland, and the choreography is generally fairly simple. There are a lot of individually cute elements to the show – the puppetry for the Dalmatians is quite sweet (and we even see a real, live puppy at one point) and the child actors know how to tug at the heartstrings, but these don’t make up for a musical which is unfortunately rather lacking in substance.

At times it all feels a bit confused, too. During many of the musical numbers, there simultaneously feels like there’s a lot going on, and yet no real focal point. Many moments just seem to happen without adding value – entire song and dance routines come and go, which aren’t all that entertaining to watch and don’t significantly further the narrative. The puppy puppets are all identical – collectively this looks quite effective, but we couldn’t buy into characters forming particular attachments to any of them individually, as there was nothing to distinguish one from another.

It’s not entirely without redeeming features. We enjoyed the re-imagining of Cruella as a Katie Hopkins-esque right-wing commentator, deliberately doing and saying controversial things to ensure people continue talking about her. The updated story unfolds in the present day, set in a world of smartphones and social media, and this works well for Cruella’s narrative. Kate Fleetwood does well with the role she’s given, although we felt a villain this renowned could have been bolder, scarier and more dramatic. She’s involved in a couple of entertainingly comic set-pieces – these moments are great, but they’re few and far between.

101 Dalmations feels like a missed opportunity. It’s not a complete disaster, and we’re sure young children will derive some enjoyment from it, but we left the theatre feeling distinctly underwhelmed. The best family-friendly shows will make sure there’s plenty for the grown-ups to appreciate too, and there’s just precious little here for adults to enjoy. There’s a whole lot of enthusiasm and the Dalmatians are cute, but we’re going to need more than that to hold our attention.

GAY TIMES gives 101 Dalmations – 2/5

More information can be found here.

The post Musical adaptation of 101 Dalmatians feels like a missed opportunity – review appeared first on GAY TIMES.

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Author: Chris Selman

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