101 Dalmatians 🐾

#PRInvite #Gifted | You may want to keep your dogs on a tight leash this week as Cruella De Vil is mixing her signature black and white look for the Grey Granite City in this new musical adaptation.

Star rating: ★★★

Following in a long line of screen to stage adaptations is ‘101 Dalmatians’, the new musical, which has found its spot at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, this week. The Disney classic animated film was first released in 1961, before it was rereleased into the 1996 live-action picture - one of my personal favourite childhood films. Extending the popular franchise further came Disney’s ‘Cruella’ in 2021 which acted as a prequel to the originals and took the character of Cruella De Vil into the twenty-first century. Now, the story has been transformed into a musical, debuted first in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, during its summer stint in 2022. With the Haus of De Vil currently situated in the heart of Aberdeen, ‘101 Dalmatians’ could be the pawfect performance for families to enjoy this week at His Majesty’s Theatre.

Every man and their dog knows the plot of ‘101 Dalmatians’, but this is a new, watered-down, version for the stage. When a stray dalmatian is taken to the Puppy Love Dogs Home for rescuing, worker Danielle, aptly played by Jessie Elland, falls in love with the dog and decides to take him home. From there, its a simple case of girl-meets-boy when she bumps into Tom - another dalmatian owner - in a nearby park. The pair move in together, and as they fall in love - their dogs Pongo and Perdi do too. Tom, energetically portrayed by Samuel Thomas, is an aspiring fashion designer and meets with the iconic Cruella De Vil to forward plan a new business partnership. However, we learn that she is De Vil by name and Devil by nature as Cruella schemes to make fur coats out of Perdi’s fifteen newborn puppies. The plot of the show then revolves around Cruella capturing her prey from the couple, acquiring London’s entire offering of dalmatian puppies, and subsequently explores how De Vil meets de end.

Not to be confused with the American production by Dennis DeYoung and B. T. McNicholl from the early 2000s - this version of the classic title is a production born and bred in Britain. First staged outdoors, it is now hitting the road with 101 puppies in tow - but for the dog frenzied out there, sorry… they aren’t real! It should be noted, also, that although the production has kept its Disney film title - this is not a show conjured by Disney Theatricals. Therefore, from the offset, don’t expect any of that Disney magic that many other stage adaptations have been treated to.

As sporadic as spots, the show’s book was the weakest part of ‘101 Dalmatians’. Written by Johnny McKnight, the story is brought forward over seventy years and is set in the present day. It is quintessentially modern, with contemporary references to hashtags and mobile phones. Though this can be a bit jarring, this was not the main problem. The construction of the show feels like a tick-box exercise to appeal to audiences at large with everything you would expect from a modern-day musical - meaning that any chance of being unique was lost. At times, Cruella De Vil - the main event - was placed in strange scenes, such as a run-down pub, which felt like McKnight didn’t truly understand the characters, and thus defeated important aspects of characterisation. I was also surprised with some of the complex vocabulary that was included in the dialogue at times, too, which I wouldn’t have thought twice about if this wasn’t a show aimed at families and children. Together with pacing problems, as a paper thin and starved plot was stretched out over two hours, I wasn’t surprised seeing nearby kids become restless and bored. Despite this, McKnight’s script had some great comedy throughout with both verbal and non-verbal cues, and there are plenty of jokes in there which fly over the heads of children and result in the parents’ amusement.

Douglas Hodge pens the score for the show and this was respectable overall. Every song was tuneful, with some strong and splendid harmonies from the cast. Yet the lasting impression of the melodies were mostly short-lived: pleasant to listen to at the time, but forgettable after you leave. I particularly enjoyed ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘A Thousand Kisses’ - and ‘Animal Lover’ is currently stuck in my head. What feels limiting for the score, though, is that the lyrics are filled with simple and predictable rhymes; but these are elevated by the vocal arrangements supervised by Alfonso Casado Trigo and orchestrations by Jack Hopkins. 

For the careful listener, you will recognise that most songs in the score have been sampled from other successful hits. Dotted throughout are allusions to ‘Friend Like Me’ from Aladdin and an overture which uses the same chord structure as ‘Love is an Open Door’ from Frozen. Perhaps the closest match for ‘101 Dalmations’ is another family-favourite ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and this is very closely referenced throughout. In fact, I’d say the story has morphed into this tale as old as time - and no, I don’t mean any Disney tales. When ensemble numbers sound heavily inspired by, or plucked from, other shows - it begs the question: what exactly is the purpose of ‘101 Dalmatians’ as a musical? Of course, I can see why these deliberate attempts to appeal to the children have been injected, but I don’t think it paid off at all.

Elevating the production significantly is the use of puppetry throughout, designed and directed by Jimmy Grimes. Whilst the dogs are operated by human actors perched behind the puppets, they do far outshine any other form of characterisation in the show. Grimes has designed lots of furry friends for this production - including poodles, cats and a ‘howl’ range of dogs up for adoption at the dog home. Enhancing the portrayal of the puppets are the actors who lend their voices to their animal: Emma Thornet, in particular, is a standout as Perdi and is definitely the under-dog of the cast.

David Woodhead has designed an appealing set, which though minimalistic, is complimented by James Whiteside’s lighting design - giving it a bubblegum feel. A special note goes to Sarah Mercadé’s costume design which tied the entire production together. Cruella’s costumes in particular were well crafted - though I was offended by her flat feet at the end of the first act. There was a real explosion of colour on stage, making this a feast for the eyes, yet this was not overstimulating or a sensory overload for the children in the audience. There’s even a gesture towards Paw Patrol within the staging at the top of the second half, so alongside familiar songs, children are treated to comfortable and familiar sights in an attempt to keep them engaged.

But, there was no need for the Crocs. Barking mad.

Kym Marsh’s portrayal of Cruella De Vil is the one many adults will be in to watch, and she leads with dignity. Marsh’s stage presence is second to none and she delivers her dialogue and songs with clarity and precision. However, the material she has been given to work with simply does not work for this character, and this was disappointing. Whilst Marsh’s vocality is not at fault, Cruella’s songs feel ill-suited - almost Cab Calloway and big-band styled but without the punch. I believe she did the best she could with poor writing, but should the show be revised in the future, refining the character of Cruella De Vil should be the team’s first priority. Though I expected De Vil to be like a panto dame, I couldn’t help but wonder how the writers had pitched such a well-known character so wrong.

‘101 Dalmatians’ will inevitably be a good form of escapism for children and families alike - reigniting childhood memories of the film and bringing a classic tale into a new age. Despite some great visuals, animated principals, and striking harmonies - preventing this production from a four-legged star review comes down to the construction and insipid reimagining of such a potent story and string of characters which just didn’t hit the spot. What deserves to be seen, though, is the outstanding puppetry by the ensemble cast which will have you swooning over inanimate dogs - or maybe, a real puppy which makes an appearance at the end! Though ‘101 Dalmatians’ was a pleasant watch and carried strong nostalgia, personally, I’d rather watch Cruella De Vil be baked in a giant cake on screen over this any day.

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @101dalmatiansuk

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts