By Annabelle Higgins
When I was little, I was a massive fan of Dodie Smith's book '101 Dalmatians' - I must have watched the 1961 Disney adaptation dozens of times! | was delighted, therefore, to have the opportunity to attend the press night of '101 Dalmatians the Musical at the New Theatre, Oxford, to see this childhood favourite rendered in song - thank you so much for this opportunity, @thatoxfordgirl!
Like Disney's animation and Stephen Herek's 1996 film, this adaptation veers away from the storyline of the book it is based on, opening with Pongo getting kicked out of his old home and being adopted by pet shop worker Danielle (Jessie Elland); similar to its predecessors, Pongo and Perdita end up uniting their respective pets, in this case with a comic song - 'Bow Wow'. In some places, however, the story's logic gets rather convoluted and characters behave in ways contrary to one's expectations, with certain darker twists and turns that sometimes veered away from narrative logic. Nonetheless, the young viewers I shared the auditorium with seemed utterly enthralled, suggesting that the story was strong enough to grip the intended audience. The spectators seemed to generally enjoy the performance, with these youngsters engaging enthusiastically and even the adults/parents emitting chuckles at a few timely, sometimes political references included.
The star of the show was, of course, Cruella de Vil: Kerry Ellis' vocals were impeccable, even if Cruella's songs did not strike me as melodically powerful enough to showcase her full talent; the best, in my opinion, were in the first act (Animal Lover' and 'Bring Me Fur). One can certainly hear the skill that made her the first British Elphaba in her belts. Jasper (Danny Hendrix) and Casper (Charles Brunton), Cruella's nephews, brought an element of slapstick comedy that, together with the bright sets, special effects, and simple farcical humour, made for more of a pantomime experience than a made for West End musical.
Indeed, I had to repress a laugh when the dog puppets started to "sing", but the puppetry work of the ensemble and leads (Benedict Hastings and Emma Thornett) was in general skilfully and smoothly done, from the frolicking of the pups to the slinking movements of the cats. The way the puppet animals jaws were moved, one could almost believe that they were actually singing instead of their puppeteers.
In summary, the tone of the performance felt in keeping with the harmless joviality of Christmas festivities; if you happen to have any younger siblings/friends visiting in this last week of term, this is certainly an option for an evening's occupation and entertainment.
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