my honest review of 101 DALMATIANS | a new musical at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
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OHMYGOD HEY!
Before the weekend I was invited to review the new musical version of 101 DALMATIANS at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
This new staging of the show stars Kate Fleetwood as Cruella de Vil and has a new score by Douglas Hodge.
My critical review for WhatsOnStage earned dramatic social media attention when it was the first (and only) review to be published in the 24 hours following the performance.
Check out today's new review video to find out why I felt so strongly about this show...
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Have you seen Starkid’s 3 very (Harry) Potter musicals, starring Darren Criss, here on youtube? I also love their musical Twisted, where JaFar from Aladdin gets the Wicked treatment. There’s a scene where he meets the other Disney villains and finds out they were all innocent, except Cruella!
I fully agree that loving something doesn't mean blindly agreeing with all of it. Being critical (in a respectful way like mickey does) pushes people to be better at their craft
This is the way I am and A LOT of the Disney fan's are feeling about the Walt Disney co right now.
Being from the US, I feel like I miss out on a lot of theater news and new shows, so I appreciate your videos that help keep me in the loop!
Sameeeeee!! Literally have never seen a show on the West End but thoroughly enjoy learning about it & all the news & gossip.
Imagine being from neither then and yet loving musical theater... It sometimes seems like an art form specifically for English-speaking countries :(
A review is supposed to be the genuine reaction and opinions of the reviewer. Did people just want you to lie about what you thought, in the name of "support"? You're one of my favorite Theatre RUclipsrs because you are always so eloquent and detailed in your praise and criticisms, and you're never over the top with them. It's obvious to anyone who watches your videos that if you have something negative to say about a show, you're never just "being a hater," or "here for the drama." Your opinions are always so well thought out. If only those who had an issue with your review could take a page out of your book and use their heads before speaking... Ah well. Keep doing what you're doing, MickeyJo!
I 100% second this! Reviews containing all opinions are important in all walks of life. Otherwise, how can we all improve ?
I also agree with your review 100% !
I think your review was excellent. I just have 1 thing to point out (which is a common misconception) about the number of dogs. You said there were 93 puppy heads and needed to make 8 more. 93 is still too little, but there are 97 puppies in the novel - many people forget to count the adult dalmatians, Pongo, missus, Perdita - and in the end - Prince. Therefore, they needed to make 4 more puppy puppet heads.
There were 4 human puppies in act 2
I'm a parent and so know how carefully you have to pick stuff for your children and just how much it costs and is logistically difficult to take your kid out to shows. So I very much appreciate honest reviews, especially those that consider the experience of the target audience.
Someone please write a dissertation on the portrayal of dogs during the Regents Open Air 2022 season.
There is plenty of mileage for this tbh
Let’s see what dog will appear in Antigone. 😉
I've seen some photos of service dog training where they were training the dogs to sit still and quiet even with lots of noise and lights and so on going on around them, and they took them to a dress rehearsal of a show as a way to test that skill. It was exactly as adorable as you'd imagine.
Yes! This is at the Stratford Festival in Canada. ✨
I 100% agree with supporting the arts not meaning just blindly supporting everything. We have a lot of local community theatre in my town (several different companies) and this comes up every once in a while. Especially since the pandemic, just getting people back into seats is a hassle. But historically certain local theatres had varying quality of productions over others, and while we don't want to tear apart every aspect of a show that has a smaller budget/band/limited casting options/acting/singing, you do need to justify the price of admission sometimes.
The 4/5 points not making a good show is SO true.
A stunning script can make up for lackluster costumes or set, but beautiful costumes and sets can’t make up for a boring story
When my kid's high school did Once Upon a Mattress, they made darn sure the number of mattresses in a pile onstage matched the number stated in the dialog. High schools had gotten kicked out of contention for the prestigious Tommy Tune awards (excellence in high school musical theater) for such a mattress violation before. And this is a professional theater staging a show with 101 in the TITLE. If they thought no one would count, they're delusional.
mattress violation LOL I love the term.
It's interesting that while trying to separate themselves from the Disney adaptations they've still stuck with Perdita as the main female dog. In the book, Missus is the mother of the 15 puppies and Perdita is brought in to help - she later stays behind to look after their humans, so there's automatically a different version of the story to the Disney one. Charlie's hair also ends up white and sickly green, which I always enjoyed.
A person who reviews cannot be expected to love every single element of the shows they see. It would be a massive disserve to readers/viewer if you gave everything a 5 star just to avoid upsetting anyone. Thank you for your honesty 🙂
Regent's Park Open Air have definitely gone for a summer of bizarre dog stage portrayals - first the re-worked Legally Blonde, now this!
If this show ever makes it to the West End stage, Michelle Visage would make a perfect Cruella.
There was an American musical of 101 Dalmatians from 2009 that was also more based on the original book. This musical was completely different from this British version (different songs, different sets, etc.). For example, the actors playing dogs were just human actors wearing clothes with spots and they were the main focus, with Prince being the narrator. All of the actors playing the humans, including Cruella, were wearing shoes that made them at least 4-6 feet taller than the actors playing the dogs. It was an interesting show that I saw on tour. Check it out if you can find any footage of it.
The music for that version was written by former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung, who also co-wrote the lyrics with the musical's book author B. T. McNicholl.
YES my nana took me to that when they toured my local city! I don’t remember the big costumes but definitely remember the human Dalmatian actors
I thought you'd started writing for WhatsOnStage - congrats! Really interesting review and I agree that musical theatre writers need more support here in the UK
Mickey you are bloody brilliant, I live in Barcelona and only get to see West End/Broadway every couple of years so I’m super grateful for your honest and thorough opinions, it keeps me in the loop and I feel like I’ve seen the shows after your reviews! Don’t let a few people grind you down. You are so appreciated by so many more people.
I think honest reviews are vital to a prospective audience, with respect to the creatives, as it allows people who have limited time/resources to see shows in London to pick wisely. If you have more money or there's someone involved that you like, or simply want to form your own opinion of a show, that's fine - but generally it is a good indicator. I used to live far out of London, so far we'd have to stay overnight if we wanted to see a musical and that (plus train tickets) was exorbitant in relation to the earnings we had. Not to small violin or reduce something to the sum of it's parts but, even now as someone who has a lot more options, I think information on the quality of a show is vital. Unless someone is being pointedly mean spirited, take some of the fatphobic responses to Beanie's performance in Funny Girl (opposed to one's that where just honest), there has to be space in reviews for criticism or it's just disingenuous and self congratulatory. Like, for instance, I wanted to see Much Ado at the National and rated it a little higher in my mind than you did - but understood. Anyway, keep up the good work!
I did a kids play version of the disney film back in 2020,and I was pongo! First lead role in my community theater career so far so videos on this show make me feel nostalgic to that time, great video!
Honey, I’m just an old queen who as a child in the 60s fell in love with Cruella. We NEEDED her to have that coat. I think we all did. It just wasn’t something one discussed at school. Love your channel kiddo, keep up the great content.
As a puppet maker working in the uk on various shows it makes me sad that you described it as “puppet fatigue” I feel puppetry is not a gimmick and can be used effectively in any storytelling if used correctly. It is, still, a dying art form that is not spoken about often enough. There is more to puppetry than War Horse
Is there anything coming out soon or currently showing that we should check out? I'm looking forward to the RSC's Totoro, but I haven't heard much puppet related buzz since Frozen started
@@CP-mb3sn have you seen life of pi on the west end? id reccomend looking it up on youtube,beautiful animal puppets
I completely agree! Puppetry and puppets are a beautiful form of art that when used properly can be absolutely magical. So much more than the popular shows show!
@@808natee I haven't. Thanks for the recommendation. Definitely looks like one to watch
@@CP-mb3sn Hi! Lots of exciting puppetry coming including into the woods in bath this summer and my neighbour Totoro! :)
I never knew that there was a 10 Dalmations musical. But I'm waiting for a musical version of The Exorcist.
mickey jo you just have the most beautiful skin. u r glowing!
I’ve seen the show and I’ve always said they could of released 101 puppies into the audience and that would of made it more fun. I enjoyed this show, yes it has a lot of issues but I did love the set.
Ohh nooo the poor little puppies would get hurt 😟 I'm glad to hear they only used 1 real dog in this show, it would be cruel to exploit lots of dogs and stress them out by putting them in a musical.
But having just the 1 real dog sounds like a nice touch, to make the cruelty of Cruella hit home for the audience by shocking them.
@@LegalVampire I know it won’t work and I won’t want them to get hurt and the theatre is not the safest environment. I would just love to play with the puppies.
It was a nice touch to have a real life puppy. Hate to guess how much it would cost and the lengths they have to go to make it a happy and safe. At my work we had two snakes for Anthony and cleopatra production and they had their own dress room and everything.
maybe they could partner up with a local shelter or something and perhaps have a random, pre-selected (small) group of people from the audience (maybe mostly the kids?) to take part inn a puppy playtime at intermission?
@@Pastadudde that’s a wonderful idea and a % of ticket sales go to the shelter or you could donate more.
I saw it when I was very little with my grandma when it toured my local city. Looking back I’m pretty sure it was the Disney version? But I remember some Dalmatians running through the aisles and being on stage for a minute or two, but not the whole show
Negative reviews are not necessarily bad reviews I review a lot of books quite often; if a book is lacking I will comment on that because on the off chance that the author sees that than maybe it’ll help them improve. But something I say often and will echo from other creators is “the review is not for the author, it’s for fellow reader”. I feel that can apply here for theater goers as well. It’s not a direct diss at the cast and crew but more so for those going to the show.
I will always value reviews especially when it comes to a product that is expensive (as many shows are). Honest reviews are needed and do help the arts by making sure (in theory at least lol) to keep good shows running while offering critique to shows that should improve.
The 101 doesn't refer to the puppies - It refers to all the dalmatians in the story (although there probably weren't 101 still).
Was just thinking the same! Can't remember for sure, as I read these books as a kid (it was my fave and I knew it by heart at age 4)... but I am almost certain 101 is the total number of dalmatians in the show, perdita and pongo included
That’s right. 99 puppies and the two adults makes the 101 Dalmatian’s
You have every right to give an honest critical opion in a polite way! 😊
this is not at all related to this video but his skin is absolutely glowing oh my god
From Cape Town South Africa - thank you for your reviews. I love musical theatre so your insights on West End and regional productions are really appreciated.
This whole vibe. The heat. Battling with previous reactions to a shorter review. the dog references at the end. 🤣
I love your honest reviews and these reviews highlight your amazing knowledge of theatre and attention to detail. I’m hoping you are going to review the new sister act musical with Beverly knight and Jenifer Saunders. It looks amazing
You have always given your open and honest opinion, backed by your own experience as a performer and your experience as a theater critic. I always appreciate your perspective and even when you criticize you are never rude, demeaning or belittling. Keep up the good work!
Call me when they dare stage the sequel, Starlight Barking, in this manner. I need the absolute inhinged insanity of that book depicted through these people-puppets
It looks like suspension of disbelief doesn’t work here, does it?!
“Only the puppy itself could actually hear it” my favorite line!
I don't think you're barking mad or should be neutered for being ruff, truthful and genuine. How are we to improve if we don't roll around in the mud to analyse what works and what doesn't. Good boy... who's a good boy... you are... yes you are.
It would be interesting to have a villainous main character in cruella fully explored (similar to Sweeney Todd) but the right material is needed to make that idea work. I don’t mean anything similar to the Cruella movie but maybe some music or script choices that gives some context to cruella but still reminds the audience that she is a villain.
Honestly, it would have been fun to add a song called "Dog Eat Dog World" or something along the lines, and explain her insanity as being born out of her desire to keep shocking the press lest she fall into irrelevancy. Could also explain her friendship with Anita, as a flicker of her past self before she let her ambition consume her.
@@879SCSP that’d be good or another thought I had is that in her early career in fashion, she was mocked for being too poor to own real fur, so it drove a lot of her obsession with owning the most lucrative and unattainable fur ensembles to show up her peers.
We support you!! Don't let the haters get to you!
I think your reviews are fantastically done, the structure of your videos is amazing and viewers can tell a lot of thought was put into it. I also appreciate how thorough you are, you focus on details and add background info on performers, creatives and the pieces themselves. You are the only theatre reviewer whose videos I watch consistently - and the reason for that is your honesty and the ability to point out the good and the bad in a show. Keep up the good work! 💪💪
Can't believe I managed to see the show before you, first time thats happened, saw it on saturday 16th so been waiting for your indepth review. You are correct the score was not great, book not mind blowing. 2nd act was stronger than act 1 mainly due to the heartfelt song by mum to her puppy and the final song in the show. Other than those 2 none of the rest were amazing, even cruella's songs didnt have me hooked. Same reaction when the real puppy came out, the audience really loose it at that point and melt into puddles of cuteness and the kids playing puppy's were also amazing. They did a fab job.
At the show I was at we had some sound issues and cruella's mic cut out twice during the first act during 2 of her big numbers, but that's what previews are for, getting gremlins like that sorted. I do wonder if that spoilt my enjoyment of her stuff.
It wasn't my favourite show. I'd say to folk it's worth seeing, the cast really give you one hell of a performance, but not one I'd go back and see again.
Absolutely loving your reviews. Keep up the good work!
Haven't watched the whole video yet, but I honestly thought your review was generous so it surprises me that you got criticised - I understand that I probably wasn't the target demographic, but I just found 101 Dalmations to be unsure of itself and what it was trying to achieve. It felt like a Pantomime in certain parts, which I have no issues with, but then at the same time, there were some insanely dark moments in the show that just felt really misleading. I also felt like Cruella got whitewashed and was meant to be the "comedic relief". It made the entire musical feel less...tense, because the villain wasn't actually a villain - except for when she reveals herself to have murdered her own sister. Not to mention her social media jokes about "being triggered" were just unnecessary, and felt very out of place - and a mockery of people who use triggered when dealing with certain traumas.
I was just completely confused by so many decisions made in this production. The performers were incredible, and had some amazing voices, but the general musical just feels like it got pulled in so many directions that it lost sight of having an actual goal to achieve.
To paraphrase something that someone much older and much wiser than me once said, "blind praise teaches nothing; we learn our best lessons from criticism". Far too often now (and not just with theatre) people are conflating loving an artform or piece of work with thinking everything to do with said artform or piece of work must be a flawless masterpiece because any form of criticism means you don't truly love it. That line of thinking ultimately helps no one any more than just saying "this sucks" and not expanding on your criticisms. Loving something doesn't mean pretending that it's flawless. My favourite musical is, I believe, as close to a flawless work as I've ever seen yet I can still think of three firm criticisms for it. I've not seen this new 101 Dalmatians but I'd always cherish and believe an honest review (whether positive or negative) rather than one written disingenuously, again whether positive or negative; at least with an honest review I'd stand a chance of being able to work out whether or not it's something I think is genuinely worth spending money on. And I've found you can pretty much always tell the difference between an honest review and review by someone who has convinced themselves that the show is either perfect or terrible based on what they think people want to hear rather than just going with how they actually feel.
I completely agree with your review. I went on Saturday and just thought the entire show was a mess. I had such high hopes, and I really wanted to enjoy it - I mean, Kate Fleetwood absolutely looks that part! - but I just couldn't get past the score. I didn't care about any of the characters, was massively confused by new characters popping up and then never being seen again (Captain?), and felt some of the plot moved so fast that I'm sure I missed some storylines whilst blinking. Such a shame because I felt it had so much promise. There is something there, but it needs a complete rework
I was sure I was subscribed to your channel, but apparently I got unsubscribed. At any rate, it's great to see you again!
Oh no! I'm going to see it for my birthday this weekend - it was one of the shows I was most excited for this year. I hope I can still enjoy it!
It's still a charming summer show. I went in with very,very low expectations and still came out smiling. Even if that was mostly from all the little kids who had obviously had a magical evening carrying their new puppies (soft toys) home.
Ive just watched the Manchester Palace starring Kym Marsh show. I came here to see whether I could critically evaluate my own thoughts (as I came out feeling very negative) and to see whether any of my thoughts were similar... from what your saying veruses what I just watched (to a certain degree) are different shows... from your version, there seems to have been a lot of things that were cut and chopped, things that could have made it more enjoyable for me personally. I'm really trying to be fair but I'm very difficult 🙈
Saw this last night. Would call it fun but flawed. The songs seemed more concerned with shoving in as many puns as possible rather than conveying the story or emotion. Cruella felt like they wanted her to be a katie hopkins and ended up with a panto villain.
There was potential, but felt it needed a bit more workshopping.
I love your videos! Your reviews are honest and you always have something positive to say or ways a show could go further and improve. The arts is subjective, not everyone can agree with everything all the time. Ignore the hate and keep making that great stagey content 😊
Thank you for shouting out new uk musical theatre composers!
100% agree with your review. I thought it was, actually, rather kind. I’ve never checked my watch so many times during a performance to see how soon I could make my escape at intermission. I also love the Open Air Theatre and will continue to support them, but I can’t understand how such an I’ll conceived production managed to make it to the stage.
Also, you were sitting a couple of rows in front of me at the Chess concert. Would love to here your thoughts on that one.
Nice to see your video on this. I enjoyed your written review and was confused about the criticism of it, particularly from the people on Twitter that just said the review was bad without explaining their reasoning.
I totally agree with your review! I found the first half dragged so much from the lack of catchy songs. I liked the second half more as they seemed to get a bit more creative with numbers with flashlights, leashes etc. But so many of the jokes around social media throughout just flopped 🙈
I read your reviews and watch your videos because I value your opinions in shows and want to know what you think. I don’t understand why someone would get mad about you not likings something, when it is literally your job to share your opinions. I’m really sorry you‘re getting so much backlash right now, hopefully you‘ll get through it and continue doing what you do. You‘re great at it :)
Support you. Thoughtful criticism with integrity is important. Without freedom to express on the negative scale criticism is meaningless
Having seen Douglas hodge as Nathan in guys and dolls in 2005, I would also see him as a sub-par actor! As someone who works as a musician, I completely agree with you that the opportunity to write the scores should be given to someone who writes music scores for a living. Great review, you are a wonderful critic and always very fair in your reviews.
I am a dog lover and a theatre columnist just as you are; and I occasionally receive the same sort of backlash you did. I don't think people understand what reviews are about or for. If you do not like a show, for a variety of substantial artistic reasons, it does not mean you do not support theatre. My God, if you applauded and loved everything you saw, you would be a mindless idiot and a sycophant. I've seen many of your videos, and you are a highly intelligent person. If you do not form an emotional connection with the characters, book, or score, the show simply does NOT work. BTW: You look A LOT like Prince Eric from "THE LITTLE MERMAID", and I am sure you have heard that many times before. Cheers to you.
Love your shirt! It's from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, right?
Was hoping you'd review this!! Omggg
Tysm for posting this! I really wanted to see what you thought about 101 Dalmations :)
I enjoyed your option on the show.
I have seen a number of your reviews, I admire your commitment and your conviction. I do not feel you are unnecessarily unkind it is what you see and you are articulate in your reasons for the statements you make. On occasion I do not always agree but I respect your professional reviews.
Also not a fan of it.
Set-wise I didn't like it, too literal for my liking and not imaginative. First half I was left wondering if I should stay for second half, but I generally stay, only once have left a theatre after interval due to dislike of material. Second half did hold me a bite more as this was where there was more of the adventure/quest side of things and I was singing along at the last song too so it did improve slightly.
I honestly felt sorry for the puppy at the end, must have been terribly loud, but I guess the dog looked pretty content, who knows, was very nice moment though! Ensemble were giving it all, but sometimes seemed like they were there just to be a set piece and makes thing more interesting when the action was lacking.
I also agree, the social media references were over-used. I sometimes prefer no mention at all of modern references, like the Boris reference (which may or may not have been there as I saw it in previews). Those type of references totally detach me from the art, I think things will be current when we make the connection in our heads, it doesn't need to be force fed.
Puppetry I liked (I did not see the inappropriate imagery or think of that till you mentioned it)! I liked the little hand paw and the other paw being the shoe, using the white bit of a converse shoe, also the bobble hats to act like a possible tail, but otherwise they were quite static and it was always going to be an issue to create the imagined hustle and bustle of a house full of Dalmatians.
Songs also forgettable. Your sentiment on a new musical composers is correct. In my opinion this was not a success (based on the preview which sounds like it didn't change too much) and there are other shows with creatives who have lots of work large scale work under their belt which don't confer positive audience response, so there are no guarantees. I wish theatres had the security and vision to offer more to new composers.
It's unfortunate that people had such a negative response to your review, people should always aim to form their own opinion, we don't all have to agree. Critics can have their sway in what ticket s people buy, so I understand the perspective, but not the hate.
I think your review is very strong! I was there 2 weeks ago and wasn't thrilled either. I like that you also mention the puppeteering. The actors were not one with the puppets. I also thought it was a shame that there was no mouth movement in the Puppets from the Leading characters (they had an extra person to do the head movement). Also, the puppy heads that the 4 children's rolls held had no function, nothing happened to them at all.
I think it's a shame that we as theatre goers, paying fairly substantial prices for seats, are not expected to be at all negative of a show we don't particularly enjoy. I recently gave an honest opinion of Crazy for You and the backlash was astounding.!
Oh honestly. Positively reviewing something you don't actually think is very good simply devalues your genuinely positive reviews. What do people even think the point of reviews is? You might as well not have reviews if they all have to be positive. Plus, frankly, theatre is usually expensive, and thus attendees deserve to have access to honest reviews, preferably from a range of perspectives.
I saw this last night and agree with EVERYTHING you said!
I'm glad your voicing your opinion cuz I'm a massive Billy Elliot the musical fan and saw the new Leicester curve production a week ago and gave it a 5 out of 10 only because the actors were amazing however the choreography was awful and in shine Mrs Wilkinson fake shoots the girls with a rifle which is not needed nor appropriate with the world ATM not a patch on London. so glad ur telling the truth like u said just cus it's a new production doesn't mean you have to love it need more people like you.
I've often wondered if your reviews were biased towards the positive when you're invited to review a show. I will no longer wonder such things. 😂
Isn't the job of a critic to criticize? Otherwise, the job title is "publicity department".
I'd count them as well!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Well done. This is an intelligent and insightful review.
You're always very diplomatic with the reviews that I've seen you do. People can't get offended if you just don't enjoy something. Your reviews wouldn't be worth watching/reading if you loved absolutely everything.
lmao, people are criticising you for leaving a negative review? It's not as if this show is coming out of some indie group with a budget of $10. This is DISNEY, one of the biggest companies on earth. They'll be FINE.
I really, really want to know your opinions on Billy Elliot at Curve 😩
It says a lot about where we are in our culture that so many think that the job of the theatre critic should be to support and give positive reviews to shows, even if they don’t like them. This is partly the result of decades of never saying no to children, not discipling them, and giving everyone a participation trophy whether or not they won the game. Even if criticisms are given in positive ways, they are still rebuked and framed as being cruel and vindictive, because everyone expects their opinion to be validated and supported no matter what. If producers don’t want to risk getting negative reviews, they can always just not invite critics, and let the word of mouth spread on the internet.
Please do remember, with the whole 'participation trophy' narrative, that the people giving them are NOT the children, and they aren't at fault for the choices of the adults in charge, which seems to be overlooked everytime someone brings up this 'coddled generation' crap. (and before you start assuming my age based on my opinion here, I was born in the 70's.)
@@darsynia Children grow up to be adults who are held responsible for their decisions irrespective of how they were raised. You don’t get a free pass for making bad decisions, because you had a bad upbringing.
@@marcuspd7502 And you probably go around blaming anything you view as childish or entitled as 'participation trophy' related, so excuse me if I don't value your opinion on this.
@@darsynia And clearly you go around making excuses for everyone’s bad behavior, including your own. At least I’m honest and know how to accept responsibility.
@@marcuspd7502 womp womp
Great review, thank you for being honest
Thanks for your candor, love your vids
There should be 99 puppies Pongo and Perdita are the 100th and 101st dalmations! I agree about the puppy puppets !
"How you do fellow cool kids, you like instagram, right?"
We saw the show on the Saturday and on the whole I tend to agree with most of the comments. The first act was laboured and unremarkable, the second act was far better and the pace was quicker with better songs. On the whole though the songs were unmemorable, with only standout vocals from Kate Fleetwood as an underused Cruella De Vil. The puppetry of the adult Dalmatians and other dogs was clever and enchanting, the puppies more on the cute side.
The set was also very clever and the costuming felt in keeping with the modern take on the tale.
As a show, I agree that the material itself was the biggest weakness, the cast were clearly talented and did the best with what they were given.
101 Dalmatians was one of my favourite books as a kid, and the Disney adaptation is still my favourite classic Disney, with Cruella being the best villain IMO.
Oh and “yes” to the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reference! Plus the standout moment being right at the end with the puppy, says everything about what what’s sadly wrong with the show.
There was a previous 101 Dalmatians musical that toured the US starring Rachel York and I really wanted to see it because of her but the tour closed early due to negative reviews and low ticket sales. Maybe this property just isn't meant to work as a musical.
Maybe they should do Peter Pan there as well
Hi MickeyJo. While I sometimes (not terribly often, because we have tend to come at theatrical experiences from a similar point-of-view) disagree with your reviews, if you aren't giving your honest reactions, why even bother. If everything gets a rave, then nothing really gets a rave. Specifically to your review here (and I haven't seen the show), there are some works that should NOT be done for the stage. And the specific issues with the puppy puppets (try saying that 10 times fast) to me argue against doing this show. Thank you for all your efforts sharing your theater knowledge and (mostly) well-informed opinions.
I can't unsee THAT 😂😂
I can attest to being like those people who tell off critics, but that's because most critics only have negative things to say about anything and everything because they would have to deconstruct everything they know about stuff.
The show was toured in the US several years ago with Anything goes fill-in Rachel York and it did not go over well.
Jon Solo has done a nice comparison of the book with the Disney cartoon.
Your reviews are epic. You explain shows exactly the way I feel like I consume them, which is refreshing! I was laughing out loud through most of this. Also, the Nutcracker music in the background added perfectly to the “creative clash” narrative of the review
It's such a shame hearing this because I thought the set and costume looked amazing in the pictures and hoped it would continue to the material. Even though this isn't Disney, we're used to getting these popular animated films turned into shows, selling tickets purely on the popularity of the film, so the chance for a musical based on a classic story was exciting.
Ok, so the review on WoS is, hmmm, honest. I’ve read harsher, though
100% agree with ur review….
I know nothing about musical theatre. I'm a fan, just clueless. Do they take opening night reviews and make changes based on them?
yes mickey tell us the truth!!!
We hate those online reviewers where everything is amazing
strictly speaking there are 99 puppies, the extra 2 are the parents, right?
Haven’t watched it yet but why are the eyes like that😭 pls give that dog the sonic makeover
I watched the vlog last night and have just read the infamous review. I have various thoughts: 1. It is an honest review. 2. It seems a workshop would have helped - oh dear, there probably was one. 3. I'm a dog person. I wonder if people just presumed that a musical about dogs must be amazing and awesome. How dare someone burst that bubble? 4. At least you didn't call it "mirthless, low-concept pantomime" as David Rooney did of the New York Times of the Madison Square Garden version back in 2010. 5. Work where an audience member is expected to pay money, is open for scrutiny. That is the nature of theatre. We can't just all walk around and think everything is beautiful at the ballet. 6. I DO wonder if I would have felt this way had I read the review before seeing the vlog.
MickeyJo, is it correct to say A hundred and one verses One hundred and one Dalmatians ? Just wondering. I.J.S.