The 101 Dalmatians Musical

Providence Journal Review

The 101 Dalmatians Musical is spot-on!

By Channing Gray

Journal Arts Writer

If you’re 10 years old and into puppy love, then “The 101 Dalmatians Musical” will hit the spot. Make that a stage full of spots.

The touring show, which is at the Providence Performing Arts Center through Sunday, is definitely geared to small fry who have seen the Disney films and followed the exploits of Pongo and his brood. But there’s enough for grown-ups to savor, too, to make this a fun night out.

That’s not to say there aren’t some short comings. For one thing, the jokes are lame, at least by adult standards. When the Dearlys’ cook asks Cruella De Vil what she’s making for dinner, she snaps “reservations.” And the show could have done with a little less of Joel Blum’s Prince, who acted as a sort of narrator and tossed dog treats into the audience before the start of the second act, telling the recipient to “stay.”

But really, the show is not as bad as some critics have made it out to be.

Director Jerry Zaks has envisioned the show from a dog’s perspective, with oversized furniture and humans on humongous platform shoes so that they tower over the dogs, which are mostly kids in what look like spotted pajamas. Thankfully the costumes are designed to suggest dogs, and leave much to the imagination. There are no tails, no floppy ears.

Although the humans can seem a little awkward hobbling about on 2-foot-high lifts, one can only wonder what dogs actually think when they see their masters lumbering into the room.

And I’d sort of forgotten how basic the plot is. Puppies are dognapped, then escape and make their way home — with Cruella in hot pursuit. There really is not a lot of suspense to the show, which might not be such a disappointment for young kids but left me yearning for one more showdown with Cruella.

But the production has at least two things going for it — more than a dozen live Dalmatians who now and then dash across the stage and at the end perform a series of tricks as they redecorate Cruella’s mansion, and Broadway’s statuesque Sara Gettelfinger, who is fabulous as Cruella.

Gettelfinger joined the show just about a month ago, but already owns the part. She has plenty of opportunity to unleash that laser-like voice of hers, and just oozes nastiness as she sets out to turn those adorable pups into fur coats. In fact, the show would be pretty flat without her.

That’s not to make light of James Ludwig’s considerable contribution to the show as Pongo, who leads the charge to save his pups. He sang well and looked perfectly loveable hopping onto chairs that must have been 6 feet tall. Catia Ojeda, as his mate, was not so secure in her singing, even though her portrayal was pretty solid.

The other plus to the show is Dennis DeYoung’s (he’s a founding member of the legendary rock band Styx) catchy score. “Be A Little Bit Braver” with its driving reggae beat was perhaps the hit of the night.

The show is not geared entirely for wee ones, though. Grown-ups got a chuckle when one of the pups asks Pongo what he and mom do in the bushes. And there’s a hint of a lesbian relationship between the cook and the female butler, who might have to share a room once the Dalmatians move back into the house.

But at its heart, it’s a kids’ show, not real sophisticated, not even terribly clever, just a warm-hearted tale about the joys of family life.

“The 101 Dalmatians Musical” runs through Sunday at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence. Call (401) 421-2787 or visit ppacri.org.

cgray@projo.com

Related Links

• Official Website
• The 101 Dalmatians Musical Twitter
• The 101 Dalmatians Musical Facebook
• The 101 Dalmatians Musical Youtube