"Dr Dolittle" by Central Musical Theatre Company
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.
Local theatre is really on a roll at the moment with producing excellent theatre, and here is another wonderful musical. This time around though it's one of those musicals that isn't seen often. In fact I believe that this is the first time that this musical has been produced at local level in the East Midlands. Across the area as well, the music of Leslie Bricusse is well highlighted.
The Doctor, his human companions and his exotic menagerie of animal friends on an extraordinary adventure from the English village of Puddleby-In-The-Marsh to the far corners of the world. The story starts with Dolittle being wrongly accused of murder and once pronounced innocent, he continues his search to find the Giant Pink Sea Snail which holds the secret of life and making the world a happier place. With help from the Pushme-Pullyou and his trusty sidekick Polynesia the parrot, the larger-than-life Doctor Dolittle teaches us not only to talk to the animals but to listen to them as well! Oh and there's also a bit of a love story going on as well.
Chris Grantham plays the Doctor, and really channels Rex Harrison, who starred in the original 1968 film, with the phrasing of the script as well as the songs. Wonderfully clipped delivery, which also enhances the eccentricity of the role. Lovely delivery of the songs, especially in one of the most beloved of the soundtrack songs, "Talk To The Animals", and great comic timing too. Everything you would expect, not only from the Doctor, but also from Chris.
Gary Heap plays Matthew Mugg, and here we have another wonderful character actor, thsi time with a gentle Irish brogue. This is by no means a criticism but I got a feeling that Gary was at times holding back with his vocals; whether he had a bit of a cold or something, I'm not sure. Even so, nothing could stop those vocals from hitting their mark, especially in the song "Beautiful Things". It's only because I've heard Gary's singing before did I think he may have had something only slightly awry vocally. Maybe my ears need a retune! Gary is one of those actors, like Chris, who has a gentle stage presence and you have to watch whenever he is on stage. That also makes this pairing an excellent choice.
John Wedgwood plays General Bellowes, the judge who puts Dolittle behind bars, and is also the uncle to Emma Fairfax, and this is where the family conflict comes into play. John really looks the part of the judge and gets into character as the law upholder with great ease.
Sara Towle plays Emma Fairfax. She looks beautiful and sings like a songbird; no wonder the Doctor was attracted to her, eventually. Loved the costumes for Emma, enhancing the class and breeding of this judges' neice.
Ted Osborn and James Breen share the role of Tommy Stubbins; I saw Ted play the role tonight. He oozed confidence and looked at ease on stage with all of these adults.
Adrian Redfern plays Albert Blossom, the owner of the circus to whom the Doctor went to sell the Pushme Pullyou. I can't remember seeing Adrian before; forgive me if this is not the case, but Adrian has the most wonderful singing voice for this character. When he and the Doctor sang "I've Never Seen Anything Like It", it was like something from a professional touring company. Bucketfuls of character from Adrian.
Kathryn Fitchett plays Gertie Blossom, Albert's wife, and you know that I am a sucker for accents, well Kathryn gave me one to love. Another character filled performance.
Rex Portillano plays Straight Arrow, who is in charge of Sea Star Island, the island where the Doctor and his crew were washed up, and home of the Giant Pink Sea Snail. Again I loved the costume and characterisation.
Lorna Kirkland voiced and operated Polynesia, Doctor Dolittle's pet, due soon to celebrate her 200th birthday. Puppetry is not the easiest addition to a production, especially when you have to match the actions and vocals to what you, as an actor deliver. The aim for any puppeteer is to make the audience centre on the puppet character and not the person behind the puppet, and Lorna convinced me of the reality of Polynesia. At one stage, Lorna took a fall exiting the stage, but returned unscathed (hopefully).
Loved the puppet characters in this musical; all of which were created especially for this production. Such a clever set of constructed animals and watch out for that giant snail near the end, plus a flying doctor on a giant moth!
Sarah Rosental (Gub Gub The Pig), Richard Stokes (Chee Chee The Monkey); for some reason I couldn't take my eyes of Chee Chee steering the ship, Maria Banks (Jip The Dog). Jip is another character I couldn't stop watching as Jip's actions and movements were just like watching a real dog with its' playfulness and cocked head. Liz Willgoose (The Goat), Helen Oldham (The Sheep). Apologies that I didn't pay attention to these humans but I was so invested in the puppets, which shows that they all did their job perfectly.
The ensemble consists of Gabryl Oleshko, Carrie-Anne Corner, Laura Bigland, Charli Twyford, Dean Osborn (Who also played a Policeman and Sir Aubrey Dymwitt), Bridget Wyatt (Who also played Push-Me), Stefan Osvath (Who played Pull-Me and the second Policeman).
Directed by Nigel Taylor, he made sure that all eyes were kept on stage and the magical characters. It was well paced and I also appreciated the fact that the set changes were done swiftly and smoothly keeping the flow of the show.
Musical Director is Morris Fisher. Morris is one of those people that when you look at the show programme, you know that this area will be in the best possible hands. It was indeed and the music complemented the actor's voices, never once detracting from the velocity of their individual voices.
The soundtrack is not a well known one, but "Talk To the Animals" and "I've Never Seen Anything Like It" bounce along nicely with some new earworms like "The Vegetarian", "Beautiful Things" and "My Friend The Doctor", which will be bouncing around your head for a good few days.
Choreographer for this musical is Anthony Beaumont-Mills. Working the puppets into the choreography was probably not easy for both actor or choreographer, but both cast and choreographer brought their A Game in this one. Absolutely loved the dances for the circus section as well as the courtroom scenes plus that dance for the residents of the island. A varied set of skills needed for these different dance styles, but you can see all of the hard work has paid off 100%.
Sound Design is by Harry Greatorex. Martin Curtis operated the design resulting in a perfectly balanced mix of sound to actor vocals, and there were no missed mic cues either.
Lighting Design is by Stephen Greatorex who created a magical visual treat.
Set Design is by Chris Margett, who was also responsible for those amazing puppets, and stage managed the show. Not only donning these caps, Chris, along with Alice Margett created the wonderful background projections which brought us into the story and kept the story, and settings rolling on.
"Dr Dolittle" will be at the Duchess Theatre until Saturday 25 February. A fabulous and magical place to go for all the family!
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