Dr. Doolittle review

[erelene@broadway]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:19pm

I saw the performance in Houston on Saturday in Houston, with Tommy Tune in it.
(year 1845)
It starts off with Dr. Doolittle being accused of talking to the animals and pushing a woman , who was actually a seal dressed up over the shoreline. He then recounts the time when this supposed incident occurred. He insiste he was just trying to help "Sophie" the seal get back to her boyfriend in the shore. During his recount he encounters a woman named Lady Fairfax, who questions at first what he does talking to the animals. Later when she and him and the animals are ship wrecked she then starts to talk to the animals and understand Dr Doolittle's position with the animals. The reason why he sets sails with the animals are he wants to find the great snail and also to let ChiChi, the monkey visit her family on Monkey Island.
At the end Ms. Fairfax married dr doolittle. Wonderful dancing during the Monkey Island scenes. Dr Doolittle cant practice veteranary with the animals is why he chose to stay with Chi Chi on monkey island instead of ms fairfax and the other animals because of the great snail she and the other animals return to Puddleby. In protest the animals in England go on strike and Dr Doolittle is reinstated as a vet. He returns there and then Ms Fairfax and him are married. The musical numbers in this work are: "dr doolittle", "talk to the animals", at the crossroads, puddleby on the marsh, I've never seen anything like it, You're Impossible, When I look into your eyes, beautiful things, like animals, save the animals, fabulous places, where are the worlds, something in your smile, after today.

[morosco]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:24pm

So how is Tommy Tune? Does he pull it off as the star?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:25pm

Review?

You hardly metioned anything about the show except the plot...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:28pm

It looks like 3 or 4 songs from the movie got axed

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:31pm

I still dont understand the plot whatsoever. I'm so confused.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:34pm

That was more of a synopsys, do you think you could provide us with a review of the production in general? Acting-wise? Book-wise? The score, the direction, choreography, etc.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 5:48pm

It appears that unless it is done in flashback, almost 1/2 of the beginning of the movie is gone . Interesting

[erelene@broadway]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 6:43pm

Tommy Tune did a fantastic job portraying character and was excellent dancing and singing. Dee Hoty did a marvelous job, really enjoyed her on her past soap opears as well. Music choices here were great and everyone did a magnificent part in portraying the various animals. I have never read the book so cant say whether or not it was close to the book. After the show all of the cast were nice, we waited for bout an hour fifteen minutes to meet him he brought the people from outside inside to a table where he was set up at to sign items from the show for us, very nice and well worth the wait. One of his assistants was taking photos of the various memoriabila getting signed.

[Here_I_Go_Again]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 6:53pm

can you elaborate on dee performance? i LOVE this woman. she knows her ****!!!

[erelene@broadway]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 2:34pm

Ms Hoty's portrayed the character Lady Fairfax to the t. She was excellent her portrayal of an upper class Lady from Britain was great. Her and Tommy Tune had excellent chemistry. Ms Hoty can sing, her voice is very pleasing to the ear. After the show she was very nice also. She is a class act all the way. She stayed and chatted with everyone who wanted to and did not rush the conversation.

[justme2]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 5:00pm

Ahhh...another Hoty fans surfaces!! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed her work. I have been of fan of her since hearing City of Angels and seeing Will Rogers Follies. Does she have enough stage time in this show, or is her character kinda shoved off to the side, after Tune and all the animals?

Speaking of the animals...were they all human actors in costume, or were some puppets?

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 5:04pm

Did you wait at the stage door for him to bring people inside?

[erelene@broadway]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 7:18pm

yes ms hoty got her equal chance of time :) ontage
as far as the animals there are people who dressed in all black you carried the "stuff"animals on string
yes i waited @ stagedoor and an hour 15 min later mr tune brought people inside

[theaterFrEaK07]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 8:06pm

heres my attempt at a review

Okay just saw Dr. Dolittle Sunday night....basically i was emotionally uninvolved.
Tommy tune acted like tommy tune throught the whole thing. Great to see him perform but wish it would have been in something with more substance
The main conflict changed about three time, him being sentenced, him looking for a snail and him and emma (dee hoty). Emma and Dolittle sang about 4 songs about how much they like eachother but cant say it, by the second one the relationship seemed annoying The sets werent consistent. One moment it looked like a normal set, then it looked like a cardboard cut out. maybe they wanted a pop up book feel, to me it looked like a high school production. The costumes for the humans were okay, nothing great, nothing too bad. The puppets were also okay. They were all animated by people in black shirts and pants and beanie. Very very unappealing and made the whole thing fake, it never gave a chance to feel like he was talking to an animal.
The worst animal was the cardboard cut out of a giraffe, it literally looked like a piece of paper with paint and sequins. The shows finale was confusing. He was flying over the island and it was snowing, and disco balls were turning.....i was by that point ready to escape. The shows budget must have been weak.
The music was also very unimaginative, i never felt like anything anyone said was true. Overall, the show will probably close again....pretty soon.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/24/06 at 10:08am

A appreciate these "reviews," even if they are from "younger" perspectives. Thanks a lot for taking the time to share them with us!

It gives me an idea of what reaction I might expect to get from other people who see the show in your age range.

Tell me... What did you think of The Lion King (on stage)? Were those puppets and performers annoying and unbelievable for you, as well? Or did you find it was just the Doctor Dolittle puppets that were badly done and poorly made?

theaterFrEaK07 --- I laughed at your impressions of the sets and "production value." Too funny. Especially the finally. As I recall in the story, he's supposed to be flying on the back of a giant moth, at that point... and I believe they fly up north (which is why it's snowing). I hope they bothered to explain that in the dialogue before he just started sailing off (with Disco balls whirling)!

Updated On: 1/24/06 at 10:08 AM

Posted: 3/3/06 at 10:35pm

Dr. Dolittle is coming over to the U o A in March in Arizona. I'm still debating on wheter to see it our not. I don't always go with what other people have to say about a show.

[SMiller]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 8:32am

How were the reviews in LA? I read they made some changes, if so anyone know what they did?

SMiller

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 12:59pm

The LA Weekly gave it a very positive review (linked below) noting that it was for children and adults but not teens. After reading the above comments, you can see that they were right. Re the costumes and sets, I thought they were outstanding, and anyone who thinks they looked like something from a school production--well I just don't get it.
And here's my previously posted review, from an adult perspective:
Eslgr8's review of Dr. Dolittle--
I don't know what all the hatred for this show is about. It has:
Wonderfully colorful sets and costumes
Fantastic choregraphy/dancing...especially a few really great tap numbers
A relatively well known Bricusse score
Dee Hoty singing sensationally in her upper "light opera" range that we haven't heard much of (She'd be a wonderful Anna in The King and I)
A nice supporting turn by 2-time Tony nominee Joe Blum
The most amazing child dancer you'll ever see--12 year old Aaron Burr as monkey Chi Chi
Colorful puppets a la Avenue Q
and
Tommy Tune still at the top of his form (though the British accent could be better)
There are minuses, primarily
The book...not terribly compelling and full of corny jokes (a lot of which made me laugh anyway
The length--at 95 or so minutes, it's shorter than some first acts of musical
Well, the length is only a minus if you've paid an arm and a leg for a ticket. It's probably a plus, though, for a kid-friendly show like this.
Luckily, I paid only $22 for a 6th row center mezzanaine seat at the gorgeous Pantages, and got free street parking just two blocks away, so I can't complain.
I was entertained. The show is very professional and fun. The audience was cheering at the end.
What's not to like?


LA Weeky Review of Dr. Dolittle. Updated On: 3/5/06 at 12:59 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:07pm

I saw this last weekend and found it horrendous. I know two cast members.. they know it is bad. eslgr8; I've said it before.. and I will say it again.. you like everything. I envy you.

Updated On: 3/5/06 at 01:07 PM

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:26pm

The website has some good pictures:
http://www.doctordolittlethemusical.com/

It looks like the costume design is done well and the animal (from what they show) look fine but the sets do indeed look rather cheap.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/5/06 at 1:35pm

I have a friend who saw this - I have no desire whatsoever to waste any portion of my life going to the Pantages to see this musical.

Posted: 3/5/06 at 2:32pm

Oh this is not looking good. I have tickets as part of my season at the end of the month when they stop by in the OC. Well I guess I never had great expectations for this show anyways.

~Rosalynn

[craftymarley]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 12:50am

I'm curious to know who from the cast you know, Dame. They're all so sweet, I hope their spirits were high at least. How were they doing?

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 2:42am

Was the choreography/dancing horrendous? Was the singing horrendous? Were the sets/costumes/orchestrations/lighting horrendous? Was the Bricusse score horrendous? Were the performances horrendous? I just don't how Dame can say that an entire show was horrendous when so many elements were clearly far from horrible.