101 Dalmatians - The Musical
A delight for children and parents of all ages.
Norwich Theatre
It is 68 years since Dodie Smith's original tale of Cruella de Vil, and her dalmatian despicary, was published as a novel. Some of us will remember how Disney transformed it into a cartoon classic in 1961, and later into a live-action action comedy starring Glenn Close. Now, a touring live musical version is set to charm a new generation of children and parents alike, and it is here at Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday July 13th.
Starring as the provocatively evil Cruella de Vil is Faye Tozer from Steps, who takes over from Hear'Say singer and former Corrie star Kym Marsh at a number of venues during this tour. And Tozer is absolutely great - fabulously fearsome, glitteringly glamorous, and vocally vicarious in her role as an fashion-obsessed dalmatian-fur fanatic who will stop at nothing to obtain her spotty fur-coat. Her character may be evil but, as she belts out Cruella's ironic showstopper, 'Animal Lover', her performance is positively propitious.
And it is not just the humans who wow us with their abilities. Each of the canine stars of the show has a talented handler, with puppets specially created by 'War Horse' animator Jimmy Grimes. Not only do the handlers capture each and every behavioural trait of the darling dotty dogs, but they also sing and act their parts in the show. A huge shout-out, therefore, to every one of them, but especially to Linford Johnson who, as Pongo, opens the show with the match-making plea to 'Take Me Home', and to Emma Thornett whose 'A Thousand Kisses', as Perdi, delivers a moving and heartfelt maternal message of love to each and every one of her pups in Act Two.
Special mention in despatches must be reserved, though, for Charles Brunton and Danny Hendrix who, as Cruella's desperate drudges Casper and Jasper, are totally hilarious (but in a veritably evil way). With their combined histrionic flavours that lie somewhere between Mario Brothers and The Chuckle Brothers, their pairing as Casper and Jasper is absolutely priceless. Sign them up for panto before it's too late.
A delight for children and parents of all ages this is a show that dotes on doggy devotion, but warms the hearts of even the coldest of cynics. Maybe one of my biggest surprises of 2024 so far.
