The 101 Dalmatians Musical
101 Dalmatians is a 2009 Broadway musical produced by Magic Arts & Entertainment, Troika Entertainment, and Luis Alvarez. The show is directed by Jerry Zaks, acclaimed director of over thirty New York productions. Award-winning librettist and lyricist B.T. McNicholl served as bookwriter and co-lyricist. Dennis DeYoung, founding member of the rock band Styx, wrote the music for the show and served as co-lyricist.
The show is based upon the The Hundred and One Dalmatians, the 1956 childrens' novel written by Dodie Smith.
The musical debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 13, 2009 at the Orpheum Theater.
The Musical
The musical is largely based on the original book, and uses the dogs' perspectives to tell the story.
Bookwriter B.T. McNicholl explains:
“Here is an enchanting, upside-down vision of the world: seeing life from the dogs’ point of view,” observed McNicholl. “Embracing this wonderfully daft proposition, we are instantly transported to a slightly topsy-turvy, exciting, and altogether fantastic reality that gives grand license for song, dance and spectacle.” “Typically,” he points out, “stage productions present animals or exotic creatures using some form of puppetry (as in THE LION KING) or dressing actors in animal costumes (CATS). But here, given that our premise is inside-out, we invert the equation: The animals are human and it is the humans that are exotic.”
Director Jerry Zaks adds:
“Thus, we present the humans in a heightened form of dress and scale so as to appear larger than life – as they would seem from a dog’s point of view.”
The Use of Real Dalmatians in the Show
A unique aspect of 101 Dalmatians is the use of real dogs in the show. Animal trainer Joel Slaven trained the dogs used in the show. The Dalmatians used in the show all came from animal rescues or shelters. When the Disney production of 101 Dalmatians came out in 1996, many families wanted Dalmatians as family pets, and most families were not cognizant of the particular care that the breed requires, which led to high populations of Dalmatians in shelters around the country when these families surrendered the pets. Trainer Joel Slaven explains: "When the movies came out, they were overbred and that made the breed, which already has some health problems, even worse. People got the dogs, couldn't afford vet bills, found the dogs untrainable, or didn't get along with kids. Shelters, Humane Societies and rescue groups don't want anyone to use these dogs for entertainment, and they don't want to help someone who's going to do this again." To prevent this problem from recurring, Slaven uses the musical as a teaching tool: "I knew we'd have to do it differently than the movie. We have to explain about the stars that, just because they're cute, doesn't mean you should get one for the kids tomorrow."
Performances
| Dates | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 13-18, 2009 | Minneapolis, MN | Orpheum |
| Oct. 20-25, 2009 | Appleton, WI | Fox Cities PAC |
| Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2009 | Atlanta, GA | Cobb Energy PAC |
| Oct. 12-17, 2009 | Washington D.C. | Warner Theater |
| Nov. 17-22, 2009 | Detroit, MI | Fox Theatre |
| Nov. 24-29, 2009 | Austin, TX | Long Center |
| Dec. 1-20, 2009 | Dallas, TX | Music Hall |
| Dec. 23-27, 2009 | Boston, MA | Citi Center |
| Dec. 30-Jan 3, 2009 | Miami, FL | Arsht Center |
| Jan. 12-17, 2010 | Birmingham, AL | BJCC |
| Jan. 19-24, 2010 | Nashville, TN | TPAC |
| Jan. 26-31, 2010 | E.Lansing, MI | Wharton Center |
| Feb. 16-28, 2010 | Chicago, IL | Oriental Theatre |
| Mar. 2-7, 2010 | Columbus, OH | Palace Theatre |
| Mar. 9-14, 2010 | Indianapolis, IN | Clowes Hall |
| Mar. 16-21, 2010 | Providence, RI | PPAC |
| Mar. 23-28, 2010 | Wallingford, CT | Chevrolet Theatre |
| Apr. 6-25, 2010 | New York City, NY | WaMu Theater |
| Apr. 27-May 2, 2010 | Tulsa, OK | Brady Theatre |
| May 4-9, 2010 | San Antonio, TX | Majestic Theatre |
| May 11-16, 2010 | Kansas City, MO | Music Hall |
| May 18-23, 2010 | Pittsburgh, PA | Heinz Hall |
| June 1-6, 2010 | San Diego, CA | Civic Theatre |
| June 8-20, 2010 | Los Angeles, CA | Pantages Theatre |