Rachel York stars as Cruella de Vil in “The 101 Dalmations Musical”. The show will be performed through Sunday at Wharton Center’s Great Cobb Hall.
A clamor of dog barks erupts from the pit orchestra as the spotted curtain rises, revealing a topsy-turvy world where dogs own humans as pets.
The dalmatians wear all white with black spots, the dachshunds wear military uniforms and the poodles wear tutus, but there isn’t a paw or tail to be seen. Instead, it’s the humans who look strange, standing on painter stilts that make them tower above the canine heros.
It’s life from a dog’s perspective.
It’s “The 101 Dalmatians Musical.”
The musical opened Tuesday night at Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall and will run through Sunday. A brand-new musical, the show features not only actors portraying dogs, but also real dalmatians rescued from animal shelters. During the show, the trained dogs run across the stage and dart through scenery — a display many audience members appreciated.
“It was a good touch,” Lansing resident Erica Titov said.
Mike Brand, the executive director of Wharton Center, said the spotted performers are well taken care of.
“They have their own bus and their own trainers that take care of them,” he said. “And their bus and trailer are all painted with dalmatians.”
In addition to the dogs, the show’s cast includes several children that portray the puppies and Rachel York as the villainous Cruella de Vil. Despite portraying the antagonist, when the curtain call came Tuesday night, the audience of approximately 1,500 stood and applauded in appreciation of York’s performance.
“She has a beautiful voice to begin with, beautiful costumes,” Titov said. “She’s a good character.”
The show is based on the 1957 novel by Dodie Smith, not the famous Disney animated movie that many would assume. It’s presentation at Wharton Center is part of the national program Kids’ Night On Broadway, a program of The Broadway League, which brings affordable family shows to local theaters. The audience was full of parents and grandparents with children.
“It’s hard to find family production outside big Disney shows,” Brand said. “So this just landed perfectly. It’s a whole new experience. It brings in a whole new group of people, and that’s what we have to do — be here for all the people, not just a certain demographic.”
Lansing resident Monica Eliaszewicz brought her daughter, Annalyssa, for the family atmosphere of the show.
“I want her to start seeing more of the arts,” she said. “Start ’em young.”
The musical will run at Wharton Center 7:30 p.m. tonight, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $22.50 to $58.50, and for select performances, kids ages 6-18 can get a free ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket as part of the Kids’ Night on Broadway deal.
For more information about the show, the cast or tickets, visit whartoncenter.com or call (517) 432-2000.
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