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Doctor Dolittle (musical)

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Doctor Dolittle
Doctor dolittle london musical flyer.jpg
Original London production flyer
Music Leslie Bricusse
LyricsLeslie Bricusse
Book Leslie Bricusse
Basis 1967 film and the children's books by Hugh Lofting
Productions1998 London
2000 UK tour
2005 US tour
2007 UK tour
2018 UK tour

Doctor Dolittle is a stage musical with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, based on the 1967 movie of the same name and the children's stories by Hugh Lofting about the adventures of a doctor who learns to speak the language of various animals and treats them as patients. The musical features the same songs as the film (which starred Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough), including the Academy Award-winning "Talk to the Animals".

Contents

The musical made its world premiere in London at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1998, followed by tours of the UK and US.

Productions

Original London production (1998-99) and UK tour (2000-2001)

The world premiere production opened at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 14 July 1998, starring TV presenter and personality Phillip Schofield in the title role. The role played by Anthony Newley in the film was played by Irish television presenter and actor Bryan Smyth. The production was directed by Steven Pimlott, designed by Mark Thompson, choreographed by Aletta Collins and its lighting designed by Hugh Vanstone; and featured animal puppets provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The production also featured the pre-recorded voice of Julie Andrews as Polynesia the parrot.

Following his run as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium (after replacing Jason Donovan), Doctor Dolittle was the second stage musical that Schofield starred in. Leslie Bricusse stated that the title role would be played by someone younger than Rex Harrison was in the original movie:

"Rex Harrison was fabulous, but he was a generation and half older than the leading lady Samantha Eggar. With a younger Dr. Dolittle, the potential of that relationship is much greater". [1]

The production's budget cost £4 million, at the time one of the most expensive musicals ever staged. The production closed on 26 June 1999, having run for almost a year.

It was followed by a UK tour in 2000 and 2001 which also starred Schofield, who shared the title role with Paul Nicholas and Russ Abbot.

US National Tour (2005-06)

The show made its American debut on a national tour which began at the Benedum Center in Pittsburg from August 2, 2005. The production starred Tom Hewitt in the title role and was directed by Glenn Casale, with sets designed by Kenneth Foy, costumes designed by Ann Hould-Ward, puppets and magic designed by Michael Curry, and choreography by Rob Ashford. After just nine weeks of touring, the producers announced that the production would close due to the lack of ticket sales. [2]

Following the early closure of the production, nine-time Tony Award Winner, Tommy Tune directed and starred in a revamped version of the tour from January 2006. The rest of the creative team remained the same as the start of the tour. The production was produced by Pittsburgh CLO, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Independent Presenters Network and Columbia Artists Theatricals.

Further UK tours

2007-08 UK tour

In 2007, Bill Kenwright produced a brand new production of the musical starring Tommy Steele in the title role which toured the UK until the following year. The production was directed by Bob Tomson, designed by Paul Farnsworth and choreographed by Karen Bruce. This production was a revised version with many changes to the book and musical numbers.

2018-19 UK tour

A new UK tour presented by Music & Lyrics opened on 9 November 2018 at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, Greater London. Mark Williams played the title role alongside Brian Capron as Blossom / Straight Arrow, Vicky Entwistle as Polynesia, Mollie Melia-Redgrave as Emma Fairfax and Patric Sullivan as Matthew Muggins. The production was directed by Christopher Renshaw, designed by Tom Piper and choreographed by Josh Rhodes with musical supervision by Mike Dixon.

Music & Lyrics Productions closed the tour at the end of its run at the New Theatre, Oxford on 26 January 2019. The company cited lower advance ticket sales than anticipated as the reason for the decision. [3]

Cast and characters

CharacterOriginal London cast2000/1 UK tour2005 US tour2007/8 UK tour2018/19 UK tour
Doctor Dolittle Phillip Schofield Phillip Schofield
Paul Nicholas
Russ Abbot 		Tom Hewitt Tommy Steele Mark Williams
Emma FairfaxSarah Jane Hassell Liza Pulman
Kathleen Shueppert		Nancy AndersonAbigail JayeMollie Melia-Redgrave
Matthew Muggins Bryan Smyth David Ganly
Jimmy Johnston		 Tony Yazbeck Conor Michael-SheridanPatrick Sullivan
Tommy StubbinsJames Paul Bradley
Samuel Carter-Brown
Darien Smith		Steven Fitton
Joshua Ellis-Barnard
Jamie Finch		Shadoe Alan Brandt Joanna Forest Harry Cross
Elliot Morris
Quillan O’Meara McDonald
Louis Parker
Elliott Rose
Thomas Ryan
General BellowesPeter CellierGeorge LittleEric Micheal GillettHalcro Johnston Adèle Anderson
Albert Blossom John Rawnsley Ed Dixon David Anthony Brian Capron
Straight Arrow Peter Gallagher Sam MancusoEric Michael Gillett Ako Mitchell
Polynesia Julie Andrews (voice)Julie Andrews (voice)

Ronnie Le Drew (puppet)

Susan J. JacksDebden Clarke

Rebecca Hyland

Vicky Entwistle

Musical numbers

Original London production

2007/08 UK touring production

Cast recording

The original London cast recording starring Phillip Schofield was released on 1 October 1998 by Exalshallow Ltd, featuring 22 tracks. [4]

References

  1. ↑ "Expect a Younger Dr. Dolittle on Stage | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  2. ↑ "Doctor Dolittle Is Unwell; Touring Musical Will Shutter in PA After Nine Weeks | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  3. ↑ "Doctor Dolittle UK Tour Cancelled". britishtheatre.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  4. ↑ "Doctor Dolittle - World Premiere London Cast Recording by Doctor Dolittle - World Premiere London Cast on Apple Music". iTunes. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
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