101 Dalmatians the Musical Review
Disclosure: We were invited to see this show for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.
Last week we were invited to the press launch of 101 Dalmatians the Musical at Eventim Apollo London in Hammersmith. The show has been on a UK tour and is now in London through the summer with a brand new cast and we couldn’t wait to see it.
101 Dalmatians the Musical
101 Dalmatians the Musical brings such a classic story to life on the stage. Everyone is familiar with the story of Pongo and Perdi, their puppies, and Cruella De Vil trying to make a coat out of them! But, it’s something we’ve never seen live on stage before. We wondered how it would translate to being played out in front of a live audience.
From the very start we were sucked into a 101 Dalmatians the Musical world of song and dance. The show is packed full of big songs and strong voices, with so many catchy tunes that had the whole audience singing along. We loved Take Me Home, that repeated through the show and has stuck in our heads ever since!
As soon as 101 Dalmatians began, we were introduced to the incredibly puppetry used in the show. The Dalmatians, other dogs and even cats were portrayed using puppets and it was so well done that within a scene or two you forgot the animals weren’t actually real.
We loved that the animals all spoke and sang just like the humans in the show – and the voices of Pongo and Perdi – Linford Johnson and Emma Thornett – were some of the strongest in the cast. We loved hearing them sing!
But, the top voice of the night was definitely Sydnie Christmas as Cruella De Vil! Seeing her live, after getting to know her on BGT last year, was incredible and Sydnie was definitely the children’s highlight of the show. Her character was great – not too scary but just scary enough, and funny too. Like a panto villain that we all love to hate.
Jeff Brazier and Aston Merrygold played Casper and Jasper, Cruella’s nephews, who were a bit of a hapless double act that cracked joke after joke and indulged in some slapstick comedy. They bounced really well off each other and added to the panto-esque vibes.
Without giving too much away, 101 Dalmatians the Musical stays true to its roots but also has some new aspects, offshoots in the story and new characters to get to know. It wasn’t a short show – nearly 2.5 hours with the interval – but it kept us engaged throughout. If we weren’t singing along then we were on the edge of our seats, waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next!
We really enjoyed 101 Dalmatians the Musical. It was fun, upbeat and full of great, catchy songs. There was enough suspense and potential peril to make it more exciting than a typical family show and the cast did a great job. We especially loved the little furry surprise that appeared at the end!
You can find out more about 101 Dalmatians the Musical over on their website and make sure you book tickets to see it this summer – it’s running until 30th August.
