What’s it About?
Dog Man The Musical is a dramitization of Dav Pilkey’s series, Dog Man. It is the story of a police man and a dog whose bodies are combined (following an accident) to become a more improved cop (who cannot talk but has a heart of gold). Dog Man is on the hunt to stop Petey, the evil cat.
How Was It?
I thought this was one of the best children’s shows that I have ever seen, actually. The six actors (who each played various roles) were very talented and seemed to be genuinely happy to be performing. The songs were cute and the choreography was fun. I also really liked the addition of puppets cleverly used to bring the bird and fish characters to life. The stage looked just like the drawings in the graphic novel. The set designers cleverly used many props made of recycled materials, such as painted cardboard boxes to represent various buildings whose facades changed quickly using velcro’d attachments.
Who is the show for?
Dog Man The Musical is one of those rare shows that caters to the mid-elementary age group; perhaps it is best for kids in grades 2-4. I think that children who have read and enjoyed books by Dav Pilkey are the target audience. My 9 year old twins who loved the books really liked the show!
What do parents need to know?
- They do use the words “jerk”, “idiot” and “dumb-dumb” a few times.
- There are parts that may be scary for younger or sensitive children.
- The music is (almost) loud enough to cover up the chatter of all of the children in the audience 😂
- The production is 90 minutes long, including one intermission
- The theater does not sell any snacks during intermission, however, there are several delis down the block at which to purchase a small bite.
- There are plenty of awesome restaurants in the neighborhood. (Just be aware that the kitchen at The Cowgirl Hall of Fame closes from 3:45-4:15 to switch over from lunch to dinner menus.)
Where Is the theater?
The Lucille Lortel Theater is at 121 Christopher Street. It is about three blocks west of the Christopher Street 1 train stop.