Doctor Dolittle
June 17, 2008
Venue: Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Date Reviewed: 16th June, 2008There are not too many artistes around today who still make an audience applaud when they make their first entrance, but one such person who commands this honour is the British living legend Tommy Steele. He will always be associated with”Half A Sixpence” and the London Palladium has a plague in his honour (as he is the most successful artiste in the theatre’s history), and this very long tour of Doctor Dolittle has introduced him to a new audience.
Dr Doolittle is still remembered as the classic film starring Rex Harrison, although younger audiences will refer to the two Eddie Murphy pictures of the same name, which have nothing to do with this show. But judging from the ages of the audience a lot of people were there to both see Steele and introduce their grandchildren and possibly great grandchildren to the wonderful world of Doctor Dolittle.
The original stage version starred Phillip Schofield as Doolittle ( Russ Abbott toured in the first national tour of the show) with the voice of Julie Andrews as Polynesia. But the new version presented by Bill Kenwright and is slicker and more colourful than its predecessor.
This role fits Steele far better than his previous Leslie Bricusse musical Scrooge, as he never managed to pull off the nastiness of Ebenezer Scrooge, you could always see glimpses of the Tommy Steele we know for being “mr nice guy” waiting to burst out. In this show Dr Doolittle is a nice character all along, so allows Steele to do what he does best, sing, dance and dazzle with his amazing smile.
Telling the story of John Doolittle, who learns from his parrot Polynesia to talk to the animals, we follow his adventures as he tries to raise funds to travel abroad and find the giant pink sea snail. But as he helps a seal escape to find her husband in the North Pole, people think he is actually trying to kill an old woman. This leads him to escaping from jail, with the help of an elephant and sailing away from England in search of the snail. When the ship is hit by a storm he finds himself on a desert island, with his travelling companions, Matthew Muggins (Conor Michael –Sheridan), Jip the Dog (James Deverell), Tommy Stubbins (Joanna Forest) and Emma Fairfax (Abigail Jaye)
Jaye provides the love interest between her character Emma Fairfax and the Doctor, which espically considering the age difference of the actors and characters may have been slightly odd, but it is handled with care and affection. The relationship is never explored too deeply, (in a similar way to Truly Scrumptious and Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) which allows the show to concentrate on the animals.
With an array of furry creatures appearing from shelves and cupboards to seal lions and the dancing Pushmi-Pullyu the show is colourful and keeps adults and children alike entertained for over two hours.
The score includes Leslie Bricusse hit “ Talk to the Animals” as well as other toe tapping tunes including “Doctor Dolittle” and “My Friend the Doctor”.
Steele is allowed a few minutes at the end of the show to demonstrate what a showman he still is as he holds the stage in a soft shoe shuffle accompanied by two orangutans .
Having seen the production last year it is still a delight to see such a seasoned professional as Steele touring, which was brilliantly demonstrated by the technical hitch which stopped the lunar moth from appearing. As despite the build up of Doctor Dolittle arriving home by lunar moth, Steele strode on to the stage and with a massive grin and led the company in the finale, while the moth failed to appear. Anyone not having seen the show before might have been slightly confused for a moment, but with Steele at the helm all is quickly forgotten.
This is a show for all the family and provides true family entertainment with one of Britain’s true remaining stars still demonstrating why he is still top of the bill.
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