Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre Dr. Dolittle
By Roman Gusso • Jul 18th, 2012 • Category: ReviewsCockpit in Court Summer Theatre
CCBC-Essex, Essex, MD
Through July 22nd
2:15 with intermission
$8
Reviewed July 14th, 2012
It is always good to see when children’s theatre goes to their roots, and does something classic, fun, appropriate, and family friendly. Such is the case with Cockpit in Court’s summer production of Dr. Dolittle. Based on the legendary “Dr. Dolittle” stories by Hugh Lofting, the 20th Century Fox film whose book, music, and lyrics were written by Leslie Bricusse comes to life in this production. The 25 multi-talented, full of energy cast which consist of ages 5 through 18 does a fine job with this full-length production.
The show is full of beautiful songs, all time favorite melodies such as “Talk to the Animals” and “Fabulous Places,” simple but fun dance numbers, a display of individual talents from the cast, and an over-all fun evening. The sets are simple, yet clever. The backdrops are beautiful and set the perfect mood for the scenes. The costumes were fun and innovative, and the two-piece orchestra consisting of piano/synthesizer and percussion made it sound like a full-fledged band.
Matthew Demetrides (Dr. John Dolittle) tackles the heavily dialogued leading role beautifully, consistently keeping up a British accent, delivering passionate renditions of the songs, and hilariously speaking a cornucopia of animal dialects. Hunter Lubawski (Polynesia) is perfectly cast as Dr. Doolittle’s 200-year old, know-it-all, right hand parrot with energy that doesn’t seem to stop, and the hilarious delivery on practically every line. Josh Schoff (Matthew Mugg), Alec Munk (Tommy Stubbins), Zach Miller (General Bellows), Kelsey Feeney (Jip the Dog), and Maddie Howard (Emma Fairfax) round out the supporting roles with each doing an outstanding job and making their characters believable and real. Although sometimes struggling a bit vocally, Howard does a beautiful job with her rendition of “At the Crossroads.” The rest of the ensemble juggles many different roles and responsibilities alternating between a plethora of animals and other characters. Some standouts of the ensemble are Valerie Stine, Lizzy Dixon, Rachel Miller, Wesley Brown, and Ava Winner.
The audience was filled with children and adults practically of all ages. It was fun and entertaining for the entire family so take a drive down to Essex, Maryland, catch the show on its closing week, and come “Talk to the Animals.”
Disclaimer: Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.
This article can be linked to as: http://maryland.showbizradio.com/goto/301.
Roman Gusso worked for twenty years as a professional actor and director, as well as worked a myriad of other theatrical production roles at various levels. In recent years, he served as Artistic Director/President of STROyKA Theatre in Washington, DC. Roman privately teaches acting, voice, and piano and serves as a consultant to various groups and schools. His primary role is stay-at-home dad and full-time college student. He also directs the Voices Unlimited Youth Choir at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Bel Air, MD.