Kids’ shows don’t get any more adult-friendly than Dog Man: The Musical, which is why whether or not you have school-age children who want to tag along, the off-Broadway hit’s new National Tour, now playing at the Kirk Douglas, just might be the most fun you’ll have at a theater this entire holiday season.

As in Dav Pilkey’s series of Dog Man books, composer Brad Alexander and book writer/lyricist Kevin Del Aguila tell the rather tall tale of police officer Knight (Brian Owen) and Greg The Dog (one of scenic designer Timothy R. Mackabee’s many handheld puppet marvels), whose only means of survival following a failed bomb diffusion is to have Greg’s head sewn onto Knight’s body, upon which Dog Man is born.

As for how Dog Man: The Musical itself came about, well as Alexander and Del Aguila would have it, that just happens to be the brainchild of fifth graders George (Marcus Phillips) and Harold (Max Torrez), whose tree house soon becomes a musical theater stage.

Dog Man quickly finds himself matching wits with Petey (Bryan Daniel Porter), aka “the world’s most evilest cat,” and though he manages to send the feline rascal straight to “cat jail,” it’s not for long.

Escaped from the clink, Petey sets about cloning himself, though the “body double” that emerges from his experiment turns out to be the still juvenile Lil’ Petey (L.R. Davidson), convinced that “Big Petey” is none other than her “Papa.”

Also figuring in the action is the super-brained Cyber Fish (Chadaé Nichol), a robot named 80-HD, and an army of Beastly Buildings, all of the above contributing to a plot so convoluted, I won’t even begin describing it here (though I’m sure any kid in the audience will find great delight is retelling it on the ride home from the theater).

Del Aguila’s book is deliciously meta, his lyrics are as funny and clever as lyrics get, and Alexander’s tunes are instantly hummable in one wackily wonderful song after another.

Petey reinvents “The Alphabet Song” as his very own “Evil ABCs”: “A is for annihilation, B is for the bombs that go boom-boom. C is for carnage, D is for impending doom.”

“Without Me,” Petey’s ‘90s-style love ballad to his clone, has him crooning lyrics like, “I love me, me are all I ever wanted, that’s exactly what me are, whether me are near or far,” to do Boys II Men or Brian McKnight proud.

And Lil’ Petey’s “Robo-Dance Party” gives disco queens Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, and Evelyn Champagne King a run for their pre-inflation 1970s money.

All of this adds up to some of the most unrestrained fun I’ve had at the theater in a good long while (and the elementary schoolers in the audience seemed to be enjoying Dog Man: The Musical almost as much as I was).

 Jen Wineman’s direction is infectiously engaging and her choreography gives the entire cast plenty of opportunities to strut their dance club-ready stuff while vocalizing to Gregory Nabours’ as always adept musical direction.

Mackabee’s set designs are graphic novel-style treats and his puppets are as funny and imaginative as puppets get, Heidi Leigh Hanson’s costumes are comic book delights, David Lander’s lighting makes a stageful of primary colors pop, and Emma Wilk’s sound design expertly mixes live vocals and prerecorded tracks.

Owen’s cute and cuddly Dog Man and Davidson’s absolutely captivating, big-voiced Lil’ Petey reprise roles they originated in Dog Man: The Musical’s 2019 off-Broadway debut. (A New York Times Critic’s Pick no less!)

East West Players’ stars Torrez (Mamma Mia, Assassins) and Phillips (Spring Awakening) make for not only the bestest of fifth-grade friends but deliver one fabulous cameo turn after another.

Nichol proves herself a villainess extraordinaire (and a disco diva par excellence) as the salad tongs-clawed Supa-Mecha Flippy, the Cyber Fish.

Most memorable of all is Porter’s irrepressible triple-threat star turn as Petey, brimming with such irresistible exuberance you may well find yourself forgetting he’s supposed to be the villain of the piece.

Casting is by Michael Donovan Casting, Michael Donovan, CSA, Richie Ferris, CSA. Joe Balanza, Jasiana Caraballo, and Regie De Leon are swings.

TheaterWorksUSA’s production of Dog Man: The Musical is presented by Center Theatre Group. Orchestrations are by Lloyd Kikoler. Jihee Jenny Park is production stage manager.

Folks in the theatrical biz describe shows like Dog Man: The Musical as “theater for young audiences,” or TYA, but if you happen to be over the age of 12, don’t let that keep you away from the Kirk Douglas. As long as you remain young at heart, you can expect to be blown away.

Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.
www.centertheatregroup.org

–Steven Stanley
December 3, 2023
Photos: Craig Schwartz Photography

Tags: Brad Alexander, Center Theatre Group, Dav Pilkey, Kevin Del Aguila, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review