Every superhero has an origin story, and Dog Man’s is surprisingly dark for a goofy, upbeat character from a series of middle-grade graphic novels. When a clueless cop and his canine companion are injured by a bomb, a surgical team of knock-off Frankensteins sews the dog’s functioning head onto the man’s unharmed body, thus creating Dog Man — part dog, part man, all hero.
Throw in a vengeful feline, a bionic fish, some show tunes and a disco ball and you’ve got a musical that had kids singing and dancing along at the Studebaker Theater on a recent afternoon. Based on the bestselling series by Dav Pilkey, who is also the author of the popular “Captain Underpants” books, “Dog Man: The Musical” premiered off-Broadway in 2019 and is now on a national tour produced by TheaterWorksUSA, a company dedicated to work for young audiences.
Many of the “Dog Man” book titles are puns of classic novels, and the stage adaptation is based on “A Tale of Two Kitties.” A show within a show, the story is told by George (Marcus Phillips) and Harold (played by swing Joe Balanza at the performance I saw), two fifth graders who cowrite graphic novels and decide to turn one of them into a musical in their treehouse. I don’t know what kind of elementary school teacher assigns Dickens, but the kids take his title and spin a tale set during the French Dressing Revolution.
The hybrid hero (played by swing John Wascavage) is up against two nemeses: Petey (Bryan Daniel Porter), an evil scientist cat who clones himself to double his villainous potential, and Flippy (played by swing Jasiana Caraballo), a fish with mind control powers who mobilizes an army of sentient buildings to wreak havoc in Dog Man’s city. What neither of them count on is that Petey’s clone, Li’l Petey (L.R. Davidson), will charm them both with relentless positivity — or wear them down with an endless capacity to repeat the question “Why” in a toddler’s squeal. Perhaps a bit of both.
With a book and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila and music by Brad Alexander, the musical’s peppy score and breezy pace suit the target audience of elementary schoolers. One kid sitting next to me seemed to know the words to several songs, presumably from the off-Broadway cast recording. Some of the cleverest lyrics are given to Petey, who pines after his mini-me in the love song parody “Without Me” and channels Sydney Carton in “A Far, Far Better Thing.”
In our current cultural moment, it’s worth noting that Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” series placed second on the American Library Association’s list of the most banned and challenged books for the decade of 2010-19. Offensive language, misbehavior and violence were some of the common complaints. The “Dog Man” books haven’t been met with the same level of ire. But for anyone wondering about the musical’s age appropriateness, my take is that its irreverent humor and mild potty language are nothing to worry about.
“Dog Man: The Musical” certainly isn’t the most didactic children’s show out there. It doesn’t have a clear moral but rather celebrates the creativity of kids and the jokes they enjoy at that age. Nevertheless, Li’l Petey’s capacity to befriend even the grumpiest of villains conveys the power of empathy, and neurodiversity is given an empowering spin when a robot named 80-HD (pronounced ADHD) helps Dog Man save the day.
It was a delight to see a crowd of upturned young faces basking in the light of the disco ball during the song “Robo-Dance Party.” And to the kid in the front row who got out of his seat and let loose like he was a college student in a club rather than attending a matinee with his parents in a historic theater: I salute you. More of that energy, please.Update: This story has been changed to correct the name of the robot character.
Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.
Review: “Dog Man: The Musical” (3 stars)
When: Through February 25
Where: Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Tickets: $34.50-$84.50 at fineartsbuilding.com or 312-753-3210
