The season opener at Orlando Repertory Theatre — and the first long-running presentation in a partnership with TheatreWorksUSA — is the cat’s meow.
Please pardon the expression, as the show on the Rep stage is TheaterWorksUSA’s “Dog Man: The Musical,” a polished and good-hearted romp based on the popular series of children’s books by Dav Pilkey. If you don’t know, the character Dog Man is exactly what he seems: Part dog, part man. The doggy attributes include the brain, which makes for interesting choices by this canine crime fighter. Yes, Dog Man is on the police force as his human component had been an officer.
This whole origin story is explained in a funny and engaging musical number, and “funny” and “engaging” are the right words to describe this whole perky enterprise that sees Dog Man fighting the sinister Petey the cat and the evil Flippy the fish.
The show has a lot going for it, thanks in large part to Kevin Del Aguila’s adaptation that maintains a consistently breezy tone and isn’t afraid to throw out Charles Dickens references for the parents to enjoy. Director Jen Wineman matches that tone and has created energetic choreography for Brad Alexander’s catchy tunes.
Heidi Leigh Hanson’s costumes are simple and imaginative, while Timothy R. Mackabee’s scenic design creatively mixes realism with a child’s drawing style — in line with the plot’s framing device that two youngsters are imagining their own comic book on stage.
I couldn’t help but feel some hometown pride in seeing local talent playing the parts with such gusto, knowing the production will tour to other cities. There’s Da’Zaria Harris, fresh off a star turn as Belle in Garden Theatre’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and Will Sippel, memorable as a lovesick poet in Theatre UCF’s “Welcome to the Moon,” and Edwin Perez, so moving in Valencia College’s “Angels in America,” among others.
Brandon James Butorovich stars as Dog Man so spends a lot of the show panting and barking and growling — and does so with charm. Harris gives the evil fish plenty of power-hungry oomph with a twinkle in her eye, while Perez and Kadesh Lewis delightfully feed off each other’s energy as the boys putting on the show.
It seems unfair in a canine-titled musical that two cat characters deserve so much commendation, but Génesis M. Freytes Álvarez is delightful as a young feline with the sunniest of dispositions. And Sippel makes the most of every moment as his hissing villain, cleverly using his voice to maximum effect as he preens through the ultimate cat anthem, “I Love Me.”
All the performers strike the right balance between being cartoony enough for children without overdoing it for the adults.
Two other important things to like about this high-energy fun: The life lessons — of course there are life lessons, it’s children’s theater — are not beaten into the audience but handled gracefully. And secondly, one of those lessons is that bad actions still have consequences even if you later see the error of your ways, something that can be glossed over when it’s time for a “happy ever after” ending and the villains have repented.
Because he’s part dog, part man, Dog Man can “be his own best friend,” one of the songs tells us. But with adventures like this, we’d all like to be his pal.
‘Dog Man’
Length: 90 minutes, including intermission
Where: Orlando Repertory Theatre, 1001 E. Princeton St. in Orlando
When: Through Oct. 2
Cost: $15-$35
Info: orlandorep.com
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