Encore Theatre to go to the dogs

LIMA — Children in kindergarten through grade eighth grade lined up for auditions months ago for a chance to shine in the Encore Theatre production of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids.

They were first asked to sing a song of their choosing. Next, they went up on stage and learned a new song from the musical and had to perform that song, singing and dancing it on the spot. If the performers made it past those rounds, they were next asked to read lines from a part in the play.

Finally after deliberations, cuts were made, and the selected cast of local school children were assigned their roles for three upcoming performance dates: both Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept 18 at 2 p.m. at Amil Tellers-Encore Theaters, 991 N. Shore Drive, Lima.

Plot

The musical is an abbreviated version of the film starring Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil, based on the screenplay by Bill Peet and the novel “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith.

As the classic story goes, Londoners Roger and Anita own two dalmations, Pongo and Perdita, that have just had a litter of puppies. When Anita’s wealthy former classmate, Cruella De Vil, visits the couple and her offer to buy the puppies is rebuffed, De Vil hatches a plot to steal them. Her goal: to make a fur coat out of them. In dire straits, the dalmation puppies solicit help from all the dogs in London to aid their escape.

Direction

Wes Allen, who co-directs the performance with Karen Finn, has been performing at Encore since the age of 11, and can relate to the children trying out for parts and rehearsing for the performance. He kept with it. Last year, his play “A Work in Progress” was performed on stage at Encore Theatre.

Costuming

The selection of those auditioning for the part of De Vil was particularly competitive, he said. In the film as well as the preceding cartoon version, De Vil’s characer is not only particularly evil, she has a very distinctive costume: a tight-fitting dress, an opera-length cigarette holder, gloves and a beauty mark, as well as half-black and half-white hair. There will be no actual dogs in the show, and certainly not 101 of them. They will instead be played by costumed children.

All of the costumes will be made, not purchased.

With the many talented costume makers who are affiliated with Encore Theatre, Allen said, “they can stick about anything together to make a perfect costume.”

Tickets

Tickets are $5 for ages 10 and under and $10 for all others. Purchase them online at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=137581, or by calling 419-223-8866.

Reach Shannon Bohle at 567-242-0399, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Bohle_LimaNews.

Shannon Bohle
Shannon Bohle covers entertainment at The Lima News. After growing up in Shawnee Township, she earned her BA at Miami University, MLIS from Kent State University, MA from Johns Hopkins University-Baltimore and pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. Bohle assisted with the publication of nine books and has written for National Geographic, Nature, NASA, Astronomy & Geophysics and Bloomsbury Press. Her public speaking venues included the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the Smithsonian and UC-Berkeley, and her awards include The National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest and a DoD competition in artificial intelligence. Reach her at [email protected] or 567-242-0399.