'The 101 Dalmatians': A canine caper

Nearly three years ago, four-time Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks was in Madrid to stage a Spanish version of "The Producers."

One night, he went out for drinks with friends old and new. At the table was Luis Alvarez, a young stage producer who was fast making a name for himself with European and American productions of such shows as "Zorro," "Spider-Man" and "Peter Pan."

The men were nursing their spirits when Alvarez surprised Zaks.

"He says to me, 'I have the rights to '101 Dalmatians' -- want to direct it?'" Zaks recalled recently. "I almost spilled my drink."

Once the two men worked out a deal, Zaks and his creative team did a workshop production in Mexico. Now the musical is getting its world premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.

"The Twin Cities is a great place to launch the show," Zaks said. "You've got first-rate professionals who you can give an idea to and they immediately get it," he said of the orchestra and technical support at the Orpheum.

This adaptation is based not on the many screen versions of "Dalmatians," but on Dodie Smith's 1956 novel.

Going back to the original source allows the story to be told from the dogs' perspective, said Zaks, who won directing Tonys for "Six Degrees of Separation," "The House of Blue Leaves," "Lend Me a Tenor" and "Guys and Dolls." The usual order of things is reversed in "Dalmatians," with the dogs keeping the humans as pets. "But the story is one that all parents and those with parents can relate to," he said. "It's a story of heart and tenderness."

In the show, the puppies of Dalmatian couple Pongo and Missis Pongo are "dognapped" by villain Cruella de Vil. The alarmed dog parents call on a Dalmatian network and a long-distance communication technique known as "twilight barking" to recover their pups. Drama Desk winner Rachel York ("Victor/Victor-ia"), who played Guenevere in a national tour of "Camelot" that landed at the Ordway two years ago, depicts Cruella in a show that also features 15 live Dalmatians.

Going for the dogs

To achieve the canine point of view in "Dalmatians," the actors who play dogs are regular-sized while those playing humans do so on 15-inch stilts. "We happened upon it as a joke," Zaks laughed. "We said, why not put them on stilts? It's just the difference in size and behavior that distinguishes humans from canines."

The production's creative team includes B.T. McNicholl ("Billy Elliott," "Spamalot"), who adapted the book and co-wrote the libretto. Dennis DeYoung, a founding member of the rock group Styx, also co-wrote lyrics and composed the show's music.

Zaks said that although he sometimes gets passionate -- "I have a voice," he said -- he admires his creative team and cast. He is especially pleased with York's fearlessness.

"Not many actresses who are as beautiful as she is have the courage to play comedy," he said. "Lucille Ball had that, but most lookers like that are prisoners of their own beauty."

After barking its way across the nation, the musical will land in Madison Square Garden next spring.

Zaks is thrilled to be premiering "Dalmatians" in the Twin Cities. "The sidewalks in Minneapolis," he said, "they are so clean." Sounds like something you want to tell to the dogs.

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390