Based on the classic Rudyard Kipling story, the animated Disney film became a classic of its own. And now it’s been adapted for the stage, with Young Actors Theatre in San Diego turning in a very entertaining production of it this summer featuring casts of wolves, monkeys, elephants, vultures, and a few other jungle friends and foes of young Mowgli.

The stage version opens with an introductory number to the tune of the film’s My Own Home, and the black panther Bagheera narrates our tale as he does in the film. Chelsea Mullen does a fantastic job with the character, using graceful, limber, panther-like movements and a kindly while pragmatic personality as she watches out for Mowgli. It’s a relationship that begins with Young Mowgli played by Dalton Dobey who gets adopted by the wolves and shares a cute little song and dance as he grows up and gets replaced by the older Mowgli, Danny Drysdale, who runs away when Bagheera tries to take him to the man-village. Mowgli runs straight into the lovable Baloo featuring a fun and easygoing Dominic Capoocia. A friendship that, of course, leads Danny and Dominic to perform the show’s signature hit – The Bare Necessities.

But there are many dangers in the jungle. Jacob Gardenswartz is Kaa, a bright green snake with a cool costume that blacks out the actor’s hands and legs. Jacob uses his slithery voice, expression, and movements to try to hypnotize Mowgli, aided by some black lighting that adds a good, dark, surreal effect to the attempted eating of our main character. Carson McCalley is the ultra-cool, ultra-laidback, and ultra-crazy King Louie, leader of the monkeys, leading his kingdom in the groovy I Want to be Like You. And, of course, there’s Shere-Khan himself, with Corey Hable giving a good, sinister version of I Want to be Like You and interrogating Kaa before finally uniting with Mowgli for the showdown.

The show includes a highly amusing group of elephants led by a stuffy and pompous Colonel Hathi (Matthew Rearic) and his funny, exasperated wife Winifred (Sierra Goldstein). On the other side of the jungle, four humorous vultures (Sierra Goldstein, Isabella Lenhoff, Dominique Madsen, and Elizabeth Rider) help distract Shere-Khan from turning Mowgli into their next meal. Other good performances come from mother wolf Rasha (Christine Provencher) singing a lullaby to Mowgli, a cute Shanti (Kate Drysdale) demurely luring Mowgli to follower her to the man-village with My Own Home, and a great group of Jungle Singers introducing several scenes with different styles and fun choreography (Rickey S. Viloria), highlighted by Monkey Business.

Performed June 1-9, 2007.

Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre

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