Reviews 2005
Reviews 2005
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music by Chris Jeffries, book and lyrics by Jon Klein, directed by Allen MacInnis
Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, Toronto
December 18, 2005
The Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People is presenting the Canadian premiere of Bunnicula based on the popular children’s book by Deborah and James Howe. The so-so 1996 musical adaptation by Jon Klein and Chris Jeffries moves from a great set-up to a limp ending, but the truly delightful performances from Richard Binsley and Corinne Koslo are a treat.
When the Monroe family brings home an abandoned rabbit they name Bunnicula (a puppet beautifully manipulated by Mike Petersen), it upsets the routine of residents pets Harold the dog (Binsely) and Chester the cat (Koslo). Indeed, Chester, who has lately been reading vampire stories, is convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire and vegetables drained of colour overnight seem to prove it.
While the attractively mounted show allows viewers to figure out the moral for themselves, Klein focusses on the mechanics of vampire question at the expense of the story’s themes of sibling rivalry and prejudice. Jeffries’s instantly forgettable songs are mostly filler. What works best is the comic view of humans as seen by Chester and Harold. Koslo has all the feline habits and sense of innate superiority down perfectly, while Binsley’s lovably dim but good-natured canine suggests that trust is a better starting point with others than suspicion.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2005-11-24.
Photo: Poster for Bunnicula. ©2005
2005-11-24
Bunnicula