A Review

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, Ho-Hum

By R. J. Donovan

Think a Perry Como TV special. Only without Perry Como.

That's the impression that comes to mind with Disney's "On The Record," in for a very short run through April 10 at the Colonial Theatre.

Simply put, it's an evening of Disney music. Nice music. Nicely sung. However, it appears that Disney's marketing machine assumed audiences would fall all over themselves, purely to hear Disney music, no matter who's singing it or how it's presented.

In the setting of a theme park, with nine-times-a-day continuous shows included in the price of admission, that might fly. But in a legitimate theatre -- you've got to question its motives.

The very loose premise is that we're inside a recording studio where a varied crew of vocalists are singing Disney songs.

Unless you've read the five words in the program that state this, you'd never really be sure as there's no dialogue in the production -- just one song after another. The numbers range from "When You Wish Upon A Star" to "Lavender Blue," "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," "Give A Little Whistle," "I Can Fly," “Colors Of The Wind” and so on. Some are done as solos, others are wrapped together in medleys.

There are no star talents involved -- just the smiling faces of a company of singers. We are expected to pick up on the fact that some of these singers know each other. Others don't, but would like to.

Further, the actors all have character names listed in the program. But since there's no dialogue, no one uses them. So what's the difference?

There’s nothing particularly wrong here (although I think it's creepy to have grown adults emulating cartoon animals singing), but there's no real purpose either.

Why are these singers recording these tunes? If they're supposed to be capturing the songs for posterity, you'd be be better off listening to the originals.

In most cases, the showcased songs are beloved because of the context in which they were introduced. "A Spoonful of Sugar" tugs at the heartstrings when Julie Andrews sings it in "Mary Poppins." The mood is entirely different when you've got eight adults marching around like sadly overgrown Mouseketeers.

I'm all for giving shows the benefit of the doubt, but for the record, "On The Record" is a touring production that should have been content to exist purely within the confines of the Happiest Place On Earth.

"On The Record" is at The Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, through April 10. For information, call 617-931-2787.

Production Photo: Joan Marcus

-- OnStage Boston

04/07/05