The Jungle Book

Musical (2013)
Based on the Disney animated film
and the stories of Rudyard Kipling

With Nikka Graff Lanzarone (Peacock, et al), Alka Nayyar (Doe, Insect, et al), Andre De Shields (Akela and King Louie), Timothy Wison (Wolf, et al), Victor Wisehart (Wolf, et al), Govind Kumar (Rama, a wolf, et al), Nehal Joshi (Bagheera), Anjali Bhimani (Raksha, a wolf, and others), Larry Yando (Shere Khan), Monique Haley (Insect, et al), Jeremy Duvall (Insect, et al), Aash Chopra (Mowgli), Thomas Derrah (Kaa, et al), Ed Kross (COlonel Hathi, et al), Geoff Packard (Lieutenant George, Giddha, a vulture, et al), Kevin Carolan (Baloo, et al), Glory Curda (Little Girl)

Mowgli is a human child who finds himself among animals in the jungles of India and happily adapts to the idea of staying with them for the rest of his life. Encountering a few caring friends and some fearful opponents in the animal realm, Mowgli adeptly navigates his way around the dangers, through the jungle, and to his own destiny.

This brilliantly produced musical is very short on plot but it matters not one whit. The design, the dancing, the choreography are all so fabulously done that it makes for spectacular theater.

Despite the lack of plot, there are plenty of entertaining touches.

A cozy bear, Baloo (Kevin Carolan), in some get-up that resembles a hoop dress without the dress part and who looks like a heavyset Quentin Tarentino, is a particularly adoring and adorable guardian for Mowgli, as is Bagheera (Usman Ally), a slinky and slithery black panther.

Thomas Derrah, a longtime veteran of the American Repertory Theater, and a wonderfully versatile actor, plays Kaa, a huge snake, awesomely dangerous, but still very heavy on charm.

Larry Yando played a great, grizzled Dr. Pangloss in the Huntington’s wonderful Candide two seasons ago and has an equally fun, blistery presence here as Shere Khan, a tiger as threatening as this embracingly charming production would allow.

Near the end, there is a bunch of vultures which forms an a cappella choir that is hilarious and only mildly threatening.

A British bedecked elephant band marches through periodically, reminding us of the animals closest, in many ways, to the colonials of late nineteenth century India.

The set is out of this world – colorfully variegated with endless layers of bush, tree, branch, flower. It opens and closes in remarkable and inventive ways, particularly at the beginning and the end, depicting Mowgli as a boy reading a book and imagining a jungle world. Animals fly in from the sides, and gods descend from the ceiling.

Akash Chopra, the kid who played Mowgli in this performance (he alternates with Roni Akurati) is fabulous. This is a young kid, but he was so relaxed and adept in his movements, so precociously attuned and vividly engaging, it was a bit reminiscent of the extremely youthful Shirley Temple.

Giory Kurda, as the young girl who comes out at the end and sings, has a fabulous voice, hauntingly clear and resonant.

The choreography is superbly conceived – imaginative without feeling self-conscious or contrived – and wonderfully energetic. It ranged from great gyrations and floor exercises to tap dancing, all seeming incredibilly natural and dynamic. The woman on stilts who, also as Peacock (Nikka Graff Lanzarone), leads Mowgli from his room to the imagined jungle, does a wonderful job of simulating an Indian dancer’s head moves, jerky and graceful at the same time.

Mary Zimmermann, the director, supervised that outstanding production of Candide at the Huntington in the fall of 2011. This current, stellar production of The Jungle Book further confirms her considerable talents. The show simply hums with excellence and it gives, from every corner of the production, a sense of great, inspiring directorial oversight.

The music and lyrics are perfectly decent, though not particularly memorable. I would have to listen to it some number of times before passing judgment, but I would say that though they support the production adequately, they are not its highlight.

The cast is huge and everyone does a good job. Everyone plays multiple roles, populating the jungle with an entire world of animals, and the effects of color, movement and energy overall are stunning.

– BADMan