Dog Man musical to bring fun and plenty of bite to Northampton
West End talents will perform in a new musical based on a hit series of children's books in Northampton next year.
Since it launched to critical acclaim in 2016, Dav Pilkey’s international hit book series Dog Man has more than 70 million copies in print worldwide and has been translated into 48 languages, with five of the titles currently in the Amazon UK top 50 best-selling children’s books. The Dreamworks animated film based on the books was released last year to great acclaim and box office success.
The story tells of best friends George and Harold, who have been creating comics for years. But now that they’re ten, they think it's time to write a musical based on their favourite character, Dog Man, the crime-biting sensation who is part dog, part man, and all hero.
With the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, Dog Man loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings?
The cast includes Vanessa Dumatey (whose credits include The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre) as Flippy, Sam Kipling (Les Misérables, Sondheim Theatre) as Petey, Peter Lavery as Harold, Ricardo Mendes (Carmen, London Coliseum; Pinocchio, The Alhambra Theatre) as George, Rebecca-Jo Roberts as Li’l Petey and Renan Teadoro as Dog Man. The cast is completed by Richener Bissereth, Shannon Bourne and Robert Wilkes.
Dav Pilkey was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as a child. He was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. But Dav loved to draw and make up stories, so he spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books—the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. Since then, Dav has written and illustrated a number of bestselling and award-winning children’s books. His Captain Underpants series and Dog Man graphic novels have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into many languages.
The comical and heartfelt new musical, for everyone over five, comes to the UK after playing to packed venues in the US where it had multiple sell-out Off-Broadway seasons and US tours.