The reviews were fairly positive for Mary Zimmerman’s “The Jungle Book,” which recently opened a highly anticipated world premiere engagement at Chicago’s prestigious Goodman Theatre. But the critical consensus — which found the show admirably inventive and designed but emotionally restrained — points to a dilemma facing any producer who may hope to transfer the musical commercially. Can Zimmerman, a Tony Award winner and MacArthur Genius, make the changes necessary to compete in the high-stakes and flashy game that Broadway has become?
“Zimmerman has done her own auteur thing, eschewing Broadway comparisons and keeping her scope modest and singular,” wrote Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune. He described the show as “a classy, sophisticated, visually beautiful but cool-to-the-touch affair” in need of a book doctor who could add dimension and emotional complexity to the characters. Those are, of course, based on the 1894 Rudyard Kipling novel and the 1967 Disney animated classic about the “man cub” Mowgli, who is raised by animals in the jungles of India. The songs of the latter, by the Sherman Brothers — Richard and Robert — are included here along with some original music flavored with the motifs of South Asia.
Zimmerman, who won a 1998 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and a 2002 Tony as director of “Metamorphoses,” is known for the uncompromising integrity and innovation that she brings to her work. That’s one of the reasons why Disney, which gave enhancement money to the Goodman for the production, chose her to develop one of their most beloved films. No doubt they are hoping that lightning might strike twice. After all, Julie Taymor had much the same reputation in the mid-’90s when she was tapped by Disney to develop “The Lion King.” But Disney producers Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher leaned heavily on Taymor to curb her often astringent experimental instincts and maintain the emotional heart of the story. (When Taymor stuck to her guns on “Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark,” things didn’t turn out so well.)
That’s the challenge now facing “The Jungle Book,” which transfers to Boston’s Huntington Hartford Theatre this fall after it ends its Chicago engagement on August 31. The inherent commercial pressures — whether Zimmerman chooses to heed them or not — are even more intense now than they were when “The Lion King” blazed into a global phenomenon in 1997. The newest Broadway musical hits — “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda,” “Motown,” “Pippin,” and “Cinderella” —are lavish and flashy affairs. A show that Jones described as more like “a play with music” may have a tough time entering this climate in which, at more than $100 per ticket, audiences are looking for a guaranteed good time.
Of course, artistic integrity and commercial punch are not mutually exclusive, as “Lion King” and “Matilda” have proven. And the Chicago critics pointed out that “The Jungle Book” has its show-stopping moments, especially when Baloo (Kevin Carolan) sings “Bare Necessities” and Andre DeShields, as King Louie, ends the first act with a spirited rendition of “I Wanna Be Like You,” which also showcases the talents of choreographer Christopher Gattelli. The show just needs more of them. It’ll be interesting to see what Zimmerman has learned coming out of the Chicago production. It’s known that she doesn’t actually start writing the “book” for her shows until rehearsals begin. That alone may account for the show feeling somewhat incomplete at this stage. The Chicago critics also found “Kinky Boots” lacking in some of the same ways during its showcase run. And that ended happily.
Photo by Liz Lauren