Review: AN AMERICAN TAIL THE MUSICAL at Children's Theatre Company

A Children's Theatre Company Commissioned World Premiere Production
in association with Universal Theatrical Group

An army of cats forces young Fievel Mousekewitz and his family to escape from Russia by boat. When a storm at sea separates them, Fievel arrives alone in the vast city of New York. In this riveting new musical based on the beloved animated film, the steadfastly optimistic Fievel makes his way as a new immigrant, encountering friends and foes (including a few scene-stealing cockroaches!). Despite everything stacked against him, Fievel clings to his dreams of a better life and reuniting with his family. Are they Somewhere Out There?

Book and lyrics by Itamar Moses
Music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler
Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film
Music Supervision by Andrea Grody
Choreography by Katie Spelman
Directed by Taibi Magar

It's always exciting when a new musical premier here in the rich theater community of the Twin Cities! I remember hearing about this production a while back and as this was a favorite childhood movie of mine, I was looking forward to seeing the musical adaptation of it by the Children's Theater Company.
The stage is set where this production is told inside a large suitcase with buttons on the edge of the stage, it was fitting and creative for this story. There were many neat transitional scenery changes and the creativity of the large cats, the lanterns, bicycles, etc made it feel like you were in the time of 1885.

The costumes were detailed and creative. Fival wore the iconic red and blue with the blue hat. I was wondering how they would do the costumes for the mice and the cats and only speaking from what I saw, they made it to where the costumes portrayed those animals, cockroaches, and characters but made it convenient for the actors to move and dance around in as well as hear with the mouse ears being behind their human ears and nothing blocking their faces.
The script was great. This production ran two hours with a 15-minute intermission. It's been a while since I had seen the movie but I call the movie about 80 minutes or so, this production followed the movie score closely. We were able to see all of our favorite beloved characters Ryan London Levin (Tony), Deidra Cochran (Henri), Kiko Laureano (Bridget), and even Reed Sigmund (Honest John). The whole cast was diverse of actors of all ages and backgrounds and they did an exceptional job with the ensemble numbers.

The music and lyrics were catchy and fun. There were large ensemble musical numbers along with duets, and solo musical numbers that were accompanied by choreography that fit the style of 1885 times. I enjoyed the dancing cockroaches! The iconic hit song from the movie "Somewhere Out There," was also included and was enjoyed by the audience especially those of the 80s and early 90's it made us feel the nostalgia of that time.

I would highly recommend seeing this production! It's a show that can be enjoyed by all ages! It is a wonderful story that should be seen by many!

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