Susan Granger’s review of “Winnie the Pooh Musical” (Theatre Row – Off-Broadway)
A.A. Milne’s beloved adventures of Christopher Robin and his anthropomorphized animal friends has become a charming Off-Broadway musical, as the Hundred Acre Wood is brought to life on-stage in life-size puppet form by producer Jonathan Rockefeller and Disney Theatrical Productions.
Youngsters familiar with the folksy stories will delight in watching the gentle antics of Pooh Bear, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, and Kanga and little Roo while listening to familiar songs from the Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers – Richard and Robert – best known for their “Mary Poppins” and “Jungle Book” tunes.
This whimsical tale begins as Christopher Robin departs for school, leaving silly ol’ Pooh – who feels ‘”rumbly” in his “tumbly” – to search for delicious honey while experiencing the changing seasons with his forest friends.
Each of the seasons heralds its own nostalgic enchantment. Blustery autumn means Piglet must be rescued from a runaway kite. Snow showers introduce Miss Winter, although perfectionistic Rabbit’s vegetable garden gets decimated in a bouncing lesson. And so it goes.
Puppeteer/actor/singer Jake Bazel is charismatic as Winnie the Pooh; according to his bio, Bazel first tackled the role of the ‘tubby little cubby’ when he was nine years old, long before he went to work in Disney’s media world.
Plus there’s Emmanuel Elpenord, triple-cast as gloomy Eeyore, exasperated Rabbit & talkative Owl, along with Chris Palmieri as spirited, scatter-brained Tigger, Kristina Dizon as nurturing Kanga and Kirsty Moon as Piglet & Roo.
Enhancing the wholesome enchantment is David Goldstein’s bucolic set with Matthew Lish’s puppets, Jamie Roderick’s warm lighting and Lindsay Williams’ costumes. New songs include Carly Simon’s “The More It Snows” and composer Nate Edmonson’s “Sing-Ho.”
Family-friendly, 65 minute-long “Winnie the Pooh” plays on 42nd Street’s Theatre Row through January 30th when it heads to Chicago to begin a national tour. Tickets are available at www.WinnieThePoohShow.com.
Because of Covid, all patrons are required to wear a mask and everyone above the age of 12 must show proof of vaccination. Those under 12 need to show a negative PCR test within three days or a negative rapid antigen test from a physician or testing site within six hours of the performance. To that end, there’s free, on-site testing up to 1.5 hours before curtain time.