This was actually the national premiere of "Animaniacs LIVE," right here tonight in Colorado, and I can heartily recommend it as a musical show to attend.
So you might think, "Hey, it's a concert about a cartoon, so it's for little kids, ho-hum." _Au contraire._ For starters, "Animanics" was a Steven Spielberg-produced zany Warner Bros. cartoon that ran from '93 – '98, endeavoring to be both subversively adult and delightfully childlike, in the model of the old Chuck Avery cartoons. While a lot of the humor was topical (lots and lots of mention of the Hollywood celebs of the era), there was also a lot that was timeless, and the music was a rich mix of jokes, satire, patter song, and generally clever lyrics.
(The "I'm Mad" song is one of the more conventional ad hoc segments, but one of my favorite tunes — one that will certainly appeal to anyone who's herded kids in a car.)
This concert show is an homage to the show, essentially a series of musical numbers interspersed with chat about the show and how it was mad. The key here, though, is the folk who are in the show. The main stars, on-stage the full time and doing most of the heavy lifting, are Rob Paulson (the voice of Yakko, Pinky, and Dr Scratchansniff) and Randy Rogel (one of the writers and songwriters for the show). Also appearing for some of the musical numbers were Tress MacNeille (Dot) and Jess Harnell (Wakko). Rounding out the cast were Julie and Steve Bernstein who provided both some singing backup and conducting.
Having the full Colorado Symphony Orchestra for the show was amazing — though the music was written for such an orchestra (something Spielberg insisted on). At times, given we were just a few rows back from the stage edge, the native sound of the CSO overwhelmed the micced singing of the players, but overall it was nicely done.
Some of the segments included the original animation projected on the screen behind the orchestra. This was particularly used for the list songs: "Yakko's Universe," "Yakko's World," "Wakko's America."
Given that the show was 15-20 years ago, the talent is still pretty strong. Rogel (who does much of the singing) is solid, as is Paulson (suffering from just a bit of raggedness at his upper range). MacNeille and Harnell were weaker in the pipes, but they made up for it in enthusiasm (echoed from the audience).
Indeed, enthusiasm was the order of the evening here, with Paulson and Rogel taking the lead. Paulson, in fact, seemed like the happiest guy on the planet to have this show going and the large and receptive audience in attendance. The whole cast was having fun, which, especially given the subject matter, made the audience have fun, too. That audience was made up of all ages, from a few kids up through older orchestra-goers, and a lot of people who grew up with (or whose kids grew up with) "Animaniacs."
The first act of the show was the strongest, hitting on a variety of key songs from the animated series. The second half fills in with a lot of other music that Rogel has composed for animated shows, including a number from the WB cartoon series "Histeria!". These are all good and very much in line with the "Animaniacs" material, but somehow didn't feel quite as engaging as the first act material, even though the show concluded with a rousing full-cast and -audience sing-along to the "Animaniacs" theme song, as well as a specially composed extension to "Yakko's World" for the encore that included all the nations that have been created since the original song was written.
Overall, though, it was a fine, entertaining evening, with much laughter and applause to be had. I hope they have a long and successful run, and if they hit Denver again, I'll definitely look to pick up another set of tickets.
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