Theater News

Doctor Dolittle Tour Is Cut Short

Susan Jacks and Tom Hewitt in Doctor Dolittle
(Photo © Joan Marcus)
Susan Jacks and Tom Hewitt in Doctor Dolittle
(Photo © Joan Marcus)

The national tour of the musical Doctor Dolittle, starring Tom Hewitt in the title role, will end prematurely this Sunday, October 2 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

“While we are extremely proud of Doctor Doolittle on stage, it simply is not translating to ticket sales and finding its audience,” stated producer Nick Scandalios of Nederlander Presentations, Inc. No other comments from the producers were forthcoming. It is expected that the show will lose its entire investment of approximately $3 million.


The musical, which co-stars Nancy Anderson, Eric Michael Gillett, and Ed Dixon, was based on the Dr. Dolittle stories by Hugh Lofting as well as the 1967 film version starring Rex Harrison. The production began its tour in August in Pittsburgh and played in Philadelphia last week, prior to its Hershey engagement. Among the cities it was scheduled to play over the next nine months were Seattle, Sacramento, San Diego, and Los Angeles.

In his review of the production for TheaterMania, J. Cooper Robb wrote: “For all the colorful costumes and exotic beast puppets on stage, it never fully engages the imagination. A good part of the blame lies at the feet of Leslie Bricusse, who penned the show’s book, music, and lyrics. His score is rather ordinary and the plot is less than involving.”