Lofting, Hugh, 1886-1947. Dr. Dolittle. Eldridge Publishing Co., 2000. Contact publisher regarding price. 79 pp. Reviewer: Lena Wagner Reading Level: Primary; Intermediate; Rating: Dependable Genre: Plays; Fantasy Plays; Subject: Animals--Juvenile drama; Drama--Reviews; Veterinarians--Juvenile drama; Theme: Be kind to animals and they will be kind to you. Production Requirements: 7 sets, fairly difficult costuming Acts: 2 Run Time: 90 min Characters: 11 male, 14 female, 28 m/f Cast: adults Dr. Dolittle loves to work with his animal patients more than his human ones so pretty soon he no longer has any human patients. Then his parrot teaches him how to speak to the animals and he becomes a full time pet doctor. The story follows him as he cures monkeys in Africa, saves Long Arrow, fights pirates, and evades tax collectors back home. This play has several things that could make it difficult to produce. First, the cast is quite large, which could lead to difficult rehearsals. Second, many of the characters are animals, so the costumes may be difficult to make. The book suggests using basic uniforms with distinctive attributes to eliminate some of the stress. Third, there are seven sets, two of which are ships. The sets may not be difficult by themselves but with seven sets there will be many scene changes. The story however is quite interesting and would be fun for children to watch in elementary schools. I definitely think it is worth giving it a try.
