Hairy Maclary and Friends

Hairy Maclary, if you don’t know, is from Donaldson’s Dairy. Along with a motley assortment of canine friends—Schnitzel von Krumm (a daschund), Bottomley Potts (a dalmatian), and old English sheepdog Muffin McClay—he gets into all kinds of mischief, often involving the meanest cat in town: Scarface Claw.

An in-depth knowledge of the Hairy Maclary books, which have sold 5 million copies worldwide, may have aided me at this performance. Rather than one coherent narrative, the show comprises several short stories, held together by the loosest of threads. For audience members unfamiliar with the characters, it didn’t take long to feel a bit lost. “I’m tired of this show,” said my toddler son Tom, about twenty minutes in.

That said, the majority of audience members seemed thrilled to be seeing Hairy Maclary in the furry-covered flesh. Strong vocal and physical performances, from Carrie Mancini as Miss Plum and Mat Urey as Samuel Stone the Butcher, are just enough to keep the interest levels up.