A Very Belated Semi-Review of "The Wolves in the Walls"

Thing 1 and I went to see The Wolves in the Walls, a family musical based on the Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean picture book, a couple of weeks ago now, when it was in New York at the wonderful New Victory Theater.

It scared the heck out of him -- he nearly ran out of the the theater, and did hide his head and cover his ears just before the wolves actually did come out of the walls. We were also pretty close -- fifth row or so -- and the show might be slightly less frightening further back. But it really distressed my nine-year old, so, if you're thinking about going to see it, be warned that it is scary.

Other than that, there were just two unpleasant things about the production -- it was really REALLY LOUD and the Scottish cast's accents dropped into incomprehensibility (even though they were really REALLY LOUD) quite a lot, especially when they were singing. The comprehension issue seemed to fade as the show went on, so perhaps it's just a matter of getting used to the accents. But, if you're an American and planning to see this show, expect your ears to be battered in a couple of ways, and expect younger or more sensitive children to be scared out of their wits.

Other than that, the show was wonderful -- the sets were wonderfully dingy-looking and creepy (and moved around into a couple of useful configurations), the wolf costumes were excellent (though, again, quite frightening for the younger ones), and the cast had a lot of energy, good singing voices, and accents that weren't completely impenetrable. If it's coming to your town, it's worth seeing.

But just remember: when the wolves come out of the walls...it's all over.