‘House Canine’ Evaluate: To Boldly Go The place No Canine Has Gone Earlier than

We’re in 1957, the peak of the Chilly Struggle. The Soviets and Individuals are racing to house, and the Soviets have pulled forward by launching the primary human-made object into the Earth’s orbit. The following purpose on the horizon: sending a person into house. However earlier than that, there was Laika, a stray canine from Moscow who was the only dwelling occupant of the spacecraft Sputnik 2, which orbited the Earth. Sputnik fell from house ultimately, however Laika didn’t survive the journey.

Now Laika has been resurrected as the topic of a vapid new musical, “House Canine,” an MCC Theater manufacturing that opened on Sunday and that stars its creators, Nick Blaemire and Van Hughes.

Directed by Ellie Heyman, “House Canine” recounts the story of Laika the very best recognized of the canine that Soviet scientists educated for house journey. On this retelling, a scientist recognized by the code title Chief Designer led that initiative.

Components of the present are informed from Laika’s perspective, from doggie diary entries and songs (Laika is performed by a plushie that’s principally dealt with and voiced by Blaemire). Different components come from the angle of the chief designer, performed by Hughes. The remainder of the scenes break the fourth wall, offering historic and political context. It’s informative, in a slipshod approach, but additionally hopelessly tacky, full of dad jokes, puns, foolish accents and even a doggie magnificence contest. “House Canine” provides off the vibe of a B-grade instructional youngsters’s present — although one with the occasional vulgarity amid the grim materials.

One oddly peppy music recounts how the chief designer, “pushed by a void within the heart of his chest,” to make use of a cliché from the present, was imprisoned within the gulag and tortured in the course of the top of Stalin’s rule. And although no canine have been harmed within the making of this present, there are canine casualties and somber existential musings from the four-legged buddies. Moreover the Bowie-esque refrain and spoken phrase of “Fill the Void,” and the alternating gentle acoustic chords and heavy strumming of “Blessed by Two Nice Oceans,” many of the musical’s songs are fairly uniform stylistically and generically upbeat — bouncy but forgettable numbers that contribute little to the story.

“House Canine” additionally telegraphs Pixar-level heartbreak by way of mawkish tunes. “What if I die? What if I fall out of the sky?” Laika sings, and later croons from past the grave about her dashed hopes for a household and scrumptious steak. It’s emotionally manipulative, particularly for tenderhearted animal-lovers within the viewers. The present then should stroll a troublesome line between a celebration of Laika and her canine colleagues (“Historical past was modified by canine!” the 2 actors declare) and commentary on the ambitions of two nations on the point of mutual annihilation.

Hughes and Blaemire assault their materials with such enthusiasm; their earnestness is palpable, even taking into consideration the corniness of the guide and their imperfect vocals (the songs they wrote accommodate their vary and talents).

The remainder of the manufacturing seems poised to overshadow the 2 stars and their story. Wilson Chin’s scenic design is compact and cluttered, filled with drawers and audio system of various sizes and shapes stacked collectively Tetris-style alongside Soviet and American flags. Amanda Villalobos presents some fabulous puppet and prop design that, sadly, isn’t prominently showcased till the final third of the present.

The lighting design (Mary Ellen Stebbins) is the boldest, filled with neons and strobes. Projections, inexperienced screens and reside cameras all determine prominently as effectively, and although the celestial lights and surroundings are dazzling, all of those parts collectively provide a glut of visible info that’s typically overwhelming.

What would my very own canine consider such a present, I questioned as I left the theater. I’m betting he’d want to maintain his paws on the bottom.

House Canine
By March 13 at MCC Theater, Manhattan; mcctheater.org. Working time: 1 hour half-hour.