Musical `Coraline` stranger than the book

New York, June 03: Neil Gaiman`s acclaimed children`s novel makes an uneasy transition to the stage in this off-Broadway musical adaptation featuring music by acclaimed indie rocker Stephen Merritt (Magnetic Fields). Although this version of "Coraline" is unlikely to have the widespread appeal of the recent hit 3-D animated film, those with a taste for the decidedly offbeat could well turn it into a theatrical cult hit.

Definitely not for the younger kiddies, this stage version signals its unconventionality with its casting of the middle-aged Jayne Houdyshell in the title role of the unhappy little girl who enters an alternate universe through a magical door in her home. Once there, Coraline discovers bizarre, mirror-image versions of the figures in her life, including an "Other Mother" (David Greenspan) and "Other Father" (William Youmans), who despite their strangeness -- they have buttons for eyes, for one thing -- at first seem to offer an appealing alternative to her self-absorbed real parents (January LaVoy, Francis Jue). She also encounters various other exotic creatures, including a sardonic cat (Julian Fleisher) and several children whose souls, as we soon learn, were stolen by the Other Mother. Book writer David Greenspan`s adaptation is choppy and disjointed, failing to compellingly capture the source material`s narrative tension and making the evening feel much longer than the 100-minute running time. Merritt`s score is equally problematic. Although the musical numbers demonstrate the prolific composer`s ability to craft endless catchy melodies, many of the brief songs fail to cohere. And the fact that they`re played mainly on such instruments as toy piano and "prepared" piano tend to give them a monotonous sameness. Still, some of the songs do stand out, such as the Cat`s solo number (terrifically delivered by Fleisher) and the Other Mother`s elongated death scene (played to the hilt by Greenspan). Director Leigh Silverman has staged the proceedings in an imaginatively low-tech fashion, with Christine Jones` abstract set design consisting of numerous pianos of different shapes and sizes, several doors and various pieces of antique bric-a-brac. The performers do well by their multiple roles, and Houdyshell is utterly winning as the vulnerable Coraline. For all the musical`s inventiveness, however, audience members might ultimately relate all too well to the title character`s growing unease with her bizarre surroundings. Bureau Report