Whether as Newbery-honored novel by Kate DiCamillo, 2005 movie, or long-in-development family-friendly stage show now presented by Goodspeed Musicals, Because of Winn Dixie is a Southern-fried variation on that perennial kidlit genre in which a newly-arrived moppet—think Anne of Green Gables or Pollyanna—transforms a provincial town of introverts and depressives into happy citizens with good vibes all ‘round.
Remote, run-down Naomi, Florida, home of Frito pies, careless prejudice, and low expectations, could certainly use the makeover offered by young Opal (Josie Todd), in tow with troubled dad “Preacher” (J. Robert Spencer of Jersey Boys) who’s still aching over his wife’s mysterious departure. It all starts when the plucky gal adopts a stray mongrel at the local Winn-Dixie supermart, from which he gets his name.
Starring as Winn Dixie (who lost the hyphen somewhere on the tryout road to East Haddam; what’s that about?) is “Bowdie,” introduced in the program as “a cross between a poodle and something large” and one of the few cast members to escape NBC’s Peter Pan Live (he played Nana) with dignity intact. Working under preeminent trainer and Tony honoree William Berloni, who started out with “Sandy” in Goodspeed’s original Annie, the woeful-countenanced, irresistible Bowdie is one old dog who’s learned plenty of new tricks: complex blocking, barks and kisses on cue, and a dramatic treadmill run mid-thunderstorm. Aided by Todd’s solicitous affection, his concentration is impeccable. “If I’m stealing scenes it’s cuz of what I am,” he seems to be thinking, “but that’s your problem. Me, I’m focused.”
Bowdie is the main attraction, but there’s a lot more to like along the way despite some narrative shakiness. Both Joan Singleton’s screenplay, and now Nell Benjamin’s libretto, strain to graft a spine onto DiCamillo’s impressionistic, largely event-free pastoral in which our canine hero touches each townsperson in wispy encounters, each teasing out a moral suitable to a Newbery honoree. In that spirit, act one dawdles along, while act two feels suddenly overstuffed with storylines and lessons.
Benjamin, whose sharp Mean Girls and Legally Blonde stagecraft must have been expected to cut through the sentiment (and generally does), creates character types for heated conflicts between pigheaded parents and precocious preteens. This emphasis dovetails with composer Duncan Sheik’s old Spring Awakening preoccupations, but also sits uneasily with DiCamillo’s ambling, rueful mood. John Rando’s glide-in, shuffle-out staging could benefit from more invention, and a better balance between the urgent and reflective moments. On the plus side, Donyale Werle’s mossy proscenium and backgrounds, against which lighting designer Jeff Croiter’s clouds and shadows pass and Olivia Sebesky’s projections highlight ingenious details, do capture the essential humidity throughout.
The performers, clearly unified by their adoration of and support for their furry star, handle their chores genially. Among the standouts are Roz Ryan as an eccentric hermit, Isabel Keating as an eccentric librarian, Jamie Mann as a young ruffian, and Chloë Cheers as a disaffected adolescent bookworm. Todd and Spencer are somewhat hamstrung by the choppy nature of their roles: She must whipsaw between warmth and resentment, and he alternates illogically as helpmeet and heavy. Still, their climactic duet “Thirteen Things,” effecting a touching, believable reconciliation, couldn’t be bettered.
The cinematic Winn-Dixie was practically a musical already, with over a dozen soundtrack songs and the presence of rocker Dave Matthews as the intense ex-con now executed more benignly, but tenderly, by David Poe. Present are elements of the Sheik Spring Awakening style: solo-violin underscoring; rich, unexpected group vocalizations; introspective ballads (Benjamin’s lyrics are strong throughout); and songs stopping dead without a traditional button. Yet the composer also skillfully adapts to a variety of complementary genres, from folk-rock to gospel to blues. It’s a tuneful, toe-tapping score, exactly what you’d expect to emanate from an old transistor radio out in the swamps of Naomi.
Because of Winn Dixie opened July 17, 2019, at The Goodspeed (East Haddam, CT) and runs through September 5. Tickets and information: goodspeed.org
