Dog Man: The Musical, a family show based on the popular children’s book series by Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey, visits the Midlands this month. Writer Kevin Del Aguila tells What’s On about the challenge of making a show for all the family to enjoy...

Readers with kids of a certain age will almost certainly be familiar with the work of Dav Pilkey. The Ohio native has written and illustrated a number of award-winning children’s books, most notably the Captain Underpants series, which has sold 90 million copies worldwide. The books have also spawned a number of spinoffs, including Dog Man, a series of graphic novels written under the pen names George Beard and Harold Hutchins, fictional characters from the original franchise. As the title suggests, Dog Man is a somewhat unique creature: a combination of police officer and his canine companion, fused together in life-saving surgery after they were both injured in the line of duty. Use your imagination - or ask a youngster.
The character and his friends (and enemies) came to life on the big screen in an animated movie last year, and a live musical version - geared towards ages five and up - visits Wolverhampton Grand Theatre this month, having premiered in the US in 2019.

The book and lyrics for Dog Man: The Musical have been written by Kevin Del Aguila, an actor, director and writer who has carved out a profitable career creating theatrical adaptations of children’s books (including the likes of The Velveteen Rabbit and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid) as well as writing for television.
The friendly Californian admits he partly stumbled into the role through his work as an actor with Cedar Works USA, which creates shows for young and family audiences.

“They’ve been kind of my playground for learning how to learn different disciplines on the job,” he says. “They hired me to write lyrics for an adaptation of Click, Clack, Moo [a children’s book by Doreen Cronin], and they were the ones who came to me and said ‘What do you know about Dog Man?’ I said ‘I know nothing,’ and then looked over and saw my son, who was in fourth grade, giggling in the corner reading a bunch of Dog Man books! I grabbed him and said ‘Tell me everything!’”

So the books were in your house all along?

“Yep, right under my nose! I was aware of Captain Underpants, but I didn’t know the Dog Man books. Very quickly I became aware that they were very popular with the elementary school set. The libraries couldn’t keep them in stock because kids kept taking them out.”

Immersing himself in the worlds of Dav Pilkey proved rewarding in more ways than one, Kevin reveals.
“It was kind of delightful because I got to read them with my son at bedtime and really use him as kind of a focus group to try out all my jokes and ideas.”

He might have had help, but Kevin was also aware of the pressure of adapting such treasured source material - a fact he claims was brought home to him on opening night.

“When we first premiered the show, all these kids showed up with Dog Man books clutched in their arms. You start to think ‘Oh boy, if I mess this up, it’s going to ruin my life!’”

Fortunately, he didn’t - the show proved an instant hit, getting the thumbs-up not only from his son and other youngsters, but Pilkey himself.

“He was the one me and Brad Alexander [who wrote the music] were really nervous about. He was laughing and crying and clapping and became a fan of the show, which was really wonderful to see.

“When I first got the commission, I called him up and had a whole pitch ready - here’s my idea, here’s how we’re going to approach it, here’s how we’re going to take care of your baby and so on. He stopped me seconds in and said, ‘Just do what you want to do. I’m sure it’s going to be great - just have fun.’ I couldn’t believe it. You’re giving me the keys to your car here!”

The musical is largely based on A Tale Of Two Kitties, the third book in the Dog Man series (“It’s the one that a lot of the characters were first introduced in and has a lot of heart, so we thought it was begging to be musicalised!”). Given the title, it’s perhaps no surprise to find that A Tale Of Two Kitties contains more than a few nods to a certain legendary British writer.

“There’s a whole lot of Charles Dickens references throughout the Dog Man books - the kids might not get them, but the adults will. The great thing is that the books don’t exclude anyone from anything - it’s all part of the referential, wacky world they inhabit.”

That diversity - and being able to entertain the whole family at once - is part of the challenge and reward of the work, says Kevin.

“One of the things that brings me great joy is looking into the audience and seeing parents sitting next to their kid and they’re laughing at the exact same joke. I really love that, because a lot of times, grown-ups will come and bring their kid to a ‘kids’ show’ and settle in for a nap. It’s great to see when the first couple of jokes start landing, and they just start grinning and laughing. By the end, it truly is a family experience - everyone enjoying it together.”

There’s also the added challenge - and incentive - to create a positive experience for youngsters who are almost certainly attending live theatre for the first time.

“That’s right. The amazing thing is that the Dog Man books have been a gateway for kids to love reading. That’s why they’re so popular - they’re funny, they’re engaging, and they get kids starting reading books. So teachers, even though they may not always like the content [the books have been criticised on the basis of language, violence and basic naughtiness], can’t say no because they’re instilling a love of reading in these kids.

“We really wanted the musical to be that for live performance - the gateway for kids to become lifelong theatre-goers.”

Better yet, the show even teaches audiences about theatre, as the plot sees youngsters George and Harold, who created the dog and the comics, making a musical version of their comedy. They put together a stage show using found objects as props and by simply being creative - one of the key themes of Pilkey’s work.

“The emphasis is on unbridled creativity, and kids really take that to heart. I’ve heard reports of them going home and making their own costumes and shows.

“That’s Dav’s real thing too - the power of creativity is his main goal with all the books. We’ve really tried to celebrate that in our adaptation, and I hope we’ve been successful. It also kind of demystifies theatre for the kids and makes them think, yeah, it’s all just playing - I can do that!”

Dog Man: The Musical shows at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Friday 28 & Saturday 29 August.  The show returns to the region in 2027 to play Malvern Theatres from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 February and Lichfield Garrick from Tuesday 10 to Sunday 13 June 

By Steve Adams