TAPPING INTO 'DOLITTLE' THOUGH FLEET OF FEET, TUNE CAN'T PLEASE ALL.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

THERE WAS a time when Tommy Tune didn't require the smash-bang effects of Vegas or a mustached pink snail the size of a small barn to hold an audience entirely captive. By himself, the man was an enormously charismatic, tap-dancing whirlwind who also happened to be a striking 6-foot, 6-inch beanpole. A performer of that mold may indeed have been tough to cast, but when he took the stage, by gum, you didn't take your eyes off him.

Times have indeed changed. The new musical stage adaptation of ``Dr. Dolittle'' at the Pantages Theatre is Tune-ful - he's the star as well as the production's director - but surprisingly flat. Younger audiences, which this ``Dolittle'' is clearly targeting, may take some sporadic delight in the dancing doctor and his ragtag menagerie. The rest of us may be more inclined to scratch our heads and wonder, ``What's he thinking?'' Or maybe more simply, ``Why?''

``Dr. Dolittle'' arrives with a checkered history. The producers were prepared to shut down an earlier version of the tour until Tune resurrected it, stepping in as director and title star - a rather enormous responsibility given how thin this material is. I didn't see the first incarnation, but Tune has stated that the revamp involved tightening, character elimination and bringing the story's kid entertainment potential into keener focus.

Well and good, except that even playing a veterinarian who converses with the birds and beasts, Tommy Tune does not overflow with kid-endearing charm. Nor does his persona. Drastically transformed though he may be from the Rex Harrison character of the 1967 film, this Dolittle remains basically a wide-eyed misanthrope who doesn't have much use for the human race. Why the book writers/revisers have even left in a love story between Dolittle and stuffy aristocrat Lady Emma Fairfax (played by Dee Hoty, steady and winning) is anybody's guess.

Forget the ladies, this doctor is much more comfortable sharing a soft-shoe with a moppy dog, tapping with a chimpanzee (Aaron Burr) or trading clunky puns with a parrot. Now, animals may have an innocence/purity that is closer in nature to young children, but will the under-8 set really make that connection? More likely they'll perceive this slightly otherworldly man, who doesn't really ``get'' humans as, well, kind of distant and freakish.

The creatures, meanwhile, are largely charmless, and Tune and book- writer Lee Tannen wisely don't over-lean on them to carry the tale. Puppeteers dressed in black maneuver Jip the dog, Polynesia the parrot, Gub- Gub the pig and Sophie the seal. Others, like Toggle the horse and the two-headed llama the Pushmi/Pullyu, are a couple of actors (Scott Leiendecker and Jonathan Richard Sandler) dressed in Dona Granata's costumes and required to tap dance.

Which they do well. The circusy number ``I've Never Seen Anything Like It,'' introducing the Pushmi/Pullyu - and putting Tune on his toes - is a definite ``Dolittle'' highlight. So is ``Talk With the Animals,'' a bubbly Dolittle solo that Tune - mostly stationary - turns into an anthem of explanation.

Tune is 66, and marshaling his energy, he's as limber and fluid as dancers 30 years his junior. Asked to carry this show on his not-inconsiderable shoulders, however, Tune is caught somewhere between what he does best, what one segment of his audience requires and what the other segment expects. There may well be room behind Dr. D. on the back of that giant lunar moth headed for exotic faraway places, but how many of us - of any age - would have the courage to climb aboard?

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

DR. DOLITTLE - Two stars

Where: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; through March 5.

Tickets: $25 to $68. [phone]. www.BroadwayLA.org; www.doctordolittlethemusical.com.

In a nutshell: Bring a youngster or beware.

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Photo:

Tommy Tune, left, came to ``Dr. Dolittle'' when the show was foundering and made himself its director and star.