The Ratatouille TikTok Musical came into fruition in a very unusual way, that is, by becoming viral on the famous app. Started by TikToker Emily Jacobsen, series of events then followed – including promotional artwork and a Playbill prior to an official announcement of the stream. It then culminated a fundraising streaming performance to benefit the Actors Fund via Today Tix.
Led by Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen) as Linguini and Tutuss Burgess (The Little Mermaid, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Remy, Ratatouille is packed with Broadway’s heavy-hitters that includes Andre De Shields (Hadestown), Priscilla Lopez (A Chorus Line), Ashley Park (Mean Girls), Kevin Chamberlin (Seussical), Wayne Brady (Kinky Boots), Adam Lambert (Wicked), and Mary Testa (Xanadu, Oklahoma!), among others.
Filmed in splices, each performer was able to interact effectively its really easy to see past the fact that they are not in the same room, or stage for that matter, save for the 20-piece orchestra which was filmed in a sound studio which helped enhance the sound and experience. True to its conception, it integrated a lot of TikTok’s familiar features like the Green Screen, Duets, and others which I honestly don’t know what the terms are (though I do have the app, I only watch the videos and have not created any myself). These along with the musical numbers and performances amazes me as to how this all came together!
Thanks to the cast and creative team’s commitment, we were treated to a very unique show that we can only hope will be realized in an actual Broadway theatre when our extended intermission comes to an end. Also, with Broadway dark until June of this year (potentially longer), do consider buying the higher priced ticket to benefit the Actors Fund to support the arts and performers who have been out of work since the pandemic began.
Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical will play until January 4 at Today Tix.
the real /darryl 