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''Coraline'' began previews on May 8, 2009 at the [[Lucille Lortel Theatre]]. It premiered on June 1, 2009 and was originally scheduled to close on June 20. Due to popular demand, its run was extended first to July 5,<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=New Musical Coraline Extends a Week Before Opening at MCC|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/98559/new-musical-coraline-extends-a-week-before-opening-at-mcc/|access-date=2020-10-04|website=Broadway.com|language=en}}</ref> then July 7.<ref name=":3" /> ''Coraline'' was produced by [[MCC Theater]] in association with True Love Productions.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Hernandez|first=Ernio|date=23 Feb 2010|title=Original Off-Broadway Cast Album of Coraline Now Available|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/original-off-broadway-cast-album-of-coraline-now-available-com-166142|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-04|website=Playbill|language=en}}</ref> It was the first musical to be produced by MCC Theater.<ref name=":6" />
The musical is "wildly unconventional",<ref name=":3" /> according to world-premiere director [[Leigh Silverman]]. West-coast premiere director Bill English describes the music as "odd," with pieces ending in the middles of phrases.<ref>{{YouTube|id=GfqHIljwaBY|show=|title=Behind the Scenes of Coraline}}. Retrieved 2020-10-04.</ref> The only instruments used in the musical are [[piano]]s, both traditional and toy varieties. The musical also calls for two [[prepared piano]]s.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Dean |first=Tanya |date=2013 |title="Piano Guts and Other Mothers: Staging Fantasy in David Greenspan and Stephin Merritt's Musical Adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "Coraline" |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24353202 |journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
The original production's cast was similarly unconventional, with 55-year-old [[Jayne Houdyshell]] as nine-year-old Coraline and librettist [[David Greenspan]] as the Other Mother. The cast also featured Julian Fleisher as Cat, [[Francis Jue]] as Father and Miss Forcible, [[January LaVoy]] as Mother and Miss Spink, [[Elliot Villar|Elliot Vallar]] as Mr Bobo, and [[William Youmans]] as Other Father.<ref name=":3" />
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==Critical response==
Many critics found the show lacked suspense and affect. [[Ben Brantley]] described the original off-Broadway production in ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "droll, dry, and very cerebral."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brantley|first=Ben|date=2009-06-01|title=Better the Mother You Know than the Other One: THEATER REVIEW|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/theater/reviews/02cora.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914032547/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2009/06/02/theater/reviews/02cora.html |archive-date=2015-09-14 |access-date=2020-10-04|website=The New York Times}}</ref> In subsequent runs, critics echoed such negative criticisms. Robert Hurwitt wrote in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', "Greenspan's make-believe approach undercuts the tale's suspense."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hurwitt|first=Robert|date=2010-11-22|title='Coraline' at SF Playhouse review|url=https://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Coraline-at-SF-Playhouse-review-3245015.php|access-date=2020-10-04|website=SFGate|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Kerry Reid]] wrote in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', "There needs to be a greater sense of clammy danger... as the shadows fall over the world... Without it, we never quite identify with Coraline's growing maturity."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reid|first=Kerry|title=REVIEW: 'Coraline' by Black Button Eyes Productions ★★ 1/2|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-coraline-musical-review-story.html|access-date=2020-10-04|website=chicagotribune.com|date=19 August 2014 }}</ref>
Critics also found the quirky musical score and instrumentation too indistinct and unmemorable. Matthew Murray wrote in ''TalkingBroadway.com'' that the show lacks "musical necessity" and goes on to say, "It's not just that the songs give you nothing to take away, it's that they take in nothing to give you."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Talkin' Broadway Off-Broadway - Coraline - 06/01/09|url=https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/ob/06_01_09.html|access-date=2020-10-04|website=www.talkinbroadway.com}}</ref> More generally, Toby Zinman wrote on ''BroadStreetReview.com'' that attendees may find "the songs were unmusical."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zinman|first=Toby|title=Coraline' off-Broadway|url=https://www.broadstreetreview.com/theater/coraline_off_broadway|access-date=2020-10-04|website=www.broadstreetreview.com}}</ref>
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{{reflist}}
{{Coraline}}
[[Category:Coraline|musical]]
[[Category:2009 musicals]]
[[Category:Musicals based on novels]]
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