In ‘Pearl,’ they’re their own backup

Is it real -- or is it Memorex?

Actually, it’s both in “Pearl,” the updated “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” at the Geffen Playhouse through Dec. 29.

Singing live during performances are writer/director/star Debbie Allen (Queen), Natalia Johnson (Pearl), Matthew Dickens (Ringmaster) and Michele Morgan (Virtual Shirley), as well as the chorus of little “Dwowns.” But they are also backed up by their own voices on tape. Vivian Nixon, who played Pearl earlier in the run, also sang live with her own recorded voice.

This is hardly an unprecedented practice, but it’s often associated with big extravaganzas such as “Phantom of the Opera.” In the smaller-scaled “Pearl,” however, “some numbers require the kind of movement that would preclude getting a good sound while out of breath,” said Geffen producing director Gilbert Cates.

“It has nothing to do with fooling the audience,” he added.

-- Don Shirley