Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba! is Ready to Party in Your City
The following article is mirrored from USAToday.com Scroll down for embedded video interview with Yo Gabba Gabba! co-creator, Christian Jacobs!
For ticket information for Yo Gabba Gabba! Live, please visit YoGabbaGabbaLive.com!
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
IRVINE, Calif. — A disembodied voice booms in the mostly empty Barclay Theater: "Muno, go backwards, Foofa was in the way of your spotlight beam! Now, let's transition from Bubbles to There's a Party in My Tummy."
The Bard this is not.
These are final rehearsals for Yo Gabba Gabba! Live: There's a Party in My City, a new touring production based on the hit kids' TV show, now in its third season on Nick Jr., starring DJ Lance Rock and the five oddballs that live in his boombox.
The show opens Saturday at Los Angeles' Shrine Expo Center, and celebrity parents and their toddlers will be out in force. Little surprise, given the A-listers who have appeared in episodes (Jack Black, Elijah Wood) and dressed as DJ Lance for Halloween (Brad Pitt).
"I look at this as a modern version of Pee-wee's Playhouse," says Mark Mothersbaugh of new-wave rock group Devo, who has appeared as the art teacher and is hoping to make a guest appearance on the road.
Such pop-culture cred helped initial YGG! Live tour dates in L.A., New York and Chicago sell out fast. Show producers quickly added more, as well as a stop in Dallas. More cities are on tap for 2010.
Some kids' programs have to contort their concepts when they hit the road, but making the leap to the stage was easy for YGG!, says co-creator Scott Schultz. "Most TV shows that tour take on a play format, but we just wanted this to be rock 'n' roll. A bunch of songs, but not as loud," he says.
Traveling kids' shows are gathering cultural momentum, says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert trend-tracker Pollstar.
"Pre-teens used to just have circuses and ice shows," he says. Now, "Walking With Dinosaurs (based on the BBC TV series) came out of nowhere to be the 13th-biggest ticket seller in the world, just beating out Coldplay."
At rehearsal, the Yo Gabba Gabba! characters romp through the one-hour show, one bass-thumping singalong led by their surreal ringleader, a former DJ turned toddler hero.
"I'm friendly, yet magical," says DJ Lance. "It's part me, part Mr. Rogers and part Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island."
And with that, Brobee the pint-size green monster starts to dance.
