Stage Scene
Bear brings Big Blue House to Hawai'i
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Bear in the Big Blue House, who stars with Jim Henson's Muppets on children's television, will greet children here in performances beginning on Thursday at the Hawai'i Theatre.
'Bear in the Big Blue House Live!' 7 p.m. Thursday and Nov. 2, 8-9; 10:30 a.m. Nov. 2-4 and 8-11; 2 p.m. Nov. 3-4, 10-11 Hawai'i Theatre $12 Thursday, $12-$23 remaining shows ($3 building and presenter fee will apply to all tickets except for weekday matinees) 528-0506 |
And Bear in the Big Blue House, the central figure in the TV series of that name starring Jim Henson's Muppets, is even cuddlier than most, regardless of how much 7-foot-tall creatures usually upset the small fry.
Now the live, stage version of the Disney Channel daily song-and-dance fest is making its Hawai'i premiere, and its producers promise an entertainment experience for the 5-and-under set that's both exciting and familiar.
"It's a popular show because Mitchell Kriegman (its creator) knew that the first few years of a child's environment were important, that they feel comfortable," said Jerry DuMars, the performance director of "Bear in the Big Blue House Live!"
"The big blue house resembles their own home, and Bear represents a gentle, warm adult figure."
DuMars works for VEE Entertainment Corp., which also produces the "Sesame Street Live!" shows that have become fixtures on Honolulu's family-entertainment calendar. The "Bear" audience skews slightly younger, with themes a little less challenging than "Sesame Street," DuMars said.
"With 'Sesame Street,' they dealt with death, pregnancy ... they are more realistic," he added. "With 'Bear,' it's realistic but it's more that we are trying to let the kids use their imaginations at that age."
The story line for the two-act stage production, titled "Surprise Party," concerns secret plans for a birthday celebration honoring Tutter, the small, cheerful mouse who's one of Bear's co-habitants in the Big Blue House. The menagerie — given life by puppeteers — also includes little girl bear Ojo, purple otters Pip and Pop and Treelo, a green and blue lemur. The show also features four human friends, as well as cameos by regular characters Shadow, the storyteller; Luna, the moon; and Ray, the sun.
Although the script was penned expressly for "Live!" (now in its second touring season), the writers worked in several songs that the audience will recognize from the TV version, DuMars said. Among these: "Welcome to the Blue House," "What's in the Mail Today?" and "Bear Cha-Cha-Cha." Kids will be invited to sing along with their on-stage heroes, too.
Interactivity is a bigger part of this production than of "Sesame Street Live." In addition to the sing-along, the audience-participation highlight is a video-interview segment in which roving performers with live cameras quiz audience members about their reactions and thoughts; the clips will be displayed instantaneously on an on-stage screen.
"They might be asked what they get in the mail, or what's their favorite thing at a birthday party," DuMars said. "What's really cute about these interviews is they're really honest with you and they tell you what's on their mind. The performers make it comfortable and easy for the kids."
Adding to the comfort zone: "Bear" is designed for presentation in a proscenium-type theater. Visually, it resembles what they see on their home TV.
"In the theater, it's more intimate," DuMars said. "It's one-on-one with the bear and the children."
