On Stage This Week - "Curious George"

Here's an awesome show for young ones hitting Huntington this week - and here's the story by my pal Dave Lavender:

Move it on over Jamie Oliver, there's a new cook in town and he's on a mission to create the world's best meatball.

Chef Pisghetti gets a little help in the kitchen as Curious George tries to help him save his restaurant by winning, the Golden Meatball Contest, a world-famous meatball contest in Rome.

The food and the fun will be flying Tuesday and Wednesday, April 6-7, as the inaugural tour of Curious George Live! swings on the stage at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

Tickets are $12 and $18. A limited number of $25 premium seats and $32 gold circle seats are also available. For more information, call 304-696-4400.

The Broadway-style musical that features multiple color-splashed sets and a non-stop flow of 16 songs, lands at the Arena right in the middle of a super-busy April.

Danny Moser, a California native who got his musical and theater training at the California Institute of the Arts and at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland, said it has been amazing to be out on the road with this brand new show that is a VEE Corporation Production in association with Universal Pictures Stage Productions and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Moser, who has been in dozens of musicals, is the Man in the Yellow Hat.

No, really, he is the Man in the Yellow Hat.

The night before the audition Moser was putting up glow-in-the-dark stars in his room, and guess who loves glow-in-the-dark stars also?

"Yeah, that was weird when I found out he loved glow-in-the-dark stars," Moser said laughing. "... Well, it's all been kind of funny because I was like let's see, they're looking for a man, over 25 years old, at least 6-foot or taller, lanky and somewhat goofy, and I read that and said, 'Oh, no,' out loud. That's like my resume."

Tall and skinny at 6-3, Moser said the rest of the cast is equally suited for bringing alive one of the most beloved children's book series.

"I think everyone in the cast is so amazing," Moser said. "So many times when people hear our show they think we are lip-synching. We're not. We sound very much like our characters, and it is funny to see pictures because we do really look like cartoon characters. Everyone really puts a lot of energy into the characters and making them come to life."

Moser said he loves the show, which he tabs as a great family Broadway-style musical -- and not just a kids show.

"For age-wise the show's creators originally thought the shows would be for kids 3 to 5 but it's really like 3 to 10 because there is a lot of color and characters that the young kids will have fun with," Moser said. "But there is enough plot and story and enough details that older kids and parents can enjoy when they follow along. We get school groups of older kids and they will have a whole sheet to fill out about going to Rome, and about how to make meatballs. So it is really educational in that sense."

The hour and 40-minute show (which has a 15-minute intermission), is, of course, based on the timeless book series created in 1941 by Margret and H.A. Rey. It has provided the inspiration for books, a television series and most recently a 2006 animation feature starring Will Ferrell as the Man in the Yellow Hat.

Moser said not unlike the best animated features out today, the show also is sprinkled with lots of humor for all ages.

"There's a lot of humor that the adults will appreciate, and so because of that I wouldn't say it is just a kids show but truly a great family show," Moser said. "It is a brand new show and that's been really exciting to be on board with something just being written and produced and worked."

Produced by VEE, creators of Sesame Street Live, the impressive stage and lighting are trucked cross-country in three tractor-trailers.

"The show by its very nature is very colorful. From the moment you walk in there is a giant Curious George Live! backdrop with a big sky and surrounded by a rainbow and George lit up in the corner. That gets kids excited just coming into the show," Moser said. "Then all the characters come out and there are construction workers with red and blue and yellow shoes, and then I come out and I look like a 7-foot tall banana walking on stage. There's so many colors and everyone is talking and singing and all the pieces roll around. We have a giant yellow scaffolding that George and the actors climb around on."

Moser said the energy in the show is amazing. He loves the opening when he is off-stage and can hear the kids' reaction to Curious George.

"One of my favorite parts of the show is in the very beginning and I can just hear all the kids reacting to what they are seeing immediately," Moser said. "When I come on stage they're like, 'There he is,' and the moment George comes out on stage, it turns into a rock concert, and it is just fun to hear and to see that."

If you go:

WHAT: Curious George Live! produced in association with Universal Pictures Stage Productions and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

WHERE: Big Sandy Superstore Arena

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 and 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 7.

HOW MUCH: $12 and $18. A limited number of $25 premium seats and $32 gold circle seats are also available. There's a facility fee of $2.

GET TIX: To charge tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

ON THE WEB: Go online at www.bigsandyarena.com. Go online at www.curiousgeorgelive.com.

ABOUT THE SHOW: This brand new, original live stage musical visits 40 cities throughout the U.S. during its 2009-2010 inaugural touring season. Curious George, the world's favorite mischievous monkey, comes to life on stage in a 90-minute dazzling production filled with 16 original songs, dancing and good wholesome fun. The storyline features lessons of friendship, loyalty and helping each other.