“It’s a rock show for kids. The Bubble Guppies are going to rock out, someone goes missing, and they have to find out where this person went.”
— Patti Caplette, the show’s director and choreographer
The Bubble Guppies are ready to rock, and the live musical based on the Nick Jr. TV show is going to rock its way through Yorkton. Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock will be in Yorkton on March 5 at 1:00 p.m. at the Anne Portnuff Theatre.
Patti Caplette, the show’s director and choreographer, explains that the Bubble Guppies is about a group of mer-kids who explore the world around them with the help of their teacher, Mr. Grouper.
“It’s something that all kids can relate to.”
Caplette promises a “theatrical romp” with Bubble Guppies Live! with great music from Michael Rubin, and lots of interaction with the audience as the characters have to find out what happened to their missing band member.
“It’s a rock show for kids. The Bubble Guppies are going to rock out, someone goes missing, and they have to find out where this person went.”
Music is a big anchor for the television show, with many musical numbers through the program, and Caplette says that is something that translates to the stage. Music also makes the show something older members of the audience can enjoy, Caplette promises, and she wants parents to be prepared to enjoy themselves as much as their kids.
“Parents are not going to be bored, reading their books or anything. They’re going to be up there dancing with the Bubble Guppies as well.”
The challenge for Caplette was finding a way to translating the underwater world of the show to the very much above water world of the stage. Between a giant CGI projection and the choreography of the show, Caplette worked hard to maintain the illusion of the “bubbly world of the Bubble Guppies.”
“It’s a challenge for the actors to keep their mer-tails moving and their arms floating, giving the impression that everyone is floating all the time.”
As a show for the very young, this will be the first musical theatre experience for many of the people in the audience. Caplette’s goal, as a result, is more than simply making a good show, but to be the first spark in a lifelong love of theatre for the audience.
“That’s what I really love. I love going into the audience and seeing the eyes suddenly grow ten times the size, jaws dropping. I love the theatre, it’s my home, so I want to be able to entice and engage young people, as young as two or even younger, to the magic of the theatre. It can not only be fun, it can be dramatic, it can be earth shattering, it can be moving, and I think it’s a really important cultural entity that I want to bring to everyone from the wee ones up.”
She believes that a show based on a property like Bubble Guppies is a way to introduce kids to the different rules of live theatre.
“They get to see something they are familiar with, but it’s interpreted in a different way. I think that’s something important for them to understand, not all art is the same. The fun for me is to translate something into another medium.”
This is the second tour for the show, going back across Canada and hitting new towns that they couldn’t reach the first time around. Caplette is happy that more families will have the chance to take in Bubble Guppies Live!
