THEATER REVIEW

Tony Dodero

So there we were, my wife and I, catching a Broadway-style show at the

Performing Arts Center on Thursday night.

As we peered about the crowd at the Center, it dawned on us how things

change, both with us and in the crowds we run with.

An opening night usually brimming with cultured folks dressed in black

tie and evening gowns was now a bustling hall of toddlers adorned with

their best Pampers and Huggies.

In between us our daughter, Danielle, a 2 1/2-year-old cyclone of

energy who was on hand to give me her impressions of “The Bear in the Big

Blue House Live,” a stage show based on the popular television program of

the same name.

Well, let’s just say it was popular with this crowd, who squealed with

delight as all the familiar characters from the television show -- Bear,

baby bear Ojo, Tutter the mouse, Treelo the ring-tailed lemur and twin

purple otters Pip and Pop -- all appeared on the stage.

If you don’t have kids, you probably have no idea what I’m talking

about. At least that’s how I remember those days that now seem so long

ago.

For example, I recall grabbing a press release out of my mailbox one

day several years ago and taking a gander at the photo. It was a glossy

of a big purple dinosaur.

I asked my editor, prone to playing practical jokes on me, what the

heck the photo was and why was it in my mailbox.

“That’s Barney,” he said.

“Who’s Barney,” I asked?

“You don’t know who Barney is?” he chuckled.

Barney, of course, is the popular purple dinosaur who sings and dances

each morning on public broadcast television channels. But for a guy who

grew up with Bozo the Clown and Capt. Kangaroo, that was all news to me.

I had a similar experience when I excitedly shared with my news crew

that the “Bear in the Big Blue House” was coming to Costa Mesa.

Nothing but blank stares.

But trust me, the Bear is the 2000 version of Barney or Capt.

Kangaroo.”The Bear represents an adult role model,” said Jerry DuMars the

production director of Thursday’s show. “He’s wise and understanding and

likes to listen to what kids are thinking about. The Bear is really

talking to the kids.”

And the kids love it.

Thursday night was an hour and a half of singing, dancing and fun for

the children at the Center, who were sort of at rapt attention.

Set in what appears to be a forest in the Northwest, the Bear, three

live performers and all of his fellow inhabitants of his Big Blue House

engaged in playful stories and anecdotes that, much like that old purple

dinosaur, teach children about the importance of friendship, playing and

getting along with each other.

The main event for this show centers around planning a surprise party

for Tutter, the small blue mouse, and it gets the whole audience

involved.

For the most part, the music from the show has a rustic, folksy guitar

sound and the most popular songs from the TV show, “Welcome to the Blue

House,” “Where or Where or Where is Shadow” and “The Bear Cha Cha Cha,”

got everyone in the audience dancing or singing.

No Bear show would be complete without the closing “Goodbye Song” sung

by the Bear and Luna the moon.

As for Danielle, she nodded vigorously in wide-eyed approval when I

asked if she liked the show.

Created by Mitchell Kriegman in coordination with Jim Henson

productions, the creators of the Muppets and Sesame Street, the New

York-based “The Bear in the Big Blue House” is wildly successful across

the nation and with critics. In its fourth year, it’s already won two

Emmys.

Even if you have never seen these Muppet-like characters (they appear

exclusively on the Disney Channel), the live show, in its second year on

the road, is, as DuMars said, a perfect way to introduce children to live

theater.

So pack the kids head on down to the Performing Arts Center for a

casual evening of tunes that you’d never be caught dead singing when

you’re out with your football buddies.

Who knows, you just might find yourself doing a little “Bear Cha Cha

Cha.”

* TONY DODERO is editor of the Daily Pilot. He can be reached by

e-mail at tony.dodero@latimes.com

FYI

What: “The Bear in the Big Blue House Live”

When: 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. today, and 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall, 600

Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: $16-$27

Call: (714) 556-2746