The Backyardigans: Live!

So, Jacob's favorite show is the Backyardigans. He is obsessed with them. I think Pablo might have been his first word. So, when we heard that a live-action theater performance of the Backyardigan's "We're Knights , That's Right" was coming close to us, we knew we had to go. Let me tell you, I have never seen so many kids in one room. It was crazy!

So, the only thing we got Jacob was a Backyardigan's magic wand. We already had the CD and they had a bunch of T-shirts, but he was happy with his wand. So, we found our seats and waited 15 minutes for the show to start. Jacob was really good waiting in the noisy room for his favorite guys. So, finally, the lights dimmed, the music started, and the curtain opened.

You know the type of outfit that mascots and theme park characters where? With a big outfit and even larger head (and probably 110 degrees inside)?

Fig 1: What we expected

Yeah, well, when the Backyardigans came out on stage, they were not dressed like that. Imagine a kid coming up to your door on Halloween wearing a costume they bought at Walmart. You know, the big one piece outfit with a hood with ears on it? Yeah, that was more like the costumes that the actors were wearing.

Fig 2: What we got

Well, you could say that I was a bit surprised that the production decided to go that way. After the initial surprise, I decided it would be fine. But, then the actors opened up there mouths. Jacob can tell you who is talking by the sound of their voices. But, these actors sounded nothing like the Backyardigans. So, now they didn't look like them or sound like them. What's next? Well, come to find out, I don't think these actors (for the most part) have ever seen an episode of Backyardigans. The Pablo character was a bad imitation of Nathan Lane, the Tyrone character was whiny and annoying, and Uniqua was not herself as well. Not an impressive start to the show.

But, we were not there for me, we were there for Jacob. So, if he was okay with it, then so was I. I looked over at him at the beginning of the show and you could tell he was perplexed. But, when the first character opened his/her mouth, that is when he started his scared crying. He was just freaked out by the weirdness of his beloved characters. I don't blame him. He calmed down and started watching the show, but every time the Backyardigans did something that was just too out of character, he would kind of cry. We felt bad forcing him (sort of) to stay and watch the show, but I think he did enjoy it in the end. I almost took him outside to calm down, but he wanted to stay and didn't cry at all in the second act. I'm sure he would have preferred mascot characters with prerecorded voices of the actual voice actors, but it wasn't a failed show for Jacob.

I would like to say that most of the kids there did seem to enjoy the show. I thought the Tasha actor did a really good job with the character and I thought the dragon was pretty funny. But, I think we will stick to the 10 minute show of Dora at King's Island. He loves that show, big-head Dora and all.