Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber of VeggieTales Live! pose with, from left to right, Director Michael Barnard, Costume Designer Michael Curry and Big Idea's Mike Nawrocki (voice of Larry the Cucumber). Click to enlarge all our photos.
VeggieTales Live! is coming to Chattanooga's Memorial Auditorium for four performances.
Those are set for:
Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 28, at 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now at Memorial Auditorium box office. Charge by phone (423) 642-TIXS.
Based on the best-selling VeggieTales® video series, Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and the rest of the Veggie cast bring their zany antics to the stage with VeggieTales Live!
The 28-city national tour is part of a two-year worldwide agreement between VeggieTales’ creators, Big Idea Productions of Chicago, and live theater and performance giant Clear Channel Entertainment (formerly SFX).
After amassing sales of more than 25 million videos as the number one selling kids’ direct-to-video series, consistent critical acclaim, major character licensing agreements, and a dedicated demographic that spans from preschool to adults, VeggieTales’ creators hope to have the same success with the live show.
“Our videos are intended to help parents teach values to their kids in a slightly offbeat, wacky way,” said Phil Vischer, founder, CEO and chief creative officer of Big Idea Productions.
“The VeggieTales Live! tour gives us the opportunity to bring this concept to life on stage.”
In VeggieTales Live!, Bob, Larry and other favorite characters like Junior Asparagus and French Peas, Jean Claude and Phillipe, recreate the best-selling video Dave and the Giant Pickle, a unique retelling of David vs. Goliath. The Veggies play the roles of David, Goliath, the Israelites and Philistines. Amazing set design, unusual costumes (the characters don’t have arms or legs), lively musical numbers and Monty Python inspired humor make the show appealing for kids and adults.
Award-winning designer Michael Curry created the costumes for VeggieTales Live!. Curry, one of the country’s leading production design consultants and puppet experts, has worked on numerous Broadway shows including Crazy for You, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Lion King, for which he won a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award. Curry said that he was intrigued by the challenges of this project.
“My kids love VeggieTales, so I was excited to work on this project anyway,” said Curry. “But it also was very challenging to create stage costumes with no arms and legs. The results are amazing. The audience will love the costumes and the set design.”
About Big Idea Productions
Big Idea Productions is a family media company committed to providing entertaining stories that help parents teach children important life lessons. Based in the Chicago area, Big Idea Productions is best known for its award-winning VeggieTales series with more than 25 million videos and 2 million albums of chart-topping audio series sold since 1993. Big Idea is recognized as the leading producer and creator of values-based product in the children’s entertainment industry. In addition to extending the property into licensing, publishing and live entertainment arenas, the Company is currently in production on their first-ever feature film, Jonah – AVeggieTales Movie. For more information on Big Idea and their video titles, visit www.bigidea.com.
About Clear Channel Entertainment (formerly SFX)
Clear Channel Entertainment, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide (NYSE: CCU), is the world’s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment events. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books 135 live entertainment venues, including 44 amphitheaters in the U.S and 28 in Europe. Each year, more than 62 million people attend approximately 26,000 events promoted and/or produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, including: Live music events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports shows. Clear Channel Entertainment also provides strategic sports marketing sales and consulting services to professional and college teams, leagues, venues and properties. Clear Channel Entertainment is headquartered in New York City.