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| Photo: Kelly Phillips |
On Sunday, the answer to the famous question "Scooby-Doo, where are you?" will be "at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland," where fans young and old can see a live musical version of the enormously popular cartoon.
It's been 44 years since the lovable dog with the penchant for mysteries - and his teenage pals Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma - piled into the Mystery Machine and chugged onto televisions in Hanna-Barbera's family-friendly TV show. With reruns capturing new audiences hungry for Scooby snacks, the Australian creative team of writer and director Theresa Borg, composer Craig Bryant and choreographer Katie Ditchburn deemed this the right moment to launch "Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries," a live children's musical that has been enjoying success in Australia for two years.
"The old episodes still have a huge appeal across generations, and now there are new films and new series," says Borg, of Melbourne, in a phone conversation. "We thought it was perfect, it's such a fabulous family brand and one that the whole family - grandparents, parents, kids - can enjoy."
She continues: "I love the teenagers. They're such nice, wholesome characters, you'd be proud to have those kids in your family. I have three children, and I'd have no objections to them having friendships with the kids in that gang. The girls are great role models - they're straightforward and intelligent."
Borg calls "Scooby Doo Live!" a bite-size tribute to American musical theater, a kids' show that takes the music from the popular television cartoon and gives it a '60s jukebox slant. Children's theater has become a specialty for Borg, who produced the show with her husband, Anton Berezin, through their company, Life Like Touring.
Wherever the tour takes the show, she explains, they take advantage of the local setting. For Sunday's performance, for instance, the ghost-tracking mystery at the heart of the musical will actually be set in the Paramount and take advantage of the surroundings to introduce kids to a little old-time theater and vaudeville as well.
And about that endearing dog? Borg says, just as in the cartoon, Scooby always winds up front and center, even singing and dancing.
"That's who the kids come to see," she says. "People will recognize enjoy seeing all the things about TV show they know and love, plus this show is very interactive. We invite children to help solve the mystery along with the gang and keep busy looking out for the ghost. They scream when they see it and let Scooby and his friends know."
"He's got a special place in many people's hearts," she adds.
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