If you go
* What: “Peppa Pig’s Big Splash.”* When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5; doors open at 5 p.m.* Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.* Admission: $29.50, $42.50 and $59.50 plus fees; $149.50 Party Pass with after-show party, photo-op, souvenir, refreshments.* Phone: 1-800-514-3849.* Website: www.tivolichattanooga.com.
Evan Michael plays Daddy Pig, Mr. Bull and Danny Dog in the new stage production "Peppa Pig's Big Splash."
Daisy (Candice Moll) and Peppa Pig (Lib Campbell) in a scene from "Peppa Pig's Big Splash."
From left are George Pig (Brenna Larsen), Peppa Pig (Lib Campbell), Daddy Pig (Evan Michael Pinsonnault), Daisy (Candice Moll), Pedro Pony (Amber Scott Jones) and Suzy Sheep (Cristina Gerla).Wilbur, Olivia and the three little porkers the big bad wolf huffed and puffed at may have the benefit of longevity, but there's a new pig in storytelling circles who's getting her say. Oink oink.
Peppa Pig, a British import, has become a U.S. sensation since the animated television series of the same name debuted on Cartoon Network in August 2005. It now airs on Nick Jr., reaching nearly 73 million households daily.
Now comes a stage show, "Peppa Pig's Big Splash," which is stopping in Chattanooga on Wednesday, Oct. 5, as part of the franchise's first North American tour, which has sold out 75 venues in the coast-to-coast run and has expanded into Canada for its 2017 schedule.
Next month will mark the stage show's one-year touring anniversary with all of the original cast still along for the ride - a point of pride for Evan Michael, who plays three main roles and an unbilled cameo in the production.
"I do Daddy Pig, Mr. Bull and Danny Dog - and who can forget the orange in the big fruit number," he says, speaking by phone from a tour stop last week. "Live animals and talking fruit."
Michael has taken a somewhat unlikely turn onto the stage. The Massachusetts native grew up with a love for the performing arts. But after earning a degree in political science and theater from George Washington University, then a master's in broadcasting and communication from Syracuse's Newhouse School, he started out as a Capitol Hill correspondent for local affiliates in New York City and Washington, D.C. Later stints at stations in Georgia and Michigan produced an Edward R. Murrow Award for team coverage of a tornado and a regional Emmy Award for his on-air work and writing.
Along the way, he starred in more than two dozen community and regional shows before moving to Los Angeles and joining the Peppa Pig family.
"It's very special being the first people to bring Peppa to life in the United States," he says. "Playing a character everyone knows and loves and has been connecting to so long, it really keeps you on your toes. It makes you bring your A-plus-plus-plus game every night."
Director Richard Lewis describes the live show as a "fully immersive musical production" with "a lively blend of costumed characters and puppets that walk, talk, dance and jump up and down," giving audiences an interactive experience "from the moment we open the curtain."
In addition to familiar songs from the television series, there are songs original to the stage production and plenty of audience sing-alongs.
The plot of "Peppa Pig's Big Splash" finds the nursery roof leaking and Peppa and her friends needing to fix it quickly. They set up a fair to raise money so Mr. Bull can do the repairs. Peppa's family - Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and little brother George - are featured, along with friends Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep. All work together to organize an exciting day out complete with a Champion Puddle Jumping Competition judged by Mr. Potato. Muddy puddles, preschoolers know, are central to fun with Peppa and George.
Audiences will recognize not only the characters, but the familiar pastel backdrops and the same voice narrating the stage production as the television show.
"We try to be as spot-on as we can," Michael says. "Authenticity is so important, especially for that age group. The show's imprinted on them."
The show's biggest success, he adds, is that the production has been kept "the way it should be."
"There's a tendency for an American production to make something super big or super bold or over the top. This show, you're going to sit in the audience and look out and think it's a bigger TV screen, it looks so exactly like the cartoon."
"It feels like you step right out of the screen and onto the stage."
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.