Blue’s Birthday Party tour visits TPAC

After the incredibly successful two-year national run of Blue’s Clues Live!, Nickelodeon and Clear Channel Entertainment have re-teamed to bring a brand new theatrical production to the stage of Nickelodeon’s top-rated preschool television show “Blue’s Clues.” Blue’s Birthday Party, the biggest birthday party ever, will stop at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville April 3 through 7 during a 40-city tour across the United States that began in January.

Featuring brand new songs, story line and characters, Blue’s Birthday Party returns to the stage to celebrate Blue’s birthday with her friends, Tickety Tock, Slippery Soap, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper and, of course, Steve (played for the first time by Roger Kraus), as they search for clues to discover what Blue wants for her birthday. The stage production marks the stage debut of several new characters such as Blue’s next-door-neighbor Periwinkle, best buddy Magenta and Baby Cinnamon.

“TPAC sold more tickets to Blue’s Clues Live! last year than anything else we presented. It’s a good possibility that this new musical from the creators of Blue’s Clues will be even more popular with Nashville area audiences,” said Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC’s senior vice president of marketing. “Local audiences can count on a high-quality, Broadway-style production that provides families with a fun experience at TPAC. As we expect to sell-out by the end of the run in Nashville, we encourage anyone who wants to see Blue’s Birthday Party with their children, grandchildren, or a group to purchase tickets in advance.”

The live theatrical presentation transforms the television show by challenging kids’ imaginations and senses while celebrating the wonder of learning. Blue’s Birthday Party invites kids to be entertained while enjoying an unprecedented level of inter-activity. Each child attending the show receives a free handy dandy notebook and crayon, to follow along as Steve finds Blue’s clues.

“Blue’s Birthday Party continues Nickelodeon Theatricals exceptional standards of translating Nickelodeon properties into live productions,” says Stuart Rosenstein, co-executive producer and VP Nickelodeon Theatricals and Recreation. “This show brings the Blue’s Clues property to life for children in their hometowns.”

“Blue’s Clues Live! represented a benchmark for live family theatre,” says co-executive producer and president, Clear Channel Family Entertainment, Jonathan Hochwald. “All of our creative talent has returned to Blue’s Birthday Party, and we’ve created an even more amazing experience with this brand new stage production.”

Blue’s Birthday Party marks the return of co-author Angela C. Santomero and co-author and director Gip Hoppe, who first collaborated on Blue’s Clues Live! Santomero also serves as the co-creator, co-executive producer and head writer of the television show. Hoppe wrote and directed the Broadway play Jackie: An American Life. He is a founding member and co-artistic director of the Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theatre.

One of the most watched preschool show on television, the Blue’s Clues mission is to challenge and empower preschoolers while making them laugh. In each episode, Steve invites young viewers into his computer-animated storybook to help him and Blue solve the day’s puzzles. Blue’s Clues continues to draw acclaim for its unique interactivity that has changed the way kids watch television. The series, now in its third season, has raised the bar in preschool television by exploring advanced subject matter such as sign language, geography, physics, emotions and anatomy.

Ford Motors and Nickelodeon will use the tour to promote ClueIntoSafety.com, the official Web site of the “Clue Into Safety” national child safety campaign. The focus of the campaign centers around Blue and Steve educating children on the importance of safety belts and being properly restrained in the back seat. Children also learn about safe behavior inside and outside of vehicles, while parents are educated about the proper use of car and booster seats.

In selected cities across the country, Nickelodeon and Ford will present “Ford and Blue’s Clue-Into-Safety Auditions” where one child will get an opportunity to perform on stage with Blue, Steve and the entire cast. For more information about national tour of Blue’s Birthday Party and Ford and Blue’s Clue-Into-Safety Auditions, log onto HYPERLINK “http://www-.nickjr.com” www.nickjr.com.

Blue’s Clues Live!! performance schedule in Nashville is Wednesday at 7 p.m.; Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 5 p.m.; and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Tickets are now on sale at www.tpac.org, the TPAC Box Office-Downtown and the TPAC Satellite Box Office at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, and at any TicketMaster outlet. To charge tickets by phone call 615/255-ARTS. Groups of 20 or more can place an order by calling 615/782-4060.