Techtite's Shows & Parks Reviews!

"The good...? How about no other incantations of Scooby other than Scooby himself (no Scooby Dum, Mama and Dada Doo, Scooby Dee, Yabba Doo, and most importantly, no Scrappy Doo!!!). "

---from the review

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Let's be honest; upon entering the auditorium, I had small hopes for Scooby Doo in: Stagefright! I expected a mere traveling show for the kids, attempting to sell them Scooby memorabilia, show them a few live actors lip-synching to a pre-recorded soundtrack, and then have the kids buy more memorabilia on the way out. I was very pleasantly proven wrong. The truth is, while this show's will unlikely win any Tony awards, it is an extremely enjoyable stage show for kids, and parents as well.

The bigger surprise is: this Scooby offering is even better than the movie. Or...is that a surprise? I know that to many Scooby fans, Scooby-Doo's 2002 live-action film was just two degrees away from being a total bomb, regardless of its box office of 153 million dollars, stateside. Given that the Scooby franchise is so large, with so many fans spanning over 30 years, 153 million is a pittance. If this stage show does any less, it's because the film was playing in a gazillion theaters. This is an on-tour stage show with limited show times and limited tour dates. This is important to note, because every single one of the people who contributed to that 153 million dollars for the film, will want to see this stage show even more.

The play opens perfectly, with the curtain opening and the cast frozen in a "run" stance, not unlike the start of a classic Scooby cartoon. While actors playing these characters may vary depending on when you see the show, the actors in the play I saw included: Fred (Jerry Richardson), Daphne (Rachel Kimsey), Shaggy (Bjorn Thorstad), Velma (Randi Rosenholtz), and three separate actors creating Scooby: John Nagle as the voice (who also played "Uncle Tim" in the play), with David Droxler and Michael Gellert as Scooby himself (they alternate from time to time, to make Scooby's many disguises appear quicker). Each cast member has clearly seen the cartoon itself, and not just "improvised" the role.

The story is that Daphne's relative, Uncle Tim, is a movie director filming his latest thriller at a spooky abandoned studio. The legend is that the studio's rich owner left a secret treasure somewhere on studio property, for anyone wise enough to find it. Uncle Tim isn't interested in this treasure, though; he just wants to complete his movie! This won't be easy, though, because some spooky specter is roaming about, looking for the treasure...and wrecking havoc on the film in the process. The Scooby Gang have been called in to help solve this spooky mystery.

This leads to a stage play 90 minutes long, with one intermission. Along the way you'll see any number of well-played sight gags typical of Scooby lore, including a typical ghost-chase through a hallway of doors, Scooby and Shaggy's love for food, Velma's losing her glasses right when a ghost is behind her, Daphne striking various poses, and Fred's bizarre trap ideas, to trap the ghost. Yes, even a campy parody of the cheesy 1960's musical numbers is present, when Shaggy falls for a cute stage hand named Kimmi (Shorey Walker), leading to him singing the 1963 hit, "They Long To Be Close To You." In short, this is everything the original cartoons were, which is the whole idea.

Best of all --and unlike the film-- there are no attempts to make Scooby something he's not. For all their boos and howls, Scooby ghouls were never any scarier than Cookie Monster on Sesame Street. This stage show realizes this, so while The Specter has glowing red eyes and a florescent costume, he isn't any scarier than the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. This is good news for kids; even better news, for parents!

The good...? How about no other incantations of Scooby other than Scooby himself (no Scooby Dum, Mama and Dada Doo, Scooby Dee, Yabba Doo, and most importantly, no Scrappy Doo!!!)...? Second, the story has been made to amuse kids of all ages, and not the typical mish-mash of teenager ideals, children's story, and too-mature-for-kids themes all rolled into one (are you taking notes, makers of the Scooby movie...?). Third, each of the characters are dead-on-perfect likenesses of their cartoon counterparts. In short --and here's the best news of all-- this is better than the 2002 film (in case I didn't say that enough yet).

The bad...? Surprisingly, not much. Call me a snob, though, but I would've appreciated an actual playbill for this stage show, and not just an "activity book" for the kids, with the stage play credits on the front and back pages. Some actors you'll probably want to know more about upon leaving the theater. They clearly have done stage work before, and seeing them being such good sports in a play such as this can only lead to you wanting to see them in more productions later on.

Admittedly, this was never meant as a Tony-winning affair for adults, so the real question is if kids love it. I went with five kids ranging from the ages of 7 and a half, to a one year old sitting on my sister-in-law's lap; they all loved the show. Considering this means that five little kids sat through a 90 minute stage production with only one intermission, that's saying an awful lot. Kids are often even harder to please than adults. These kids were so enthralled by what was happening on stage, only the mother and one-year-old left during the intermission; the older kids didn't want to miss a thing! Seeing the play myself, I can see why.