The big, red star of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” books, videos and cartoon fame is coming to the Everett Events Center, along with a cast of his canine and human friends, to perform the new “Clifford the Big Red Dog Live!” musical today and Saturday.
The original “Clifford” stories, as well as this musical, revolve around Clifford, an oversized red dog owned by a girl named Emily Elizabeth. The stories focus on common childhood principles like responsibility and being a good friend, which are introduced as “Clifford’s Big Ideas.”
Audience members will be entertained as they watch Clifford and his gang put on “a play within a play” using those Big Ideas; especially, in this case, the concept of teamwork.
Performance director Tom Zaizar said the show is an hour and a half long with one 20-minute intermission. Refreshments will be available and audience members are encouraged to be out of their seats, singing along and dancing.
Furthermore, he said, the show’s content may be described as “aimed at ages 2 to 7,” but is suitable and entertaining enough for all ages.
Human actors make up the cast, but the actors portraying T-Bone, Cleo and Clifford will be clad in canine costumes. The Clifford costume is 14 feet tall and 11 feet long, not counting its tail.
Zaizar noted that it takes two actors with 40-pound battery packs inside the inflatable costume to make Clifford come to life, adding that to create such an ambitious and large-scale costume, the “Clifford” staff enlisted the skills of “The Lion King” costume designer Michael Curry.
“We have a huge responsibility (to make the show entertaining) to the audience,” Zaizar said, “because you never know who, out there, might become interested in theater; who might want to be the next Clifford.”
Clifford the Big Red Dog and friends star in a new musical show today and Saturday at the Everett Events Center.
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