Actor clued into ‘Blue’s’ popularity

Friday, Aug. 10, 2001 | 9:26 a.m.

Fast Facts

When: 7 p.m today, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Tickets: $18, $25.

Information: 785-5000.

Stand back, everybody: "Blue's Clues Live!" has arrived in Las Vegas.

Blue, the giant floppy-eared blue dog who captivates the hearts of 7 million preschoolers each week on the Nickelodeon (Cox Cable channel 21) show "Blue's Clues" pulled into town today for a three-day run of the full-scale theatrical production of the show.

Onstage at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, Blue will be accompanied be her striped-shirted friend Steve (played by Thomas Mizer), the lovable characters Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Mailbox, Tickety Tock, Slippery Soap and the brother and sister duo, Shovel and Pail.

Children in the audience will be taken on a musical journey through Storybook Forest, where they'll meet characters from classic fairy tales, and travel to outer space to greet planets and the sun.

The show uses big production numbers with special effects such as snow falling on the audience and Mizer's character flying through the air on a harness.

And because many of the children in the audience will be experiencing live theater for the first time, the different components relating to the theatrical experience will be explained, such as lighting and curtains.

Similar to the television show, which airs weekday mornings on Nickelodeon, Blue will provide three clues for Steve and the audience to use as they go in search of what the stage-show story calls "the most spectacular place of all."

And similar to the television show, the Steve character always seems to be one step behind the audience in solving the clues. But with the help of the children, who will have handy-dandy notebooks on which to draw out the clues, he'll be sure to catch up.

"The moment the show starts I ask questions and the audience talks back," said Mizer, who has appeared in more than 600 performances of "Blue's Clues Live!" since it began its national tour in October 1999.

The intense audience interaction, "really makes the kids feel they're important and that their answers are special," Mizer said. "The great thing is that not only can I respond to the audience but Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper can ... Anything can happen, it really can.

"I've had adults say, 'This is the first children's show that didn't put me to sleep,' " Mizer added, attributing some of the live show's success to "Blue's Clues Live!" creators Angela C. Santomero and Gip Hoppe, and to set designer David Gallo and costume designer Gregg Barnes, who boast Broadway credits.

And during some performances -- such as shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall, where the 6,000-seat theater was packed -- does audience participation ever get out of hand?

Not really, Mizer said. "The kids really know the rhythm of the show. They know when to respond. It's not a free for all."

Except, of course, at the beginning. "When Blue walks out it's just deafening," he said.

So how does Mizer, an actor who never before performed children's theater, maintain such a high-energy level for each show?

"You just feed on the kids," Mizer said. "It really is fun and the audience gets so much out of it. As a performer, you can't ask from much more than that?"

Kristen Peterson is an Accent feature writer. Reach her at 259-2317 or kristen@ lasvegassun.com.