Parents and children everywhere know and love the cartoon characters from television.
Now, “Peppa Pig Live!” hits the Weinberg Center in Frederick, Maryland on April 29.
“We have several characters in larger, full-body suit costumes and then we have puppets,” Puppeteer Jane Ericksen told WTOP. “They are the most adorable things you will see in your entire life. It’s very fun to have an educational experience at the theater. … They’re really stinking cute and I wish I could take Peppa home with me every night.”
Ericksen operates the puppet of the title character, Peppa Pig herself.
“A lot goes into maneuvering the puppets,” Ericksen said. “These are not just small hand puppets like a sock puppet. … Imagine a shopping cart in front of you about 4-feet tall, making that shopping cart sing, speak and dance. … It is a two-handed job, a hand that moves their body … and another hand that manages their head, mouth and expressions.”
Which beloved characters will we see on stage?
“You are going to see a lot of Peppa’s friends,” Erickesen said. “You are going to see her Mummy and Daddy pig, you are going to have a lesson with Madame Gazelle, which is very exciting, a music lesson as well as getting to go to a camping trip with Peppa and her friends. Then you’re going to meet George, Gerald, Suzy Sheep and Pedro Pony.”
Created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, “Peppa Pig” began airing on British TV in 2004. It is now broadcast in over 180 countries having just wrapped its seventh season.
“I think Peppa has something for everyone, which is why it’s still running today,” Ericksen said. “It’s basically a lot of adventures with Peppa Pig, who is a sassy, 4-year-old, little British pig — and with the ‘Bridgerton’ craze right now, who doesn’t love a show with British accents, am I right? … It’s never too early to start sounding a little more posh.”
The storylines blend learning with levity.
“Peppa Pig, George and her parents get into a lot of mishaps, we explore their friendships, there’s usually something very silly that happens in the episode as well as educational. There’s usually some sort of counting or learning or working through some problem that arises with friendship or with school, then everything always ends up OK at the end.”
The live stage show has been running for nearly a decade.
“Round Room has done an amazing job of bringing the television show to the theater,” Ericksen said. “The backdrop is an amazing screen actually that will project various places that we are: the school house, outside the school, in the classroom and also at a camp site, so there will be trees, there’s an amazing lullaby sequence, a weather sequence.”
Best of all, the audience becomes a part of the show.
“Audiences can expect a lot of interaction,” Ericksen said. “You get to sing two songs with us that you know, ‘The Bing Bong Song’ [and] ‘Muddy Puddles,’ which is a huge crowd favorite. Don’t be scared to please get up and dance with us, because Peppa and her friends love seeing young friends and Mummy and Daddy pigs jumping and dancing.”
The 60-minute show begins at 6 p.m. with tickets ranging from $29.75 to $59.50.
For an additional $50, you can enjoy a special “Photo Experience” at 7:30 p.m.
“Come up on stage in the incredible theater and jump in a muddy puddle with Peppa Pig and Daisy,” Ericksen said. “Then you get to take a picture with yourself and your Mummy and Daddy Pig — and we might sing ‘Splish Splash’ while you jump in muddy puddles.”
On the ride home, your kids will rave about having met their favorite cartoon characters.
“If your kiddo leaves thinking they met Peppa Pig, we’ve done our job right.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
