Dora the Explorer is jumping from the TV screen to the Auditorium stage.
Nickelodeon's wildly popular character is coming to Thunder Bay for two shows on Oct. 29 and she's bringing her pals Diego, Boots, Backpack, Tico, Isa and Benny as well as that dastardly fox Swiper.
Dora the Explorer Live! Search for the City of Lost Toys from Koba Entertainment has Dora looking for her lost teddy bear through the number pyramid and mixed-up jungle.
Bringing a cartoon to life for the theatre is a delicate process, especially when it comes to creating the look of characters as popular as Dora and her crew, said artistic director Patti Caplette.
"You're dealing with the two-dimensional and moving it to a three-dimensional world. A lot of that ins interesting in terms of interpreting a costume, the look of a character and actually it has to be able to fit a human character and not a cartoon character," she said.
There is often testing and revisions involved.
Caplette also chose giant screen technology for the show - the screen can act as a moving scenic backdrop and also become the character of Dora's map.
"It's unfolded and it can have the special icons flashing on the screen for the kids to repeat so I think it's a really, really innovative and exciting way to present Dora," said Caplette.
Koba Entertainment has brought many children's acts to the theatre stage including Max and Ruby, Toopy and Binoo and Franklin the Turtle.
The Search for the City of Lost Toys is a show originally created more than 10 years ago, but Koba has taken the initial script and revamped it.
Caplette's journey in show business started as a professional dancer and now she's the artistic force behind dozens of theatrical productions for children.
"It's an interesting adventure of my own. Being a dancer, I travelled all over the world. I'm the initial explorer myself," she said.
When she retired from the stage, Caplette had two young children and an overactive imagination paired with a great sense of theatricality.
She produced many ballets and cabarets but when her husband's entertainment company had the chance to take over another family entertainment company they had worked alongside for years, Koba was created.
"That was 10 years ago," Caplette said.
Search for the City of Lost Toys will be at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on Oct. 29 with performances at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The show is for ages two to 92, said Caplette.
"It's not only for the young, but it's for the young at heart."
