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Re: Lazytown Live @ Sesame Place in PA September 29 & 30
Alright, I rushed straight back home after the show to share my report with y'all. Please excuse the tl;dr here, I want to be thorough.
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We managed to get a decent parking spot and finally got through the gate at around 2:45 PM. We talked to a staff member about where to go for standby, and she warned us that our odds weren't good. The website said reservations recommended, but they were technically required. The only seats given to standby were those that the reserved people didn't fill. Naturally, I panicked, so I tried to rush mum to the standby line right away, but our path was blocked by the parade.
A float of Big Bird blocked my vision, and then another float decked out in glittering lights appeared, and who should be on top of it but Robbie? Stephanie danced alongside its path in the street, and Sportacus cartwheeled and flipped along the path. The theme of this parade is 'Rock Around The Block', so some classic 50's style music was playing. I watched Robbie attempt to do the twist, and he even did a dance to the Rubber Ducky song. I tried to get some nice pics of that. Strangest of all, he came down off the float and did a handstand, attempting to prove that Sportacus wasn't all that impressive after all.
Anyway, we rushed to the standby line as soon as possible and were again told that our chances of getting in were very low. They'd been turning standby people away all day, and the line stretched pretty far. We were about 20th in a line that I estimate had 250 people, and that's not even including the ones who were smart enough to reserve in advance. We waited in that line for an hour before they started to let people in, and I drew a picture of Robbie and Stephanie to pass the time and talked to the other families with us. First they let two families in, then a few more, and then the line cut off right in front of us. I was really upset by that point, but they miraculously made room and we squeaked by into the show by a hair. We were way up in the bleachers in the back, but they were good seats because we could see over the throngs of kids pressing in on the stage in the front. It was time for the show!
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Stephanie and Ziggy were the first to come out. Yes, boys, it was really Julianna. Ziggy's voice wasn't Gudumur, though. Actually I thought he sounded an awful lot like Stingy. Stephanie introduced herself and her plan to prove that kids had lots of energy by having us sing, play, and dance. She walked over to Ziggy, who was planning his dinner for that night. When Stephanie noticed that the list consisted of candies, Ziggy quickly clarified that those were the things he didn't want to eat. Ziggy showed us an energy measuring meter that Pixel had given him, and explained that their goal was to get it to the top. To start, Stephanie performed 'Have You Never?'
Stephanie then told us that she'd brought a special friend to help us use the energy. She asked the kids who they thought it was, and a unanimous chorus of 'Sportacus!' followed, but Robbie came out instead. Yes, it was really Stefan. The kids all 'boo'-ed when he came out, so he of course took this as a compliment and encouraged everyone to boo him as loud as they could-"Over here! Over there! All together now!" After that, he explained that Sportacus had 'sent' him to help with the energy meter and send it "to the bottom-er, I mean top! Yes, top!" Robbie claimed that he knew millions of moves, and showed us two of them-going to sleep and twisting the pinkie around three times. Stephanie wasn't buying it, so Robbie left in a huff.
Sportacus finally appeared after that, explaining that 'someone' had glued his airship door shut. No, it wasn't Maggi, but his athletics were awesome, even if the heavy American accent was a little grating. He got the kids up and ready to move, and then he performed 'No One's Lazy in LazyTown' with Stephanie.
Once they left to find some sportscandy, Robbie turned up again, this time wearing a blue sweater and baseball cap. The kids yelled out 'Robbie Rotten!' and he showed us his latest plan-giving Sportacus a sugar meltdown with a sugar apple. The kids valiantly tried to warn Sportacus, but he didn't hear their cries and ended up collapsing. Robbie ran away from Stephanie's anger, using a woman in the audience as a meat shield.
Stephanie asked if anyone in the audience had some real sportscandy to give to Sportacus, and a girl sitting next to us happened to have an apple in her bag. She passed it forward to Stephanie, and Robbie ran into the audience trying to swat the apple away, but they did manage to revive Sportacus. Robbie then walked over next to Ziggy and sulked. Stephanie called for a celebration to Bing Bang,. It was the full two minute version this time. As the first chorus ended, Stephanie grabbed Robbie's hand and tried to make him dance with her. He did a few awkward moves and then skulked away, and the finale was executed perfectly, ending the show.
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The show itself was awesome, of course. I was disappointed by the lack of new or unusual songs, and the lack of Magnus, but it was fun. The stand-in for Sportacus knew his choreography very well, and he was nearly as energetic as Maggi himself. Stefan and Julianna were great as always.
I was really surprised by the response to it, though. About 800 people showed up for each of six shows over the weekend, and many more tried to get in through standby but couldn't. There were kids dressed up as Sportacus and Stephanie everywhere, and everyone I spoke to was really excited about the show. Yes, parents and kids still love LT, even if it hasn't had a decent timeslot on Nick for over a year. And that's just in my local area.
Viacom, if you're not tapping the ENORMOUS market you have here in the USA, you're really effing stupid. That's all I have to say on the matter.
Alright, I rushed straight back home after the show to share my report with y'all. Please excuse the tl;dr here, I want to be thorough.
---
We managed to get a decent parking spot and finally got through the gate at around 2:45 PM. We talked to a staff member about where to go for standby, and she warned us that our odds weren't good. The website said reservations recommended, but they were technically required. The only seats given to standby were those that the reserved people didn't fill. Naturally, I panicked, so I tried to rush mum to the standby line right away, but our path was blocked by the parade.
A float of Big Bird blocked my vision, and then another float decked out in glittering lights appeared, and who should be on top of it but Robbie? Stephanie danced alongside its path in the street, and Sportacus cartwheeled and flipped along the path. The theme of this parade is 'Rock Around The Block', so some classic 50's style music was playing. I watched Robbie attempt to do the twist, and he even did a dance to the Rubber Ducky song. I tried to get some nice pics of that. Strangest of all, he came down off the float and did a handstand, attempting to prove that Sportacus wasn't all that impressive after all.
Anyway, we rushed to the standby line as soon as possible and were again told that our chances of getting in were very low. They'd been turning standby people away all day, and the line stretched pretty far. We were about 20th in a line that I estimate had 250 people, and that's not even including the ones who were smart enough to reserve in advance. We waited in that line for an hour before they started to let people in, and I drew a picture of Robbie and Stephanie to pass the time and talked to the other families with us. First they let two families in, then a few more, and then the line cut off right in front of us. I was really upset by that point, but they miraculously made room and we squeaked by into the show by a hair. We were way up in the bleachers in the back, but they were good seats because we could see over the throngs of kids pressing in on the stage in the front. It was time for the show!
---
Stephanie and Ziggy were the first to come out. Yes, boys, it was really Julianna. Ziggy's voice wasn't Gudumur, though. Actually I thought he sounded an awful lot like Stingy. Stephanie introduced herself and her plan to prove that kids had lots of energy by having us sing, play, and dance. She walked over to Ziggy, who was planning his dinner for that night. When Stephanie noticed that the list consisted of candies, Ziggy quickly clarified that those were the things he didn't want to eat. Ziggy showed us an energy measuring meter that Pixel had given him, and explained that their goal was to get it to the top. To start, Stephanie performed 'Have You Never?'
Stephanie then told us that she'd brought a special friend to help us use the energy. She asked the kids who they thought it was, and a unanimous chorus of 'Sportacus!' followed, but Robbie came out instead. Yes, it was really Stefan. The kids all 'boo'-ed when he came out, so he of course took this as a compliment and encouraged everyone to boo him as loud as they could-"Over here! Over there! All together now!" After that, he explained that Sportacus had 'sent' him to help with the energy meter and send it "to the bottom-er, I mean top! Yes, top!" Robbie claimed that he knew millions of moves, and showed us two of them-going to sleep and twisting the pinkie around three times. Stephanie wasn't buying it, so Robbie left in a huff.
Sportacus finally appeared after that, explaining that 'someone' had glued his airship door shut. No, it wasn't Maggi, but his athletics were awesome, even if the heavy American accent was a little grating. He got the kids up and ready to move, and then he performed 'No One's Lazy in LazyTown' with Stephanie.
Once they left to find some sportscandy, Robbie turned up again, this time wearing a blue sweater and baseball cap. The kids yelled out 'Robbie Rotten!' and he showed us his latest plan-giving Sportacus a sugar meltdown with a sugar apple. The kids valiantly tried to warn Sportacus, but he didn't hear their cries and ended up collapsing. Robbie ran away from Stephanie's anger, using a woman in the audience as a meat shield.
Stephanie asked if anyone in the audience had some real sportscandy to give to Sportacus, and a girl sitting next to us happened to have an apple in her bag. She passed it forward to Stephanie, and Robbie ran into the audience trying to swat the apple away, but they did manage to revive Sportacus. Robbie then walked over next to Ziggy and sulked. Stephanie called for a celebration to Bing Bang,. It was the full two minute version this time. As the first chorus ended, Stephanie grabbed Robbie's hand and tried to make him dance with her. He did a few awkward moves and then skulked away, and the finale was executed perfectly, ending the show.
---
The show itself was awesome, of course. I was disappointed by the lack of new or unusual songs, and the lack of Magnus, but it was fun. The stand-in for Sportacus knew his choreography very well, and he was nearly as energetic as Maggi himself. Stefan and Julianna were great as always.
I was really surprised by the response to it, though. About 800 people showed up for each of six shows over the weekend, and many more tried to get in through standby but couldn't. There were kids dressed up as Sportacus and Stephanie everywhere, and everyone I spoke to was really excited about the show. Yes, parents and kids still love LT, even if it hasn't had a decent timeslot on Nick for over a year. And that's just in my local area.
Viacom, if you're not tapping the ENORMOUS market you have here in the USA, you're really effing stupid. That's all I have to say on the matter.
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