VeggieTales Live! On Stage

VeggieTales Live! On Stage
Directed by	Michael Barnard
Written by	Phil Vischer; Mike Nawrocki
Music by	Kurt Heinecke (musical direction); Christopher Davis (arrangements, orchestrations, and additional score)
Released	January 29th -; June 11th, 2002

VeggieTales Live! On Stage was the very first VeggieTales Live! show, touring from January 29th to June 11th of 2002.

The show was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, which is now known as iHeartMedia as of 2014.

Plot[]

The main lesson in VeggieTales Live! On Stage is friendship, what you will see in the second summary describes the 2 stories from the home videos told! The show's main plot consists of Bob and Larry accidentally separating and having to look for each other. Bob finds himself in the story of Dave and the Giant Pickle. Goliath offers to fight Bob, to which Bob politely declines. Meanwhile, Larry, who gets mistaken for Joshua, is dragged into the story of Josh and the Big Wall!. After both stories conclude, Bob and Larry end up on either side of the stage, separate from one another. Once they spot each other, they race to the middle to give the best hug they can. Once these two are reunited, they sing "A Friend is a Friend" and bring in Qwerty to give a verse about Friendship. The show concludes with a finale with a live version of the Theme Song.

In VeggieTales Live!, Bob, Larry and other favorite characters like Junior Asparagus and French Peas, Jean Claude and Phillipe, recreate the best-selling video Dave and the Giant Pickle, a retelling of David vs. Goliath. The Veggies play the roles of David, Goliath, the Israelites and Philistines. They also recreate Josh and the Big Wall!. Amazing set design, unusual costumes (the characters don’t have arms or legs), lively musical numbers and Monty Python-inspired humor make the show appealing for kids and adults.

Cast[]

Humans[]

Juli Jacobson as Marcy

Veggies[]

Phil Vischer as Bob the Tomato, Pa Grape, Archibald Asparagus, Goliath, Pa Grape, Jimmy Gourd, Phillipe Pea
Mike Nawrocki as Larry the Cucumber, Jean-Claude, and Jerry Gourd.
Lisa Vischer as Junior Asparagus

Songs[]

Act 1[]

VeggieTales Theme Song (on a screen that lowers)
What a Sight!
The Water Buffalo Song
I'm Dave
Big Things Too

Act 2[]

Love My Lips
Promised Land (Live Show Version)
The Lord Has Given
Keep Walking
The Lord Has Given (Reprise)
Promised Land (Reprise) (Live Show Version)
A Friend is a Friend
What Have We Learned (Live Show Version)
VeggieTales Theme Song (Live Show Version)

List of People That Got Interviewed[]

List of shows[]

Chicago, Illinois (PREVIEWS): Thursday, January 24th, 2002 and Saturday, January 26th, 2002 at Illinois State University's Braden Auditorium
Minneapolis, Minnesota (PREMIERE): Tuesday, January 29th, 2002 through Sunday, February 3rd, 2002 at the State Theatre
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas: Tuesday, February 5th, 2002 through Sunday, February 10th, 2002 at Texas Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/Camden, New Jersey: Wednesday, February 13th, 2002 through Sunday, February 17th, 2002 at the Tweeter Centre (now known as BB&T Pavillion)
Indianapolis, Indiana: Tuesday, February 19th, 2002 through Sunday, February 24th, 2002 at the Murat Theatre (now known as Old National Centre)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Tuesday, February 26th, 2002 through Thursday, February 28th, 2002 at Memorial Auditorium
Louisville, Kentucky: Friday, March 1st, 2002 through Sunday, March 3rd, 2002 at the Palace Theatre
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Tuesday, March 5th, 2002 through Sunday, March 10th, 2002 at Welsh Auditorium (now closed)
Omaha, Nebraska: Tuesday, March 12th, 2002 through Sunday, March 17th, 2002 at Orphreum Auditorium
Cincinnati, Ohio: Tuesday, March 19th, 2002 through Sunday, March 24th, 2002 at the Taft Theatre
Denver, Colorado: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2002 through Sunday, April 7th, 2002 at Fillmore Auditorium (presumed, as venue was just listed as "Auditorium" on Big Idea's website.)
Orlando, Florida: Wednesday, April 10th, 2002 through Sunday, April 14th, 2002 at the Bob Carr Theater
Kansas City, Missouri: Tuesday, April 16th, 2002 through Sunday, April 21st, 2002 at the Midland Theatre
Detroit, Michigan: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2002 through Sunday, April 28th, 2002 at the Fox Theatre
Greenville, South Carolina: Tuesday, April 30th, 2002 through Sunday, May 5th, 2002 at the Peace Center
Columbus, Ohio: Tuesday, May 7th, 2002 through Sunday, May 12th, 2002 at the Palace Theatre
Chicago, Illinois: Tuesday, May 14th, 2002 through Sunday, May 19th, 2002 at the Rosemont Theatre
Atlanta, Georgia: Thursday, May 23rd, 2002 through Sunday, May 26th, 2002 at the Fox Theatre
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Thursday, May 30th, 2002 through Sunday, June 2nd, 2002 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Colorado Springs, Colorado: Wednesday, June 5th, 2002 through Sunday, June 11th, 2002 at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium

Postponed Shows[]

Houston, Texas: Tuesday, September 17th, 2002 through Sunday, September 22nd, 2002 at the Hobby Center
San Antonio, Texas: Tuesday, September 24th, 2002 through Sunday, September 29th, 2002 at the Majestic Theatre
Phoenix, Arizona: Tuesday, October 1st, 2002 through Sunday, October 6th, 2002 at the Dodge Theatre (now Arizona Federal Theatre)
Universal City, California: Tuesday, October 8th, 2002, through Sunday, October 13th, 2002 at Universal Amphitheatre (now closed)
Sacramento, California: Wednesday, October 16th, 2002 through Sunday, October 20th, 2002 at Memorial Auditorium
Cupertino, California: Tuesday, October 22nd, 2002 through Sunday, October 27th, 2002 at the Flint Center (now closed)
Spokane, Washington: Tuesday, November 5th, 2002 through Thursday, November 7th, 2002 at Spokane Civic Theatre (Big Idea's website lists the venue as Civic Opera House, athough theoretically no venue named Civic Opera House has ever been in the city, so there is a possibility they meant Spokane Civic Theatre instead.)
Portland, Oregon: Friday, November 8th, 2002 through Sunday, November 10th at the Rose Garden Theater of the Clouds (now known as Moda Center)
Seattle, Washington: Tuesday, November 12th, 2002 through Sunday, November 17th at the Paramount Theatre
Ruston, Louisiana: Wednesday, November 20th, 2002 through Sunday, November 24th at the Dixie Center of the Arts

Fun Facts[]

Trivia[]

Junior's costume in the original 2002 tour was operated by Kristin Towers-Rowles. She ultimately ended up pushing a disc in her back due to wearing the 50 lbs costume so much that she never appeared onstage again until 7 years later.
A behind-the-scenes featurette of this is found on the DVD releases of Josh and the Big Wall!, as well as the VeggieTales Classics VHS of it.
According to an interview in the "From Screen to Stage" feature, there were some issues that arose in the first run through that involved characters’ costumes getting deflated and their mouths being taped shut in order for them to stay inflated. Larry was said to be an example of this and in some footage, Goliath was shown to have had the same problem.
- There were also issues involving characters’ pupils falling off, which can be seen with Bob in the same feature.
In the audio commentary of Dave and the Giant Pickle, Mike Nawrocki mentions that Dave’s rock missed Goliath by six feet during the debut of the live show in Minneapolis. Goliath still fell down regardless.
As heard in the "From Screen to Stage" feature, Bob’s costume measures 5 feet tall, Larry’s costume measures 9 feet tall and 3 feet across, and Goliath’s costume measures 14 feet tall.
This is the only live show for several things:
- The only live show that Mr. Lunt doesn’t appear in, as his costume was not yet made and he is instead seen on a giant fabric hand fan (along side the other veggies: Laura Carrot, Annie Onion, Mike Asparagus, Lisa Asparagus, Madame Blueberry, Mr. Nezzer, Apollo Gourd, Percy Pea and Baby Lou) at the end of the show.
- The only live show that Goliath appears in.
- The only live show to recreate episodes of the show, as all other live shows onward were song compilations.
- The only live show that Qwerty appears in.
- The only live show to have an animated countertop segment.
- The only live show to have the regular theme song play projected as opposed to being performed live.
- The only live show known to have Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki as writers.
According to Joshua Gunther's website, there was a 2-minute animated intro at the start of the show. It was a countertop segment where Bob goes to read a letter after both Bob and Larry introduce themselves and stares to the crowd realizing they're not in a movie theater, but a live theater, both characters get excited and run off opposite sides of the screen.
In this show's versions of Dave and the Giant Pickle and Josh and the Big Wall!, the following characters were noticeably absent:
Three original songs were written for the show: A Friend is a Friend, I'm Dave, and What a Sight!. A Friend is a Friend was the only song from the show that was ever released on an album (Bob and Larry's Backyard Party, as well as Have We Got A Show For You!: Ten Years of VeggieTales Greatest Hits and Junior's Playtime Songs), while the other two songs were never officially released, making them lost media.
- What a Sight!, however, was a downloadable sample clip on Big Idea's former website, when the page for the original show was still up.
- Three songs got re-arranged and re-recorded for the show, including Promised Land, What Have We Learned, and the VeggieTales Theme Song (the third of which in the case of the version that plays at the end of the show).
Shows that were scheduled from September to November 2002 were postponed due to Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie playing in theaters.^[1]
It is rumored that a professional recording of the live show was sold on VHS to attendants after the end of each showing. However, evidence of such a tape has yet to surface.