Scooby-Doo - the big, brown, goofy, cartoon dog - and his gang of mystery-solving pals have entertained audiences for generations and been a mainstay on televisions (and more recently, movie screens) across America for 44 years.
Now, Scooby and his mystery gang can be seen live onstage at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Community Arts Center in a performance of "Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries."
The musical's story is set in a local theater where a ghost is haunting and causing some antics.
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“Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries” will visit the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., at 7 p.m. Feb. 6. For tickets, visit caclive.com or call the box office at 326-2424. For more information about the show, visit www.scoobydoo live.com.
The whole gang - Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma - have signed up to help.
Garrett Lewis Dill, who scored the role as Shaggy, the famous snack-eating, scaredy-cat buddy of Scooby-Doo, said the show starts with the original theme song "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"
"The gang then comes on stage and we say 'Hi' to the kids," he said. "We can't find Scooby, so we look for him. We get them [the audience] to sing along with us. We talk to them."
Then a mysterious note starts the adventure for the gang and the audience as well.
"From that point on, it's a bunch of original music," he said. "It's very well explained and I think every number is pretty exciting and original."
He said they also want to the audience to let them know when there is a ghost around.
"As Shaggy, I ask if there is a ghost, because I am scared of them ... which happens quite often," he said. "We are excited - kids are going to be playing along."
Dill said he was enthralled when he found out he had gotten the role of Shaggy.
"I have always loved Shaggy," he said.
He watched all the original shows growing up on television and when he got the role, he watched them again along with some of the new ones like "Scooby Doo Mystery Inc." to prepare.
Dill has tweaked the highs and lows of the character and clearly has fine-tuned his voice to sound just like Shaggy. When he utters the iconic exclamation of Shaggy "Zoinks!" it is very familiar to the ear.
"I am glad I can get the voice down - I say it [Zoinks] every time I get an opportunity," he said.
Recently, he began sporting the "Shaggy chin beard" for the show and said this character is good fit for him.
"I love to eat and I am already off the wall and goofy," he said, just like Shaggy.
One thing that has been steadfast throughout all the different versions of the show is solving mysteries as a team, and Dill said that is conveyed in the live show.
He said the musical captures every aspect of the old and new shows. Some of the story is based on the newer shows, but the antics from the older show are still there.
"Musically, there are subtle examples of the old show as well as the new, which I think is brilliant," he said.
The onstage Scooby character moves around a lot and according to Dill, thanks to a new suit, he can do many different things.
"It works out really well," he said. "The choreography is done really well and the audience will be enthralled with it."
Dill noted that even an iconic image from the old and new cartoons can be seen in the musical.
"We have me holding Scooby when he gets scared. He jumps up into my arms and shivers and shakes," Dill said. "Everyone is going to love it if you watched the show as a kid. It really captures what it was."
The same comedy, schtick and humor of Scooby Doo is there, and he said it's quick and very interesting.
"For the adults seeing the show, they are going to be nostalgic about it and the kids are going to get excited," he said.
For "Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries"?tickets, visit caclive.com or call the box office at 326-2424. For more information about the show, visit www.scoobydoolive.com.
