You think you're immune to the spectacle. Even as the lights go down and an unnatural hush falls over the theater, even as the only sound you hear is of hundreds of diapers being simultaneously soaked, you try to maintain an adult composure. Disney’s ‘Bear’ enthralls
live audienceReview by Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.com"I don't care about the Bear," you blaspheme. "What are Treelo, Pip and Pop, Ojo and Tutter to me, but plush Muppet wannabes who owe their entire careers to a sweet timeslot on the Disney Channel?"
And then he appears -- the Bear. No, not a bear but a god. A 7-foot bear god. A towering monolith. A towering monolithic bear god. Make no mistake, if this bear were a UH coach, he'd have the sports columnists going on for paragraphs.
But he is not a coach and you are not a 3-year-old; and yet, like the diminutive herd to your left and right, you are irredeemably starstruck. This bear is huge, we're talking ursa major, a furry phenom whose seductive charm is nothing short of frightening. As in Hamelin, this is a Pied Piper who -- if he turned his powers to evil -- could easily convince his flock to follow him to the docks of the harbor and into the aqua depths.
For the time being at least, Bear appears innocuous enough, content to sing about the mail, dance his signature cha-cha-cha and distribute blurry lessons on the importance of cooperation. ("Let's get it together," sings a quartet of dancers, this Bear coming with his very own Solid Gold retinue.) His signature song -- "What's That Smell?" -- was delivered with lightness and panache, and kids laughed with delight when Bear finally discovered, as the houselights went up, that it was us he was smelling.I was smelling us too (see first paragraph) and eager to see the Big Blue House, now looming ominously behind a sheer curtain. In short order it was revealed, a wonderfully authentic rendition of the azure monument you see on TV, and one which drew a chorus of heartfelt wows from the small set.
The point of these live events is, of course, their liveness, the reification of what is normally apprehended only via satellites and cathode rays. In that sense, "The Bear in the Big Blue House Live" is an unqualified success, not to mention a painless way to introduce youngsters to the pleasures of live theater. If Pip and Pop (the two lemur pups) lack the pep of their televised counterparts, they nevertheless do justice to this pap. And the frame story of Bear planning a surprise party for his friend Tutter the mouse, while holding few surprises of its own, does at least provide the impetus for a few coups de théâtre (e.g., cannon blasts of confetti and a sea of mylar balloons).
When:10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Bear in the Big Blue House 'Surprise Party'
Where: Hawaii Theater, 1130 Bethel St.
Tickets: $12 to $23 for adults; $10.50 to $21.50 for children under 12
Call: 528-0506
But for genuine excitement you must look not to the stage but the audience; the kids cha-cha-cha-ing atop their seats, the oohs that accompany Shadow's cameo appearance, the occasional head buried in a parent's chest when things become all too overwhelming.
It is an energy unlike any other, and one that will either fill you with a similarly youthful enthusiasm or send you fleeing to the Indigo bar at intermission. Either way, you'll be forced to admit the phenomenon that is the Bear, and may well get caught up in the infectious atmosphere. Bring Depends.
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