Culture
‘Gabby’s Dollhouse Live’ producer talks theater tour, Grateful Dead inspiration and public libraries support
By: Ian Saint
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AKRON, Ohio (WOUB) — Since premiering in 2021, Gabby’s Dollhouse has featured dozens of songs across its 12 seasons of Netflix episodes. By the time Gabby’s first live theater production launched last year, the set list warranted an Eras Tour approach. In fact, production company Terrapin Station Entertainment’s CEO, Jonathan Shank, tells WOUB that Gabby’s epic show isn’t a far cry from Taylor Swift’s: “I kind of equate it to kids coming to a rock show and them being in front of their favorite rock stars, whether that’s Billie Eilish or Taylor Swift.”
The “cat-tastic” theater production, starring Gabby and her imaginary cat friends — a co-creation of Blue’s Clues executive producers, Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey — plays Cincinnati’s Taft Theatre (317 E. 5th St.) tomorrow, Huntington’s Keith-Albee Theatre (925 4th Ave.) Saturday, and Akron Civic Theatre (182 S. Main St.) February 18.
At 11 a.m. on the Akron date, Gabby and her fantasy feline friends will also appear at the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s Ellet Branch (2470 E. Market St.) for storytime and songs; followed by a character meet-and-greet. Attendance is free, and one family in attendance will win a four-pack of VIP tickets to the Akron Civic Theatre show. This is identical to the Gabby’s Dollhouse storytime hosted at Columbus Metropolitan Library in November.
Terrapin Station Entertainment’s CEO Shank spoke to WOUB’s Ian Saint from Los Angeles. A transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.
Ian Saint: Given Gabby’s Dollhouse features both live-action and computer-generated characters, how is the Gabby’s Dollhouse cast staged in the theater production?
Jonathan Shank: Thank you for covering this amazing show and production. There is a first-class team bringing this one-of-a-kind production to life: Universal and DreamWorks, Terrapin (a Sony subsidiary), and TEG in Australia. All the characters are represented by amazing life-sized puppets alongside a live-action Gabby; with incredible video, props, choreography, and your favorite songs from the show all coming together in a very unique, bespoke storyline. Our goal is to have this be the entry point for kids and their families — parents, grandparents, siblings, friends — into the theater world, in a magical way to bring them closer to their favorite characters.
The Gabby Cats are widely varied, from MerCat to Cakey to Baby Box and more. Which puppets do you highlight as particularly “a-meow-zing”?
Shank: Pandy Paws and MerCat are among my favorites. DJ Catnip is a really unique puppet, and CatRat comes to life in such an incredible way. We have amazing ancillary props and characters — people like the acorn, who plays a key role in the storyline, which I’m excited for all the families to see.
Gabby’s Dollhouse has aired many songs; The Power of Yet is my favorite. Is that in there? What’s your favorite?
Shank: That song is in there. My favorite is Sparkle Within. “Celebrate your sparkle” shines on a great theme of the show: the incredible value of individuality, and understanding that there is a special talent within all of us.
What other themes are in the production? Common themes in the TV show, from my viewing, are adaptation and learning from your mistakes. Are those in there?
Shank: Yeah, I think you nailed it. All those values and themes are central to the show; and also interactivity, and understanding that there is this possibility for you to do anything in this world. Also allowing yourself to be in an imaginary world with Gabby and her Gabby Cats, and seeing where your mind’s imagination and creativity may take you while you’re in that place.
As a family, aspects of Gabby we love are the crafts, baking, and dances we can do together when the TV turns off. Are there activities from the live show, whether tangible or intangible, that can be taken home?
Shank: I don’t want to give away too much, but we do have friendship flowers for all of the children that become part of the storyline with Gabby. We really need everybody in the audience to utilize their friendship flowers, to make sure that we’re doing this all together.
What led to launching these free public library events? Why is supporting public libraries important to Terrapin?
Shank: What’s special is that there are very few of these library events. This is a unique way to have a community event that surrounds Gabby, for folks looking for something a bit more educational or maybe aren’t able to go to the show. The community aspect has to be part of the Gabby’s Dollhouse brand fabric — giving back to the families and kids that have given so much to make Gabby a popular franchise. Public libraries are vital to all communities, and also (cultivating) continued education ecosystems for children and families, that can grow your imagination and stretch your knowledge.
That’s vital to a show centered on learning and discovery.
Shank: Yes. What you discover in a library — a wonderful mystery, biography, a story you’ve never heard before (whether) fiction or nonfiction, even learning the vernacular around (literature classification) — is very important in the arc of learning and growth.
I love that Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart is your mentor. How might Mickey’s influence have impacted your approaches to producing Gabby?
Shank: This is the easiest question you’ve asked, because I can tell you without question that it’s an approach to open-mindedness and flexibility. That mentality is the bridge after working with Mickey, and learning so much from him through all his various projects — Planet Drum and Rhythm Devils, his work with Gyoto monks and Walter Cronkite and all these various things. His work with Grateful Dead is legendary. In order to be able to tackle any number of those things, you need to be so open-minded. So I tried to take that open-mindedness into this part of my career, producing kids shows and family entertainment. Working with Mickey allowed me to stretch what I thought was possible, in terms of being creative and able to present these incredible characters to kids and families.
Perhaps rock ‘n roll isn’t a wide leap from childhood imagination.
Shank: I love when there’s confetti, and the kids are able to get closer to the stage. We’ve had a few kind of baby mosh pits, and that’s been surprising — kids getting closer to the stage and dancing like they’re at a Foo Fighters concert.
For Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! tour dates and tickets, visit https://gabbysdollhouselive.com/.