Rugrats/15″/dt1st/mark2nd
By FRANK SWERTLOW
Staff Reporter
Get ready for “Rugrats,” the musical.
Beginning March 25, Nickelodeon’s popular animated TV series for young kids will arrive at Universal Amphitheater as a live musical production.
The show, which is currently touring the country in 38 cities, is the latest in a series of Hollywood ventures that turn existing film or TV projects into theatrical productions. It is yet another example of how studios are trying to create synergy for their many entertainment assets by launching them into multiple platforms.
The fact that a property happens to be an animated show is no barrier to turning it into live theater, as Walt Disney Co. proved with its smash Broadway adaptations of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” But not all the theatrical adaptations waiting in the wings are based on animated programming; Fox Searchlight Pictures’ hit live-action comedy “The Full Monty” is being readied for a Broadway run as a musical, starting with its debut in San Diego later this year.
“It’s the further extension of exploiting the brand,” said Dave Davis, an analyst at Century City-based investment firm Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin. “You also sell a whole lot of merchandise.”
The TV series “Rugrats,” which began on Nickelodeon in 1991, is now the No. 1 show for kids ages 2 to 11. Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures and Paramount’s television division.
The series looks at life from the offbeat point of view of a group of talking babies Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, Phil, Lil and Susie. It airs 13 times a week and reaches 23 million viewers.
Viacom is exploiting the show in seemingly every possible medium; Paramount’s film version, “Rugrats, the Movie,” has earned more than $91 million at the box office so far. There is a “Rugrats” syndicated comic strip and a host of “Rugrats”-themed toys and other merchandise can be found on retail shelves.
The stage production, which hit the road last February, has earned $25.2 million to date. It has yielded $16 million in profits and costs $300,000 per week to produce in each city in which it runs, according to its Executive Producer Jonathon Hochwald. Its start-up budget was $3.5 million.
“The TV show has been on the air for eight years,” Hochwald said. “It’s not a flash in the pan, a one-hit wonder. It has a life span and it is growing.”
The stage version is a joint production of Nickelodeon and Pace Variety Entertainment, which has been involved in such Broadway hits as “Cabaret,” Tommy,” “Rent” and “Chicago.” Pace is best known for its Broadway touring companies and presents hundreds of live productions around the country each year.
“We got involved in this because (the show) appeals to kids and families and there is a market for this kind of entertainment,” Hochwald said.
“Rugrats” the musical mixes actors, puppets, video projection and music in an on-stage extravaganza. Hochwald said the project was conceived first as an artistic endeavor and second as a financial model for synergy. “It was part of an apparatus that feeds off each other,” he said. “Synergy was not our goal, but that is what came about.”
Howard Smith, vice president for recreation at Nickelodeon, said the “Rugrats” musical version “extends the brand and connects with families and young children where they can enjoy entertainment together.”
Smith said Nickelodeon is developing a musical tour based on another of its TV programs, “Blues Clues,” which is the No. 1 show among preschool children.
