Educational Fare

The Magic School Bus may have an identity problem, but it’s clear on its purpose. Transformed into a submarine, a rocket ship, a hot-air balloon or gosh knows what else by a flick of Ms. Frizzle’s over-accessorized wrist, it carries inquisitive schoolkids down the sometimes treacherous path to knowledge.

But, as friends of the Friz can tell you, the Magic School Bus provides only the wheels for these madcap explorations. The engine is your imagination.

On Sunday, the first stage production based on the popular “Magic School Bus” book and television series rolls into the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The 65-minute “Magic School Bus--Live!” show is titled “Arnold’s Favorite Field Trip” and was created for Scholastic Inc., a leading producer of children’s books and educational materials, by Massachusetts-based Strawberry Productions, which specializes in theater and television shows for children.

It features seven of the series’ most popular characters, including the irrepressible science teacher, Ms. Frizzle, and her sassy reptilian sidekick, Liz; bookish Dorothy Ann and worrywart Arnold. The show also includes seven original songs, splashy visuals and the promise of some special effects, all rolled into what creators say is a entertaining and stimulating outing for 5- to 10-year-old kids.

It’s the latest in a growing line of spinoffs from the “Bus” book series that started in 1986. It now includes eight titles, all of them wheeling Ms. Friz and her class on fantasy-filled explorations of such subjects as hurricanes, volcanoes, dinosaurs and human anatomy.

A “Magic School Bus” television series is now in its fourth season on PBS (Lily Tomlin provides the voice of the Friz and won an Emmy for it). Additionally, there are “Magic School Bus” home videos, CD-ROMs, toys, a real “Traveling Magic School Bus” that makes the rounds at schools and museums and a “Magic School Bus Traveling Sound Show” for malls and theme parks.

Scholastic must have believed there were lots of miles left in the old girl, because in the fall of 1995, they gave approval for a stage show that would bring the bus and its colorful characters to life.

“It was a huge challenge to take these very familiar characters and bring them to another dimension,” admitted producer and Strawberry President Jack Desrouches, whose creative staff includes a number of former educators. “We don’t mess with that. . . . The Arnold you see in the books and on television is the Arnold you see onstage.

“The characters in these stories have . . . been on a ton of adventures, and they’ve grown from that, just like any kid would,” he said. “With the stage show, we have the luxury of having 65 minutes and the capabilities of live theater to develop those characters, to help audiences get to know them and learn with them in a way they haven’t been able to before.”

Like other “Magic School Bus” adventures, “Arnold’s Favorite Field Trip” begins innocently enough with a class junket, this time to a dedication ceremony for a new bridge. Unfortunately, Arnold has forgotten that he was assigned to pack lunch for the gang, so the members of the group climb back aboard the bus and head for Arnold’s house. They make it as far as the pantry before somebody trips the on-board shrink-o-scope and the whole crew is downsized to Popsicle-stick height.

Stuck inside the pantry, the now-pint-sized kids have to draw on what they have learned about bridge construction and, through trial and error, come up with a way to get out of the pantry before they’re creamed by the jumbo-sized pie teetering above them.

Cheering them on is the Friz, recreated down to her last flyaway hair and gaudy outfit by a team of Broadway-seasoned designers, Desrouches said.

“She’s a wonderful teacher because she never just tells the kids what to do; she takes an experience and allows the children to build on it to find the answers themselves,” noted Desrouches, who has a 12-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter.

It wouldn’t be the “Magic School Bus” without a few gizmos, and the stage version seems to pack plenty. Massive props and set pieces make the kids appear to shrink, and a sophisticated robotics system makes the bus dance and glow and sprout periscopes and portholes. But spiffy as they are, the effects aren’t the part of the show Desrouches hopes will affect audiences the most.

“I think there’s a misconception among producers of family entertainment that kids want to see special effects,” he said. “I believe special effects can awe and entertain, but what we’re trying to create here is that magic, that ‘Wow!’ emotion that’s such a part of learning. Not till they’re on the way home do we want them to think, ‘How did they do that?’ ”

BE THERE

Scholastic’s “Magic School Bus--Live!” presents “Arnold’s Favorite Field Trip,” Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. Noon and 3 p.m. Sun. $12-$17. (714) 854-4646 or (714) 740-2000.