Some Animated ‘Rugrats’ on Stage

Dancers portraying babies wobble about the stage wearing huge masks that transform them into 6 1/2-foot-tall cartoon characters. A flashlight springs to life to belt out a gospel tune. Two larger-than-life tots take a make-believe journey to the top of the Empire State Building, before one sings an ode to friendship, “If I Could Count to Two.”

It’s a little bit Kabuki, a little bit Tinkertoy pop.

And it’s a cartoon phenomenon that’s been turned into a touring stage show, with a six-day run that begins tonight at the Universal Amphitheatre. Central to “Rugrats--A Live Adventure” are the 14 original songs, in almost as many musical styles, composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of Devo better known for composing such techno-rock songs as “Whip It” and “Working in a Coal Mine” than the quirky theme song for TV’s toddler follies, “Rugrats.”

“Writing for ‘Rugrats’ lets you go anywhere you want in the world of music and sound, because kids are open to that,” he says. “They don’t have preconceived notions about what they should be listening to. They are exposed to more sophisticated things than when I was a kid. We had hillbilly radio and church music, and that was about it. So ‘Rugrats’ is kind of a joyful experience for me.”

He tries to write lyrics that don’t talk down to kids. “ ‘Teletubbies’ and ‘Barney’ are giant pacifiers for the very, very small people,” Mothersbaugh says. “Kids at an early age are exposed to everything out there. When you treat them like they are subhuman, I think kids tend not to trust you and resent it.”

So out of the mouths of oversized babes and their cohorts come lyrics set to the sounds of everything from reggae to German opera, disco to ballads and rap. A radio playing music in the house becomes part of the play, and as the channels are changed, the tykes’ imaginations take off.

Danny Herman, the show’s director and choreographer, views the production as “a sweeping rock opera for 3-year-olds. It’s a very artistic event for a kids’ show. . . . The story, to me, is a perfect musical-theater piece. You have your hero, Chuckie; your villain, Angelica; and comic sidekicks. It’s so clear and so clean.”

It wasn’t always so clear to the producers how to take the No. 1-rated cartoon on Nickelodeon from TV screen to stage. While the show’s success was inviting to trade on, and the characters well-defined, there was the tricky issue of turning two-dimensional babies into characters on stage.

“We spent quite a lot of time trying to make this translation work,” says Jonathan Hochwald, president of New York-based Pace Variety Entertainment, which produced the show with Nickelodeon. “The only way to do it was to create a world where 6-foot-tall babies make sense. Ultimately, the kids accept these babies as if they are the animated babies. They have exploded into life.”

The costumes are so unwieldy that the show had to be double cast to get through the 10 major dance numbers. After 12 minutes in costume, the actors are “toast,” Herman says. “Angelica’s head is 12 pounds. It’s a lot of weight. Thank God a 1 1/2-year-old baby can be a little uncoordinated. I just went with it.”

The theatrical show doesn’t stray far from a typical “Rugrats” television episode that could be subtitled “Chuckie Saves the Day.” Tommy tries to help Chuckie get over being scared by inventing the “People-Ator,” which brings toys to life. His evil 4-year-old cousin, Angelica, steals it, and the “Rugrats” gang bands together to get it back.

When Herman’s nephew asked if Tommy would be in the show, he says he knew he couldn’t just feature any actor’s voice. Tommy and seven other main characters are on tape, voiced by the TV actors whom children know so well. The rest of the speaking and singing is live.

The theatrical production, aimed at 4- to 11-year-olds, manages to capture the essence of the animated show while introducing children to “a unique and magical entertainment, which is theater,” Hochwald says. “That is something that is practically an 18th century experience in an almost 21st century world.”

BE THERE

“Rugrats--A Live Adventure,” Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza. Today through Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday also at 11:15 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.; Tuesday also at 4:15 p.m. $20-$33. Parking $7. (213) 252-8497.

Tickets to tonight’s premiere, which benefits the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and includes a pre-show party, are $100. Call (310) 201-5033.