ALL ABOARD! Thomas & Friends Live On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town BY KRISTI CASEY SANDERS
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he people of the magical island of Sodor are panicked. The circus is coming, and they only have one day to prepare! Luckily, Thomas the Tank Engine will figure it out, with a little help from his friends. “I play Percy’s driver,” says Ricky Whitfield. “Percy is Thomas’ best friend. He gets picked on, but [people] can always depend on Percy and Percy’s driver to get the job done.” One way the people (and trains) of Sodor get things done is through audience assistance. “We sing a lot of songs with the ‘whoosh’ of the steam, the ‘round and round’ of the wheels and the ‘clanking’ of the joints [that] have hand movements for kids to do,” Whitfield says. “We have a song where kids get to do sheep and chicken sounds. At the end, we put everything together to make the sounds of all the animals and all the parts of the engine.” But it’s a show that’s fun for the whole family, Whitfield stresses. “It’s a very witty script,” he says. “The parents get a kick out of that.” One of the coolest things about the show is how the trains are built and operated. They all speak and have moving eyes and wheels. “The actors get inside,” Whitfield says. “It’s like a big car, and we drive [them] onstage. There [are] doors on both sides, so as soon as we park the engine, we can get out on stage and be a regular human.” Whitfield grew up watching “Thomas & Friends,” so he enjoys performing for its fans. “I love this show,” he says. “Every time I see a child dancing … I know that even though they’re being entertained, they’re getting lessons that will live with them for the rest of their lives.” Thomas & Friends Live On Stage chugs into the Fox June 26-28.
48 ENCORE ATLANTA