Smart ‘Blues Clues Live!’ Is Creative Fun on Stage

“Sesame Street� does it; “Rugrats� and “Arthur� do it, but “Blue’s Clues� does it better: “Blue’s Clues Live!,� one of the latest TV shows-turned-stage extravaganzas, is a veritable goody bag of musical fun.

Playing tonight through Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium after a short run at Long Beach’s Terrace Theatre, this sparkling show from Nickelodeon and SFX Family Entertainment was shaped by some of those behind the TV series in tandem with theater professionals.

It unfolds as puppy Blue, her human pal Steve and the audience discover the whereabouts of the world’s “most spectacular place.�

Blue’s paw prints mark clues, and Steve and Blue “skiddoo� into a storybook forest, help some confused fairy-tale folk and soar into space for a musical confab with the sun and planets. There’s nifty flying and the planet rod puppets are a kick. Lighting designer Tom Sturge complements the show’s whimsy and wonder throughout.

Audience participation is a major element. Youngsters can sing along, call out answers, collect clues and make suggestions.

Angela C. Santomero, one of “Blue’s Clues�’ co-creators (with Traci Paige Johnson and Todd Kessler), collaborated with veteran theater director and writer Gip Hoppe to create this theatrical treat.

Set designer David Gallo inventively re-created the original, distinctive collage and cutout storybook look designed by Johnson, the tour’s visual consultant.

Costume designer Gregg Barnes contributed mightily to the pizazz, as did puppet designer Yvette Helin, who brings the entire “Blue’s Clues� gang to life, including Mail Box, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper.

Even the stage curtain is a character, with big googly eyes and a friendly word for the audience.

The TV show’s composers, Mike Rubin and Nick Balaban, wrote the tuneful, polished score.

The live show differs from the original’s laid-back tone, to be sure. It’s faster-paced, and Steve is a singing and dancing dynamo played by theater pro Thomas Mizer, not the TV show’s superlative host, Steve Burns.

But, like the original, this “Blue’s Clues� is colorful, smart, creative and respectful of its young audience.

Note to parents: Look for the “handy-dandy notebooks� that are distributed free at the theater before the show. They’re provided so that kids can collect clues along with Steve and solve the mystery. No, I’m not telling.

“Blue’s Clues Live!,� Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, tonight, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m., benefit performance for the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, hosted by Marlee Matlin, with a pre-show party at 9:30 a.m. Other Saturday shows at 2 and 5 p.m.; Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. $14 to $26, except the Saturday, 11 a.m. benefit show, $100. (213) 365-3500, (714) 740-7878. (Benefit tickets: [310] 258-0580.) Running time: 90 minutes.