Blippi, the YouTube edutainer with a penchant for repeating himself and narrating his every move, is coming to Abu Dhabi! He's coming to Abu Dhabi! Did you know he's coming to Abu Dhabi?
If you have children under five, you might be familiar with the bow-tied blue-and-orange-clad character, with his bright glasses and indefatigable cheeriness.
You might also know he's performing at Etihad Arena in a show called Blippi: The Musical on February 18 and 19.
Racking up one billion views per month on YouTube, Blippi leads children through familiar environments, such as a children’s museum, a ball pit or an indoor play centre. He crawls, barks like a dog, stumbles and gets up. And he talks. Oh, how he talks.
He verbalises every move he makes so that toddlers and preschool-age children can learn the words associated with his actions. But now you, the parent, are investing in noise-cancelling headphones, even as you marvel at just how absorbed your children are and how keen their powers of association.
Blippi: The Musical will take the capital’s children through a special live musical performance of this feat of self-narration. Gambolling about onstage with other Blippi characters, Blippi and co will sing and dance and invite parents and children to sing along as well.
“Now that Blippi has grown as a character, we’re so thrilled to be able to bring him off the screen to delight children live on stage,” says Josh Blackburn, the executive producer of the musical.
Blackburn worked with an army of designers, writers, actors, choreographers and composers to put together the Abu Dhabi show.
There are now two Blippis, the original, Stevin W John and new actor Clayton Grimm — a changeover that was somewhat controversial and much talked-about among parents on social media. It's not clear yet whether John, Grimm or indeed a third actor will be part of Blippi: The Musical in Abu Dhabi.
You can, however, expect all the familiar Blippi songs including The Excavator Song, whose vague resemblance to 1990s indie rock makes it a step up from Baby Shark in terms of tunes to have in your head for 12 days straight.
This will be Blippi: The Musical’s first foray in the Middle East after running for more than 500 performances across the US and UK. It is being staged by Flash Entertainment.
“Since Blippi is a digitally native brand and character, we had to dig deep into all of the children's content available on YouTube, Netflix and other streamers to know what kids and families expect and are familiar with in relation to these brands,” says Blackburn, who describes Blippi as the “ultimate play date”.
“Blippi, while an adult, speaks to children on their level, and inspires children’s natural curiosity for the world around them. He encourages learning through doing, playing and exploring, and children are delighted to learn alongside him.”
Blippi: The Musical will hold four performances at Etihad Arena, Yas Island, on 18 and 19 February 2023. Tickets are available at www.etihadarena.ae
