The Alvin & The Chipmunks movies are a regular feature at my house, so I was delighted to see that a live stage show had been developed and was coming to Lowell! The kind folks at Lowell Memorial Auditorium provided tickets for both shows as a giveaway prize for a lucky winner and also so we could check out the show.
The Alvin & The Chipmunks Live on Stage show was delightful from beginning to end! There was a small crew of "real" actors, playing Dave, Ian and others rotating among several parts. They were all excellent, funny and very engaging -- the actor playing Ian (the bad guy) clearly had a lot of fun playing up his nasty character.
The Chipmunks were awesome. They looked just like the movie characters, and their faces had lots of movement -- blinking, moving mouth, etc. Their costumes were cute -- lots of costume changes -- and they did an amazing job singing and dancing and just having fun with it all.
The show was really well staged. There was a lot of interaction with the crowd -- two Chipmunks came out to the audience at one point and gave high-fives. During one scene where snow was falling on stage, there was a long flurry of confetti snow over the floor audience; the kids loved it!
https://youtu.be/6O5kKwWdWx0
Streamers blow out over the audience several times, and one awesome scene involved a "food" fight where the chipmunks threw little plush foods out to the audience (and even used a power shooter to blast a ton at the audience).
https://youtu.be/5haA92RTltA
The backdrop was actually a movie projected onto solid walls, and it was incredibly well designed. The scenes when the Chipmunks' bus rolled down city streets felt so real due to the projected movie on the stage set that it was almost dizzying. It worked particularly well at the end of the show, when the stage was supposed to be doing a 360 degree turn so the Chipmunks could perform at a concert. The combination of the video projection showing a turning stage, plus the Chipmunks turning a full circle, made it feel incredibly real.
The Chipmunks and Chipettes performed lots of fun and well-known songs, making it easy for the audience to dance and sing along, including:
"Good Time" cover (originally by Owl City featuring Carly Rae Jepsen)
https://youtu.be/hnCbYBWsteE
"Party Rock Anthem" (originally by LMFAO)
https://youtu.be/gBz2XwQI0Rs
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" (originally by Bobby McFerrin) (I particularly liked this one, since they're shoveling snow -- it seemed apt for the coming winter!)
https://youtu.be/48m2C1aGBwY
Cotton Eyed Joe
https://youtu.be/1-hbfi2mykc
If your kids love Alvin & The Chipmunks, this show will definitely be a big hit!
Alvin & The Chipmunks Live on Stage will be in New England again on November 12, performing at the Ryan Center in Kingston RI.
My family was provided with free tickets to the show in exchange for this review. No other compensation was received, and all opinions expressed are my own.
