‘Yo Gabba Gabba! Live’ frolics into town

That night, the gab was all "Gabba."

One month ago, actor Jeffrey Tambor visited "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Conversation went like this:

Tambor: "Do you watch 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'?"

Ferguson: "No, no I don't. One of the boys is too old and the other is too young."

Tambor: "You don't like 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'?"

Ferguson: "I didn't say I didn't like it. I just haven't seen it."

Tambor: "I have a career announcement. I am going to be on 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' "

Audience: "Woohoo!" (Sustained applause.)

Discourse then detoured into Ferguson's affinity for mimicking effeminate Nazis. But let's stick with "Yo Gabba Gabba!" as this is a story about a kids' show. Seems celebrities cherish a "Gabba!" gig.

"Jeffrey played the king of the small village, a fun little part, but he was really excited. He watches the show at home with his preschool kids," says "Yo" co-creator Christian Jacobs.

"The guests we gravitate toward are the ones doing it for their own kids. Brad Pitt, we weren't paying him to wear our DJ Lance costume. He did it because his kids watch the show and he wanted to be a good dad. That's awesome. That's what we're trying to be, good dads."

Toss moms in too, especially those who want to score some brownie points with their tender-age offspring by escorting them to "Yo Gabba Gabba! Live: It's Time to Dance," the look-it's-them-in-the-furry-flesh!" incarnation of the hit TV series, pulling into the Orleans Arena on Sunday.

Celebrities -- aka "special guests" -- have been popping up on the tour, and a few, we're teased, could surface at The Orleans. Those who've already dropped in on the big bash include Moby, Snoop Dogg, Kid Koala, Keri Russell, the Roots, Lou Diamond Phillips and Jason Reitman.

"It's totally engaging for preschoolers. There's no storyline for them to follow. It's interactive singing, dancing, playing along with the characters," says Glenn Orsher, director/producer of the live show, and a keeper of the "Gabba Gabba!" fame flame.

"In this age demographic, you're giving kids their very first live entertainment experience. That's a sacred trust, and I want to deliver on it in a way that is unforgettable, an experience that's shared between the parents and the kids and they can talk about for years to come."

That cuddlesome gang of "Gabba" sprites -- Muno the cyclops, Foofa the pink flower bubble, Brobee, that cheery green creature, Plex, the yellow robot and Toodee the blue-cat dragon, plus that bundle of electricity known as show host DJ Lance -- will be on hand to enlarge the experience children (and their parents) have gotten watching the TV show since its 2007 debut on Nickelodeon.

You know: the show that gives us "Party in My Tummy," in which Brobee invites the ignored carrots and green beans on his plate into the shindig in his belly. Everyone, now: "There's a party in my tummy -- so yummy, so yummy," the lonely veggies finally making the gastrointestinal scene.

" 'Party in My Tummy' comes straight from the age-old lessons and problems you have with your kids, coming up with an inventive way to get your kids to eat vegetables," Jacobs says. "Scott (Schultz, co-creator) plays that game at home with his own kids. Most of the life lessons are coming right out of our homes and straight onto the television."

Such tunes are a "Gabba" staple, but Orsher -- who prepped for the tour by watching three seasons' worth of shows numbering nearly 80 episodes -- finds the less celebrated gems to lend some live panache.

"Sometimes there's something very special tucked away in the corner of an episode," Orsher says. "There's one called 'I Like Bugs' that was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen and different than most of the other music. It has a rap feel to it and we turned it into a big number with five costumed bugs. It pays to go back with a fresh set of eyes."

Oh, and parents? Relax. Producers aren't treating you simply as chaperones. "When I went to shows with my kids, I was watching the clock the whole time and couldn't wait to get out, so I promised myself I would never subject parents to that kind of torture," Orsher says. "We're creating levels of entertainment that are aimed not only at kids, but at the parents."

We return you now to "The Late Late Show," as Jeffrey Tambor reacts to Craig Ferguson's imitation of campy Nazis:

Tambor: "This is the same mind that won't watch 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' "

Ferguson: "I never said I wouldn't watch it!"

Tambor: "I'm playing Mini-King. He's on your hand. I'm a hero in my house."

Ferguson: "That's awesome. Since 'Muppets in Space,' I've worried that you're not hitting the 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' market."

Can anyone miss it? It's the biggest, baddest kid on the kids' TV block.

That's the truth, yo.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.