On the heels of two highly successful national tours, BFFs Toopy and Binoo have announced a return to the live stage for an all new 50-city national tour, including Red Deer’s Memorial Centre on Sept. 26th.
Sunwing.ca presents ‘Toopy and Binoo: Fun and Games’, their wackiest and most interactive adventure yet. The dynamic duo plus the energetic boot stomping Dusteroos and limbo-loving sheep begin their new quest to find the best game ever.
“Audiences are wild for this flamboyant production where imaginations remain untamed. Toopy and Binoo are the epitome of uninhibited fun,” said Patti Caplette, an award-winning choreographer who is also writer and director of multiple Koba Entertainment productions including Toopy and Binoo. “The cast and I are getting our funny bones in training for the ingenious silliness of Toopy and Binoo. No wonder audiences love them, it’s non-stop fun and games!”
The characters are based on the pair from the animated series for preschoolers based on the books created by Dominique Jolin. Toopy is a funny, friendly, optimistic, impulsive mouse whose zest for life is matched only by his love for his best friend, Binoo. Binoo is a lovable cat who is logical, sensible, and thinks before he acts and he is devoted to his best friend Toopy.
As for the latest show, ‘Toopy and Binoo: Fun and Games’, the production integrates music, theatre, dance, puppetry and innovative multimedia technology to create an off the wall experience that will delight the family. Toopy and Binoo blend optimism, imagination and spontaneity in their quest to find the best game ever.
The story unfolds when a toy chest full of mismatched games and puzzles ignites the pair’s imagination.
“This is such an energetic, wonderful show,” said Caplette, adding there are seven cast members who play 24 roles throughout the show. “It’s really amazingly bright, colourful and beautiful.
“Toopy and Binoo are really such wacky characters. Toopy is a giant mouse and he has a stuffy friend called Binoo, who really is the intelligence of the duo. Toopy is the most fun loving, playful character you could ever meet and they love to play games. This whole show is centered around what games they are going to play.”
The foundation of every show is one of unabashed imagination, she said. “There are no boundaries to the imagination or the fun. And Toopy and Binoo are the quintessential duo who have taken things way beyond the word ‘imagination’. They really break boundaries – it’s a great program.”
Audiences will enjoy watching as Toopy and Binoo dance with Xs and Os, wiggle with smiling snakes and try to outsmart a gang of dancing ladders. Along with tea-partying cats, Dusteroos and a flock of fun-loving sheep, Toopy and Binoo indeed embark on their wackiest and most interactive adventure yet.
For Caplette, she first discovered her love of performing arts at her mother’s dance studio in Vancouver where by age five she was showing an early knack for choreography and playwriting. Between 1973 and 1992 she performed in more than 400 cities in 19 countries including United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, Egypt and Mexico and starred in productions by international choreographers. And after three years with Les Grands Ballets, she joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet where, over 15 years with the company, she danced in many productions including Peter Wright’s Giselle, John Neumeier’s Nutcracker, Agnes de Milne’s Fall River Legend and Rudi Van Datzig’s Romeo and Juliet.
After much success as a dancer, she turned to choreography and was soon creating award-winning work for dance companies, the opera, the symphony and even the circus. Besides Toopy and Binoo, Koba’s touring shows feature characters from children’s literature and television including The Backyardigans, Franklin the Turtle, Max & Ruby, Doodlebops and Caillou. As for Toopy and Binoo, the characters made their television debut in 2005 and climbed into the hearts of children in hundreds of countries, including Treehouse TV (Canada), Tiji (France), Rai Sat (Italy) and Sun TV (India).
Meanwhile, Caplette really couldn’t be in a more fitting line of work. “I work with amazing casts and amazing co-creators,” she said. “My cast is also a wonderful group of performers – they are out on the road, they are troopers and they live to perform. I just love working with that kind of energy. “It also keeps me young – I was born into theatre and have been in theatre all my life,” she said. “It’s something I want to bring to families to have as part of their lives, too. And hopefully propagate more theatre-goers, patrons and people who will continue to keep the art of theatre alive.”
For ticket information visit, https://tickets.blackknightinn.ca.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
