“Animaniacs: In Concert" at the Orpheum Theatre -- April 12.
Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre, 57 South Kellogg Street, Galesburg IL
Boasting the talents of Emmy Award-winning composer Randy Rogel on piano and the vocal talents of Emmy winner Rob Paulsen (famed for voicing Yakko and Pinky on Animaniacs and Raphael on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), the touring sensation Animaniacs in Concert lands at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on April 12, the show delivering a zany, animany, totally insanely time as Rogel and Paulsen perform popular songs from the beloved cartoon series backed by the original projected animation.
Created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation, Animaniacs originally aired on Fox's Fox Kids block in 1993 before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until the series ended on November 14, 1998. Animaniacs is the second animated series by Warner Bros. Television Animation to be produced in association with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment after Tiny Toon Adventures. It initially ran a total of 99 episodes, along with a feature-length film, Wakko's Wish. Reruns later aired on Cartoon Network from 1997 to 2001, Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2005, Nicktoons from 2002 to 2005, and Discovery Family (known as The Hub Network at the time) from 2012 to 2014.
Although animated, Animaniacs is essentially a variety show, with short skits featuring a large cast of characters; while the show had no set format, the majority of episodes were composed of three short mini-episodes, each starring a different set of characters, and bridging segments. Hallmarks of the series included its music, satirical social commentary, pop-culture references, character catchphrases, and innuendo directed at an adult audience.
Animaniacs had a variety of music types. Many Animaniacs songs were parodies of classical or folk music with educational lyrics. These include Yakko's World and the Nations of the World updated in which Yakko sings the names of all countries at the time to the tune of the "Mexican Hat Dance"; various mistakes are present, with various disputed territories included and some countries missing or erroneously named. "Wakko's America" listed all the United States and their capitals to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw." Another song, titled "The Presidents," named every U.S. president at the time to the tune of the "William Tell Overture" (with brief snippets of the tunes "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" and "Dixie"). Non-educational song parodies were also used, such as "Slippin' on the Ice," a parody of "Singin' in the Rain." Most of the groups of characters had their own theme songs for their segments on the show. The Animaniacs theme song, performed by the Warners' voice actors, won an Emmy Award, and several Animaniacs albums and sing-along VHS tapes were released, including the CDs Animaniacs, Yakko's World, and Animaniacs Variety Pack, and the tapes Animaniacs Sing-Along: Yakko's World and Animaniacs Sing-Along: Mostly in Toon.
Animaniacs in Concert comes to the Orpheum Theatre on April 12, admission to the 7:30 p.m. is $30-45, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)342-2299 and visiting GalesburgOrpheum.org.
