Scooby Doo! Where Are You?

Scooby Doo and Mystery Inc. will go in search of a ghost next week at the Walton Arts Center.

Scooby Doo! Live Musical Mysteries will be performed at the theater Tuesday and Wednesday. The show revolves around who the ghost is at the Walton Arts Center and why the ghost is haunting the theater, director Theresa Borg says. The production is currently on a North American tour.

The show is a tribute to American musical theater, she says. Along with directing, Borg wrote the book and lyrics and some of the music.

“In this production, we’ve tried to make a pint-sized piece of music theater that the whole family can enjoy,” she says.

Songs include the Scooby Doo theme song, “We’re Mystery Inc.,” and “Round Every Corner,” which is sung when the gang is traveling through a maze in the theater.

The set for the show will be different parts of a theater, such as dressing rooms, on stage or back stage. Borg notes it looks “quite magical.”

The production features special effects - a ghost, a smoke machine and bubbles - but nothing too scary, Borg says. They are “a great introduction to the scary fun that is the traditional Scooby Doo.”

The characters on stage will be constantly interacting with the children in the audience, as children are encouraged to alert the gang when a ghost might be close by, yell out who they think the ghost is andwhat they think is the solution to the mystery, she says.

The show is geared toward ages 3 to 10. She adds that the goal is to entertain the audience and never talk down to them.

“Children want to be invited into new worlds,” she says.

Borg has three children and one of the great things about becoming involved with the Scooby Doo brand is that her children love it and she has grown up with Scooby Doo.

She says she loves the gang, adding that they’re “just such admirable young people.”

“They’ve got great integrity.

The girls are strong and clever role models. There’s great cooperation between the members of the group,” she says.

There are also great opportunities for different types of comedy, such as spoken word or physical comedy, she adds.

Borg says her favorite part of theater is watching the audience.

“I want to see the kids yelling, and I want to see the delight on their faces when they participate in the wonderful experience that is live theater.”