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The hit kids show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" made a smooth transition from television to live show for one simple reason.
It was always planned that way.
"Being on the road for so long with the Aquabats, that was definitely part of our plan," said Christian Jacobs, a creator/writer/producer/director of "Yo Gabba Gabba!" who also performs as MC Bat Commander in the ska-punk band Aquabats — which features band members dressed up as superheroes.
"The Aquabats itself is very cartoony," said Jacobs. "We were playing all these shows, and it was mostly for high-school and college kids. But the little brothers and sisters of these high-school punker kids were coming to the shows — 5-, 6-, 7-year-old kids. And they're really excited about the Aquabats.
"And we thought, 'Wow, this could totally work. What if we just aimed it a lot younger?' That's where 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' came around."
Jacobs, a former child actor who was born in Rexburg, Idaho, and grew up in Los Angeles, teamed up with another new father, Scott Schultz, to create a show for their children.
"We had 2-, 3-, 4-year-old kids," Jacobs said. "And we were watching preschool shows with them and thinking, 'Hey, we could make something cool. Why can't we do this? We're already kind of doing it.' "
And "Yo Gabba Gabba!" was born.
The Nick Jr. show debuted in 2007 and was an instant smash with the younger set. The much-younger set — it's aimed at 3 to 6 year olds.
But this isn't "Barney." "Yo Gabba Gabba!" is a music/variety show filled with colorful characters, singing and dancing that can entertain the youngsters' parents as well.
"I think, first and foremost, 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' is a music show," Jacobs said. "And we always thought that the next step was a live show."
The "Yo Gabba Gabba!" live show returns to Utah for a pair of shows at Kingsbury Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
Turning a TV show into a live show isn't without complications.
"The trickier thing about translating it to the stage was just transitioning between all the different acts, because 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' is very much a variety show for kids," Jacobs said. "There's lots of music and different bands and dancey dances and guests, and that was the part we wanted to have in the live show.
"We had to figure out — how do we get Biz Markie in and how do we make sure DJ Lance Rock is there at the shows?"
But they've made the "Yo Gabba Gabba!" tour the American equivalent of Australia's The Wiggles. There are millions of kids out there who love "Yo Gabba Gabba!" and millions of parents who take them to see the show.
And everyone is entertained, even if the parents are entertained by how much fun their kids are having.
"We always had planned on it being a live show — a live concert experience for kids," Jacobs said. "We have such fun with it, we want everyone else to have fun, too."
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'Yo Gabba Gabba!'
The hit kids show comes to the stage.
When •Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 3 and 6 p.m.
Where • Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City
Tickets •$25 and $35, available at the box office, by calling 801-581-7100, or at kingtix.com