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Kids giggle at over-the-top Wiggles from Down Under
08/18/03 John Petkovic Plain Dealer Reporter Loopier than the Teletubbies. More flamboyant than the Fab Five. Hipper than Barney.Just who are these ooky- kooky chaps from Down Under? Hey, hey, they're the Wiggles. And the preschoolers loved to see them wiggle at Cleveland State University's Convocation Center. Yesterday, 4,000 tykes and the parents they rode in with laughed, clapped and danced to the fast-paced Australian song-and-dance group. The matinee was the first of two shows yesterday at the arena. They perform again today, at 3 and 7 p.m.The shows have been sold out for weeks. Yep, the Wiggles are the hottest kiddy band going. You wouldn't have known it yesterday.The Wiggles didn't act like rock stars; they were more like funky uncles leading a birthday bash at a Ground RoundThe Wiggles led tykes through "Taba Naba," a ditty that evokes hula girls and Tiki bars - the kind that serve milk, of course. They also did the "monkey dance": Hop around and make weird sounds through your teeth.They even had the little ones wake up Jeff. Who? If you have to ask, you're either seriously clueless or at least 7 years old.Jeff Fatt, you see, is the narcoleptic Wiggle. Whenever he dozes off, the other Wiggles summon the crowd for a wake-up call.The first time, Jeff hopped around like a kangaroo. Other times, he and Wiggles Greg Page and Murray Cook kicked into a routine with a herd of characters.There was Captain Feathersword. Henry the Octopus. Dorothy the Dinosaur. Wags the Dog. And an army of Wiggle rats wagging along.But there was no Anthony Field, er, I mean, Anthony Wiggle. (Like the Ramones, the Wiggles use an adopted surname.) The band's most notorious Wiggle was MIA due to a hernia.No matter. A stand-in took his place and, other than the tykes who muttered something about Anthony's obsession with fruit salad, few noticed.It's no surprise. The Wiggles stimulate with color and motion. Sure, the appeal is basic; after all, it even works with cats.But the Wiggles cross any number of jumpy, pre-video-era styles, from slapstick to English dance hall.That's not to say they don't have videos. Or merchandise. Or a corporation behind them.The Wiggles are managed by the people who brought us Barney, with whom they've been cross-marketed. Their TV parent is Mickey Mouse Inc. And the line of items for sale is endless, as the concession stand showed.The tykes pointed at shirts, hats, action figures. The parents reached for their wallets. And an adjacent ATM did brisk businessAs David Lee Roth once sang, "The cradle will rock." |