| Get set to 'Wiggle' to foreign lands
Captain Feathersword and the rest of the gang are all here with 2 shows at The Palace. By Ellyce Field / Special to The Detroit News Ahoy, me hearties! Follow Captain Feathersword, the friendly pirate, aboard his ship, the S.S. Feathersword to accompany the Wiggles to distant shores in their latest musical show, "The Wiggles Live!: Sailing Around the World." The show docks at The Palace for two performances on Monday. It's only "fair dinkum" (Aussie-speak for proper) that you take your toddlers to this lively show. We caught up by phone with Captain Feathersword in New York before the 23-city Mid-Atlantic tour began. The Captain takes center stage on the Wiggles' just released recording, "The Wiggles -- Sailing Around the World," the basis for this season's new live show. This is the 11th year the humble and charming Paul Paddick has been the Captain. "I came in when the Wiggles had been going for about 2 1/2 years. I sort of fell into it because my girlfriend at the time was sharing a flat with Anthony," Paddick says. "For five weeks, I'd start the show as Dorothy, Wags or Captain Feathersword, then put on a blue T-shirt and fill in for Anthony. About six months after that, they asked me to take the roles of Wags and the Captain." As the Wiggles phenomena grew, so did Captain Feathersword's role. Soon Paddick was playing only the Captain and playing him to the hilt. "I stayed very standard with my catchphrases, like 'Ahoy me hearties!' 'Woohoo!' 'Arrrgh!' My character hasn't changed that much, but he's become a little less boisterous," Paddick says. "I used to fall over and bump into things. Now at my age, I don't do this as much." In his 30s, Paddick is married and the father of 5-month-old Connor. He still does a highly energetic pirate dance (which kids copy all the time), and the Wiggles can press "pirate buttons" and make him do anything such as dance like a kangaroo or sing like Celine Dion. In the new arena show, the Wiggles set sail for many distinct foreign shores -- Mexico City, Sydney, San Francisco, Athens and London -- teaching children simple new words and tying musical styles and silly dancing to each location. "We have the pirate ship on stage and lots of flags," Paddick says. "We incorporate several new songs, but the kids want to hear the old favorite songs, too." |