Zoinks! ‘Scooby-Doo & The Lost City Of Gold’ Takes Fans Through Animatronic, 3D Adventures In 2020

Scooby Doo

Ella Louise Allaire and Martin Lord Ferguson with Scooby-Doo

Three generations of fans have grown up with Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Velma as they solve mysteries and, despite having just turned 50, the gang will embark on their most ambitious quest yet as “Scooby-Doo! And The Lost City of Gold” takes audiences on an adventure through South American jungles in a theatrical tour kicking off March 18 at Scotiabank in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

And it will be a journey unlike any other, with the help of very 21st century technology that transports the 6’4” Great Dane and his pals, along with the Mystery Machine, to Alta Luz, a fictitious South American city, where they investigate sightings of the spooky La Dama de Oro (The Lady in Gold) that threatens to frighten away attendees from an annual music festival and Incan sun god celebration.

Monlove and partners Warner Bros. Consumer Products are bringing the beloved cartoon to life with the help of puppetry, animatronics, original music, magic, singing, dancing, interactive video, aerial acrobatics and 3D video mapping all designed to create an immersive experience unlike any other in the franchise’s 50 years while respecting the history that made “Scooby-Doo!” an enduring cultural touchstone.

Scooby himself is an outsized animatronic and puppeteer-operated pooch that required 12 designers and more than 1,600 hours to create and, in a nod to that history, is voiced by Frank Welkert, an original voice from the cartoon series that launched in 1969.

What’s happening is that in the show there’s one character we could not get to speak live because he’s a puppet, and that’s Scooby, says Martin Lord Ferguson, Monlove’s chief creative officer. That’s why we went to Frank Welker to do the voice and he accepted, and we’re very proud of that. He’s been doing it for 50 years. He doesn’t do it for just any kind of project, he does it for feature films and other very-high end products. 

Unlike traditional theatrical sets, there won’t be a fourth wall separating audience from performance. “Scooby-Doo! & The City Of Gold” will take place across more than 20 sets as opposed to the typical three or four – and yet the technology is compact enough that it fits in three trucks.

Ella Louise Allaire, the founder and president of puppet shop Monlove, is a conceptor, librettist, composer, lyricist, producer and entrepreneur with an international reputation as a creator of family friendly projects including “Ice Age Live!,” and “The Nut Job & Friends Live!,” and has worked on several Cirque du Soleil projects such as “Ka,” “Mystére” and “Alegria” among others, and the upcoming 3D film production “Worlds Away.”  The company has also consulted on Olympic Games ceremonies in Vancouver and  Sochi.

She explained her vision to Pollstar from the company’s shop in Montreal, as the team prepares to launch the tour’s first leg, and explained the challenges in updating a much-loved but one-dimensional cartoon series to the live stage.

“Scooby-Doo! & The Lost City Of Gold” tour trailer:


“In a way we want the brand to evolve and get a new life and a second breath but we have to stay with what made it so good,” Allaire says. “What made it so good was that it was funny, it had teamwork, they were solving mysteries; they were bright kids! It is a way to inspire children and families to work together, and also the friendship with the dog and the love of animals.

“Those values are our values; we sort of make these family shows because we want to give a good moment to families so they can also be together, spread the love, and these are things important to us. I don’t think we would make a depression show. For us it’s very important to bring a sense of hope, of joy, of love to what we do. Respecting the brand is so important and that’s such a great brand that had that from the beginning and we are getting to bring those values but with new language and a new take on it.”

The production will enable audiences to join the journey as the Mystery Machine takes its first flight to the South American city, through amazing landscapes, ancient civilizations, legends, and culture. As they sniff for clues (and snacks), a trail of extinct purple irises leads them through fantastic landscapes and a maze of mystery as they meet new friends and maybe foes: Miguel the groundskeeper, Luis the lama, botanist Professor Falcone, the Pachacuties, and Ayar Manco (the 13th Century founder of the Incan civilization). Dancing is encouraged.

“There are 16 songs and I think are very dynamic, uptempo, and I’d say it’s always difficult to describe exactly but it has always had this sound to the score,” Allaire explains. “One of our characters plays a triangle and an American guitar, there’s glockenspiel.

“There’s the adventure side of it but some surprises, too. All the characters sing and act, so there’s an incorporation of the language of a good rhythmic song and different genres to give it something interesting and surprising. It’s a big tour.”

The first leg of 55 shows takes Scooby and pals to cities including Madison, Wis.; Rosemont, Ill.; Albany, N.Y.; Redbank, N.J.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.; Indianapolis; Dallas; New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; and wraps June 28 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Ticket presale for all dates in the U.S. are available to Citi cardholders starting Nov. 13 at 10:00am local time; Ticket presale for all Canadian dates are available to AmEx cardholders starting Nov. 13 at 10:00am local time. Public on sale starts Friday, Nov. 15 at 10:00am local time at the production’s webite


SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD TOUR DATES – LEG 1

March 19, 2020                Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada                      Scotiabank Centre

March 21, 2020                Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada           Avenir Centre

March 24, 2020                Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada         Harbour Station

March 29, 2020                Laval, QC, Canada                                          Place Bell

April 02, 2020                   Madison, WI                                                   Capitol Theater

April 05, 2020                   Rosemont, IL                                                   Rosemont Theatre

April 10, 2020                   Englewood, NJ                                                Bergen PAC

April 11, 2020                   Englewood, NJ                                                Bergen PAC

April 18, 2020                   Upper Darby, PA                                           Tower Theater

April 19, 2020                   Lancaster, PA                                                  American Music Theatre

April 21, 2020                   Albany, NY                                                       Palace Theatre

April 22, 2020                   Red Bank, NJ                                                   Count Basie Theatre

April 23, 2020                   Mashantucket, CT                                         Foxwoods Casino – The Fox Theater

April 24, 2020                   Mashantucket, CT                                         Foxwoods Casino – The Fox Theater

April 25, 2020                   White Plains, NY                                            Westchester County Center

April 26, 2020                   Brooklyn, NY                                                   Kings Theatre

April 30, 2019                   Rochester, NY                                                 Kodak Center

May 02, 2020                    Washington, DC                                             Warner Theatre

May 05, 2020                    Saginaw, MI                                                     Dow Event Center

May 06, 2020                    Youngstown, OH                                            H.W. Stambaugh Auditorium

May 09, 2020                    Indianapolis, IN                                              Murat Theatre at Old National Centre

May 10, 2020                    Indianapolis, IN                                              Murat Theatre at Old National Centre

May 12, 2020                    Davenport, IA                                                 Adler Theatre

May 13, 2020                    Milwaukee, WI                                               Riverside Theater

May 17, 2020                    Fargo, ND                                                         Fargo Civic Auditorium

May 19, 2020                    Sioux Falls, SD                                                 Washington Pavilion

May 21, 2020                    Denver, CO                                                      Paramount Theatre

May 23, 2020                    Colorado Springs, CO                                    Pikes Peak Center

May 24, 2020                    Fort Collins, CO                                              The Lincoln Center

May 27, 2020                    El Paso, TX                                                       Plaza Theatre

May 28, 2020                    Midland, TX                                                     Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center

May 30, 2020                    Austin, TX                                                         Dell Hall

May 31, 2020                    Austin, TX                                                         Dell Hall

June 02, 2020                    San Antonio, TX                                              Majestic Theatre

June 04, 2020                    Dallas, TX                                                         Majestic Theater

June 05, 2020                    Sugar Land, TX                                                Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land

June 06, 2020                    New Orleans, LA                                            Mahalia Jackson Theater 

June 07, 2020                    Mobile, AL                                                       Saenger Theatre

June 09, 2020                    Birmingham, AL                                              Alabama Theatre

June 10, 2020                    Louisville, KY                                                   The Louisville Palace

June 11, 2020                    Nashville, TN                                                   Grand Ole Opry House

June 12, 2020                    Durham, NC                                                    Durham Performing Arts Center

June 13, 2020                    N. Charleston, SC                                           N. Charleston Performing Arts Center

June 14, 2020                    Atlanta, GA                                                      Fox Theatre

June 16, 2020                    Clearwater, FL                                                Ruth Eckerd Hall

June 17, 2020                    Clearwater, FL                                                Ruth Eckerd Hall

June 20, 2020                    Ft. Lauderdale, FL                                          Broward Center For The Perf. Arts

June 21, 2020                    Ft. Lauderdale, FL                                          Broward Center For The Perf. Arts

June 24, 2020                    Orlando, FL                                                      Dr. Phillips Center for the Perf. Arts

June 25, 2020                    Orlando, FL                                                      Dr. Phillips Center for the Perf. Arts

June 27, 2020                    Jacksonville, FL                                               Times Union Center for the Perf. Arts

June 28, 2020                    Jacksonville, FL                                               Times Union Center for the Perf. Arts