Gimme paw … “Blue’s Clues” is back.
The iconic children’s series returns to Nickelodeon Monday (1 p.m.) in a new iteration, “Blue’s Clues & You!,” starring Joshua Dela Cruz who, armed with his Handy Dandy Notebook, works with his (CGI-animated) puppy pal Blue, her friend Magenta and the rest of the crew (Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, the talking Mailbox et al.) to educate and entertain preschoolers.
“Our mission is to help kids be prepared for kindergarten and beyond,” says Dela Cruz, 30. “It’s my job to make kids laugh and forget they’re learning … and to create positive memories for kids associated with learning that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.”
The original “Blue’s Clues” aired from 1996-2006, first with host Steve Burns as “Steve” and then with Donovan Patton as Steve’s brother, “Joe.” Both will occasionally appear on “Blue’s Clues & You!” (they’re in the series premiere); Burns is a consulting producer and helped cast Dela Cruz, who was chosen from over 3,000 hopefuls.
“[Steve] was at my first screen test but kind of snuck off on me,” says Dela Cruz, who spent five years in the Broadway production of “Aladdin.” “The room was draped — there were curtains everywhere for sound, lights, etc. — and this figure emerged from behind a curtain and I realized it was Steve Burns staring me right in my face. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea.’ I was filled with sheer terror that for the past 10 minutes he was watching me doing this thing he created.”
Dela Cruz, who lives in New York City with his wife, Amanda, grew up in North Jersey (New Milford) and watched the original “Blue’s Clues” with his younger sister — but says his entree into children’s television is an unexpected career path.
“I never thought I’d work in children’s TV and I definitely didn’t think I’d work on ‘Blue’s Clues,’ which is so iconic and had run its course,” he says. “I loved ‘Aladdin’ and loved doing the show and working with the company … but I found myself still wanting … to help people and do something more than just entertaining them.”
Dela Cruz went through a number of auditions and callbacks before winning the role which, due to the show’s animated components, necessitates him working on a set missing most of what viewers will see in the finished product. Each episode can take anywhere from three-to-five shooting days.
“It’s completely weird, especially coming from the stage, where there’s an audience and you can pretty much tell what’s working by the audience’s reaction,” he says. “When I got to the set [to film the show] it has to be silent and many times I’d end a take and turn to someone and say, ‘Was that funny?’ You really have to trust yourself and your timing. I was working with a green box and acting to pieces of tape on the floor, a tennis ball if I was lucky.
“I have an amazing on-set assistant, Ashley Kranz, who plays every single character before the actors [playing the other roles] get into the sound booth,” he says. “She’s Blue, Salt and Pepper, the kids at home etc. and she’s also an actor. Without her the show wouldn’t work.”
Angela Santomero and Traci Paige Johnson, who created the original series (along with Todd Kessler), are back for the new version.
“Angela has a background in childhood development and everyone on her team and on this show … everything we do from the script to the animation to the colors to the way our games are presented to the notes I get on the set — is based on research they’ve tested with kids,” Dela Cruz says.
“They’re so familiar with the show and what it means that when I’m on the set I can fill in the blanks and play in the house they’ve built for me.”