‘I feel like Taylor Swift’: Paw Patrol’s Skye calls live show a rock concert
Audiences scream at the actors from the stage. They run around, they dance, they sing along. Loudly. Some try to crawl onstage from mosh pits at the front of theaters.
And Jenna Barricklo loves every moment.
That’s because she plays Skye in the touring production of “PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure,” which hits The Theater at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21.
“It is absolutely the cutest thing ever,” she said. “You can never have a bad show because you have an audience of toddlers, and it’s the best day of their lives. It’s just so exciting because they’re having such a fun time, they’re the best audiences.”
In fact, their reactions may remind you of another pop icon with a rabid fan base.
“It’s like a rock concert when I come on stage as Skye. I feel like Taylor Swift. They’re absolutely losing their minds screaming your name and it is adorable,” she said.
In addition to the overload of cuteness, Barricklo says because “Paw Patrol” is geared toward young children, she enjoys being able to be part of many of their very first shows.
“I find it really special to be a part of their first experience, potentially, of theater. Hopefully it makes a lasting impact and gets them excited about coming to see theater in the future. This is an experience that they’ll take away and hopefully remember for the rest of their life, it’s really special,” she said.
She also said it’s a unique experience for the actors that will help them in their careers.
“I think now I can do theater literally anywhere with any audience, because there’s nothing like the crowd screaming your dog’s character’s name from the audience to distract you 10,000 times and you just have to stay focused and do the show for them,” she laughed. “I think now I could truly do anything because nothing is as distracting as kids screaming at you for an hour and a half − now we can do it all!”
In addition to intense focus, Barricklo says the puppeteering the actors in “Paw Patrol” do to bring the beloved characters to life is a great skill, one that was new to her coming in.
“Already singing, dancing and acting is kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, and to add in dancing in a puppet and also having to make their eyes move, their mouth move, their ears move. It was an added layer that you don’t even anticipate how much it makes your brain work,” she said.
Not only is the mental gymnastics difficult, but Barricklo’s Skye puppet weighs 40 pounds, so the actors get quite the physical workout on stage, too.
Barricklo says Skye is a great role model.
“I love that her whole thing is ‘no job’s too big, no pup’s too small’ and she’s the littlest, but she stands up for herself. She’s sassy. She doesn’t take no for an answer and see won’t let the bigger dogs walk all over her. She stands her ground. I love it. So I think she’s such a great role model for little girls to see, a small girl like them who has a big personality and really doesn’t ever take no for an answer and she is strong in her beliefs.”
Barricklo grew up in New York City and attended the Professional Performing Arts School before attaining her BFA in musical theater from Shenandoah University.
She teaches theater and dance to kindergartners through eighth-graders when she’s not on the road, making “Paw Patrol” the perfect production for her.
“I have really deep passion for children’s theater and children’s theater (education),” she said. “So to get to do this show combines two things that I really love. It’s cool for me to get to really experience what children’s theater is. You perform the show to tens of thousands of kids at this point, so it’s very cool to really get a firsthand, immersive experience into how kids take in theater and how they see theater, what they react to.”
Getting to perform at Madison Square Garden will be a homecoming for Barricklo.
“When I found out we were playing Madison Square Garden, I could not believe it. This is like the dream you didn’t even know you could. Some of my first concerts were at Madison Square Garden growing up as a teenager. I walked by and I went to school in that neighborhood. I think it’s going to be a pinch-me moment.”
GO: “PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure,” 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20, 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plaza, Manhattan. For tickets, starting at $66, visit ticketmaster.com.