[Australian Tour] Australian Cast Announced as World Premier of Gabby's Dollhouse Live! Opens in March!
DreamWorks Animation, NBCUniversal and TEG Life Like Touring are delighted to launch the World Premiere season of Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! opening in Melbourne on 7 March 2025.
The Australian tour will play Melbourne’s Princess Theatre ahead of tour dates in Perth, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart through to 26 April 2025. Due to popular demand, additional new shows have been added in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.
This will mark the live stage debut for Gabby’s Dollhouse, the global preschool sensation from DreamWorks Animation with a cast of talented Australian and New Zealand singer-actor-puppeteers hitting the stage. The hit mixed media series follows the fun adventures of Gabby, as she unboxes a brand-new surprise in every episode before jumping into a fantastical world full of adorable cat characters that live inside her magical dollhouse.
Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! brings to life an exciting original story featuring stunning, larger than life puppets, dynamic staging, and song favourites from the hit series, performed live on stage, including “Sprinkle Party”, “Hey Gabby”, “Music In You”, “You Can’t Spell Meow Without Me” and many others.
The production stars an ensemble cast of singer-actor-puppeteers including (in order of appearance) Emily Fraser (Silver Tongue - Antipodes Theatre Company; Xanadu The Musical - PSA) as Gabby; Ursula Searle (Bluey’s Big Play – HVK Productions/Windmill Theatre Co; Fun Home – Melbourne Theatre Company) as Pandy Paws; Lauren Jimmieson (Elvis: The Musical Revolution – DVE; Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Opera Australia) as Kitty Fairy; Andy Doyle (In The Heights – Stage Art; We’re Going On A Bear Hunt – Andrew Kay & Associates) as CatRat; Jasmine Vaughns (A Christmas Carol – GWB Entertainment; Come From Away – New Theatricals) as MerCat; Rebekah Head (Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation – TEG Life Like Touring/Rockefeller Productions; Matilda – NSMT/G&T Productions) as Baby Box and Cakey, Gaz Dutlow (Choir Boy - National Theatre of Parramatta; Neighbours – Fremantle Media) as DJ Catnip, Gabrielle Ward as Ensemble/Cover (PAW Patrol Live! “Race to the Rescue” – TEG Life Like Touring; Castro’s Children – Music Theatre Melbourne) and Dean Schulz (The Who’s Tommy - Victorian Opera; MIDNIGHT – The Cinderella Musical – Aspect Entertainment) as Ensemble/Cover/Resident Director.
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TEG Group CEO Geoff Jones said: “TEG is thrilled to be bringing this beloved DreamWorks franchise to life on stage. We have a fabulous cast and incredible puppets that together will capture the magic of Gabby and her friends in a live show format.”
The tenth season of Gabby’s Dollhouse recently tracked as a Top 10 TV series in 63 countries on Netflix at launch, and the series is now enjoying success on free to air TV in Australia via Nickelodeon on 13 and on-demand through 10 Play. The much anticipated eleventh season of Gabby’s Dollhouse launched on Netflix on 17 February 2025, and a new feature film will hit cinemas in September 2025.
Universal Destinations and Experiences, SVP of Global Location Based Entertainment and Licensing, Gerald Raines stated, “We are delighted to work with TEG Life Like Touring and DreamWorks Animation to bring this exciting show to Gabby’s many fans.”
“We are so excited to be collaborating with TEG and cannot wait for this Gabby's Dollhouse stage show to hit the road and meet fans around the globe,” said Michael Vollman, EVP, Marketing for DreamWorks Animation. “Families all over the world have been dancing and singing along with Gabby and friends and bringing her to life on the stage is going to be another cat-tastic adventure not to be missed.”
The live show takes place on Friendship Festival Day in the dollhouse, a day which is all about celebrating friendship. When Gabby and Pandy unbox a special acorn, Kitty Fairy explains it is a Friendship seed which needs the magical touch of a Rainbow to bloom into a Friendship Tree! But when CatRat causes a colour cat-astrophe and breaks the rainbow, Gabby and the Gabby Cats must find the colours again to set things right. Gabby, Pandy Paws and friends travel to the Cat-O-Sphere, Mermaid-Lantis and some favourite dollhouse locations in search of the colours that will make rebuilding the rainbow possible using Kitty Fairy’s magical Friendship Flowers to join together the seven colours.
Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! is written by Dannah Phirman, from a story by Clark Stubbs and Dannah Phirman based on characters created by Jennifer Twomey & Traci Paige Johnson. The show features songs written and composed by PT Walkley.
This new Australian-made live production is directed by Elena Vereker (Sand Song – Commonwealth Games Festival/Insite Arts; Advent Calendar – Federation Square Melbourne/Insite Arts), with puppet direction by Jacob Williams (Bluey’s Big Play – HVK Productions/Windmill Theatre Co; King Kong - Alive on Broadway - Global Creatures) and Sarah Kriegler (Little Blue Dot - Lemony S Puppet Theatre, Charlie and the War Against the Grannies - Honeymoon Fresh/Arts Centre Melbourne); musical direction by Daniele Buatti (PAW Patrol Live! “Race to the Rescue” – TEG Life Like Touring; Bring It On: The Musical – Stage Masters); movement direction by Emma Waite (Eurovision Song Contest 2019 – Kate Miller-Heidke/Strange Fruit; Madonna Rebel Heart World Tour – Strange Fruit); set design by David Bramble (Sesame Street Presents Elmo's World Tour – TEG Life Like Touring; 13 The Musical – Stage Masters); puppet design by Joe Blanck (Bluey’s Big Play – HVK Productions/Windmill Theatre Co; Don Quixote – Australian Ballet), costume design by Sophie Woodward (Death of a Salesman - GWB Entertainment/Andrew Henry Presents; Topdog/Underdog - Melbourne Theatre Company); lighting design by Paul Lim (English - Melbourne Theatre Company, One Single Action - Lucy Guerin Inc); sound design by Russell Goldsmith (Exit the King - Malthouse Theatre/Company B Belvoir/Broadway Season; 33 Variations – Neil Gooding Productions); and creative production oversight by Luke Gallagher (Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries – TEG Life Like Touring; Sesame Street Presents Elmo’s Super Fun Hero Show – TEG Life Like Touring).
Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! has been built by teams of skilled artists in workshops across Melbourne, including set and prop build by TES Live Workshop and puppetry build by A Blanck Canvas. Producer TEG Life Like Touring is proud to be launching the global tour on stages across Australia in 2025.
GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE LIVE! 2025 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES*
Bunjil Place, Narre Warren VIC March 1 (Preview)
Princess Theatre, Melbourne VIC March 7-9
Regal Theatre, Perth WA March 14-16
AIS Arena, Canberra ACT March 22
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre QLD March 28-29
Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney NSW April 11-13
Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA April 19
MyState Bank Arena, Hobart TAS April 26
Official Website: www.gabbysdollhouselive.com
Official Socials: @gabbysdollhouselive (Facebook and Instagram)