I don't think you need to worry about any of Doug and Gary's material
being unsuitable for youngsters. Although I could not obtain a script
of the program that they will present at the planetarium, I have found
quite a bit of information about Doug and Gary that should put your
mind at ease. These young men are very well regarded as children's
entertainers. I haven't seen a word of criticism of them anywhere on
the Web, but I found lots of praise from parents and school groups.
The team of Doug and Gary have performed as "Doug and Gary, The Happy
Pirates," and Gary Smith has done a solo act as "Gary, the Happy
Pirate."
"There is a kids entertainer here who bills himself as 'Gary, The
Happy Pirate' (formerly half of 'Doug and Gary - The Happy Pirates')
that is doing very well on a local, regional, and beyond basis.
He/They have about 6 audio and 1-2 video tapes out. Gary will be
doing a Japan-based cable TV show starting this fall and has a
Rochester, NY-based Sunday AM show now. My 4.1 year old is nuts about
their songs and knows them all. I don't know if they are available on
a nation-wide basis. Concerts are frequent and packed; both free and
ones that charge admission. They have played the Whitehouse Easter
egg roll twice and have done shows in other parts of the USA."
From misc.kids.consumers newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=33les7%24r3s%40kodak.rdcs.Kodak.COM&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain
Here's some info about Gary:
"Gary The Happy Pirate has carved out a successful award-winning
career in children's entertainment. Gary counts two coveted Parent's
Choice awards for excellence in children's recording, including the
Classic Award for 1993's Mega Pegga Legga Dinosaurus. In the
children's television field, he has received a New York State Emmy and
a New York State Broadcasters' Award for 'Outstanding Program Series
Designed for Children'... For the past 10 years, Gary and his
wise-cracking sidekick puppet buddy, Yo Ho (Melissa Swald Camman),
have been entertaining thousands of kids throughout the Northeast.
Their travels have taken them to the Mall of America in Minneapolis,
St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, and even to the White House
for President and Mrs. Clinton's annual Easter Egg Roll... a treat for
the whole family."
Pirate Rock
http://www.piraterock.com/about.htm
Here you can listen to a sample song:
Pirate Rock
http://www.piraterock.com/id38.htm
Here's a description of Gary's show by a mom:
"I entertained/consoled myself by thinking of all the ways Gary the
Happy Pirate (or Raffi for that matter) represents something on the
order of a Früvous show for preschoolers. Good music, some bad puns,
lots of audience participation, wide range of ages present, the fans
knew all the words (and the hand motions), occasional political
references that were foreign to half the audience (things only the
adults get), puppets (not naked), good times together w/ good
friends... I could go on forever."
The Official Moxy Früvous Web Site
http://www.fruvous.com/98rev/981103.html
Some remarks about Gary, the songs, and the show:
"Gary's shows are fun and engage the kids from beginning to end. Now
as a parent, my 3 and 5 yr. children listen to Gary's tapes and play
them over and over again."
"Your performance was so delightful! I can't tell you how many people
have come up to me and said how wonderful the entertainment was."
"Gary and YoHo kept our students undivided attention (and the teachers
too!). Gary, The Happy Pirate and YoHo provided great fun with a great
message through their songs. We looked forward to Gary's return year
after year!"
Pirate Rock
http://www.piraterock.com/id39.htm
Doug and Gary's show has won the Parent's Choice Award:
"Mike McClare... won the prestigious Parents' Choice Award for his
work on the children's program Doug and Gary: The Happy Pirates."
Media Minded Inc.
http://www.media-minded.com/aboutus.htm
"Gary counts two coveted Parent?s Choice Awards for excellence in
children?s recording. In the children?s television field, he has
received a New York State Emmy and a New York State Broadcaster?s
Award for ?Outstanding Program Series Designed for Children' for his
series ?The Adventures of Gary The Happy Pirate'... Gary?s travels
have taken him to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, St Jude?s
Children?s Hospital in Memphis and even to the White House for
President and Mrs. Clinton?s Easter Egg Roll. Leading audiences
through sing-alongs and dancing, combining humor, child-centered
themes and rock ?n? roll elements, Gary and YoHo ?s concerts are
always a fun-filled event for the entire family. In 1996, while
visiting sick children at Golisano Children?s Hospital, Gary could see
that a stay in the hospital for a child could be very frightening. In
hopes of easing this upsetting time for these kids, he founded the
Pirate Toy Fund, to provide toys for hospitalized children."
Pirate Toy Fund
http://www.piratetoyfund.org/upload/28/646.pdf
Google search strategy:
Google Newsgroup Search: "doug and gary" + "songs"
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22doug+and+gary%22+songs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en
Google Web Search: "gary" + "happy pirate OR pirates"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=gary+%22happy+pirate+OR+pirates
In conclusion, it is evident that Doug and Gary are widely acclaimed,
prize-winning, wholesome entertainers whose material is suitable for
children of preschool and elementary levels. Your third graders will
probably love them!
I hope this information is useful. If anything is unclear, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll be glad
to offer further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best wishes,
pinkfreud |
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