Scooby & Co. ride the Mystery Machine into Richmond

Generations of children have grown up with the Scooby Doo gang, and this past week they all took the Landmark stage in “Stagefright.” The actors were remarkably like the cartoon characters they were portraying in their over-the-top zaniness.

Seeing a rather muscular man playing Scooby Doo in a skin tight Spandex suit is a bit jarring at first, but once I got used to it I saw the adorable dog that we all know and love. The Mystery Inc. group of Scooby, Velma, Fred, Daphne and Shaggy are visiting Daphne’s uncle Tim on the set of the new horror movie that he is directing. When they get there they find that once again their vacation is ruined by the presence of a ghost called the Spector. This ghost interrupts and disturbs the production, especially its star Belinda Del Monte. Belinda is the typical demanding, bejeweled actress who has her eye on Fred. Assistant director Kimmi follows Belinda’s lead in claiming Shaggy as her boy toy. Kimmi is an over the top pop princess wannabe who has enough energy to exhaust a 5-year-old boy.

The traditional smorgasbord scene, where Scooby and Shaggy ingest large quantities of food, is interrupted by Belinda. Still spooked by the thought of the spector, Shaggy and Scooby throw spaghetti on her and she quits the movie. This scene was executed so well, that it blurred the line between the cartoon characters and the actors playing them even further.

One of the funniest scenes in the show is when Scooby and Shaggy come out in “hip” ’80s clothes to rap. Scooby is wearing a big orange vest and a bandana, while Shaggy has on a patchwork shirt of brightly colored squares and a neon green hat. Their rap is almost too silly with the main line being “I’m down with the d-o-g.” This part is topped off by Scooby.

As soon as Belinda leaves and Daphne becomes the lead actress, Fred goes back to fawning over her. When she puts on Belinda’s costume, Daphne finds the first clue– a skeleton key in the pocket. While Daphne is filming a scene with the actor playing Dracula, Scooby and Shaggy pounce on him, convinced that he is the spector. Once they get that straightened out, the real Spector comes out and havoc ensues.

Afer the Spector gets away, Scooby and Shaggy sneak around to look for more clues and find themselves in the middle of the audience. Convinced that the audience members are lifelike dolls, they question a young boy about why he is moving. They proceed to ask him about Scooby’s future, to which he states the only logical response, “Scooby Snacks!”

Once they get back on stage, they find an old chest full of costumes. Then they dress up as everything from a baby to a pirate until the Spector finds them once again. A chase scene occurs throughout a hallway of doors, where Velma, Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and the Spector run in and out but never bump into each other. In the midst of the chase, they loose Daphne and the Spector. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Fred follow Daphne into a secret lair beneath the movie studion. They solve the mystery with Scooby and Shaggy luring the ghost to Velma, Daphne and Fred. A quirky and cute scene towards the end of the play is the one in which Shaggy and Kimmi share a dance to “They Long to Be Close to You.” As the two kooky kids sing and prance about the stage, Scooby comes out as Cupid and later in a gondola.

The only negative aspect of “Stagefright” is that the overacting does wear thin after a bit. There are but so many eye-poppingly excited “Jinkies!” and “Zoinks!” that a person over the age of eight can handle. Aside from that, the entire production is refreshing and enjoyable, even for big kids.