The only prototype the Yellow Wiggle has to fit is that the character must wear a yellow shirt. Everything else is up to the person playing the character — who, nowadays, is the Wiggles' first woman in the four-person Australian lineup.
“We totally redefine the characters,” says Emma Watkins, a native and resident of the Sydney area. “I think that's the best part of being a Wiggle, is that you get to play yourself.
“I play the drums. I sing a little bit of French,” says Watkins, 24, who has a strong dance background and does ballet during the band's “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” song.
“It's not like a role in a play or character in a musical; it's yourself. I think that's why the Wiggles have lasted so long; it's so genuine.”
Watkins — who will arrive with the rest of the famous preschool band Sept. 30 at the Benedum Center, Downtown, for a stop on the “Ready, Steady, Wiggle” North American tour — replaces Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle.
In 2012, Page, along with Red Wiggle Murray Cook and Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt, announced their retirement, saying it was time to bring up newer, younger Wiggles to keep the band, which began in 1991, wiggling for years to come. The only original member remaining in the lineup is Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, who joins Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle) and Lachlan Gillespie (Purple Wiggle).
“It's been such an amazing change,” Watkins says. “I think it's something that the group and the company really needed. ... It's really regenerated the group.”
Newcomers don't have to replicate their original cast member, although some voluntarily pick up traits of their predecessors, Watkins says.
For instance, Fatt was known for his joke of seeming to fall asleep onstage, and kids enjoyed shouting “Wake up, Jeff!” at him. Gillespie, who has a personality similar to Fatt's, has adopted that shtick because it's so popular and fun, Watkins says.
“The children love having that empowerment to wake someone,” she says. Prior to her becoming the Yellow Wiggle, she played costumed Wiggles characters, including Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog, onstage.
At their show, described as a high-energy rock concert for young children, the Wiggles — who have a hit television show on Sprout — will perform songs from their new CD and DVD “Apples and Bananas,” along with classic favorites like “Fruit Salad” and “Hot Potato.” Watkins says the kids go crazy, scream and dance with the band.
With Watkins, the show now has a feminine touch. Many girls are coming to see the Wiggles with big yellow bows in their hair, she says.
“Because the music is played live, ... there's that whole element of a live band,” she says. “It's the most wonderful experience and the best fun.”
Kellie B. Gormly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7824 or kgormly@tribweb.com.
