Fil-Am Josh dela Cruz on merging his passions in first-ever ‘Blue’s Clues’ movie

November 19 ------ There’s great reason why Fil-Am actor-host Josh dela Cruz is grinning from ear to ear these days. After all, “Blue’s Clues & You!,” the immensely popular children’s show that he’s hosting on Nickelodeon, isn’t only marking the animated franchise’s 26th anniversary, it’s also gearing up for its very first feature film, titled “Blue’s Big City Adventure.”

The hugely entertaining, “sing- and dance-along” musical production helmed by Matt Strawski fuses live action and animation as it follows Josh and his canine best friend Blue (voiced by Traci Paige Johnson) on their star-making adventure to New York City. Josh leaves the reassuring comfort of Storybook World when he gets the opportunity of a lifetime. He’s been invited by a famous theater director (BD Wong) to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s (Brianna Brian) upcoming Broadway musical. But Josh’s excitement turns to consternation when he realizes that he had left his Handy Dandy notebook—which has the address of the audition venue—at home. Will three clues be enough to help Josh find his way to stardom?

For the franchise’s extraspecial occasion, the dynamic duo finds themselves reunited not only with the entire “Blue’s Clues” crew—including Mr. Salt, Mailbox, Tickety Tock, Slippery Soap and Rainbow Puppy—but also with the series’ previous hosts, Steve (Steve Burns) and his brother Joe (Donovan Patton). Adding stellar appeal to its scenes are special guests Alex Winter, Phillipa Soo, Steven Pasquale, Ali Stroker, Taboo (of Black Eyes Peas) and BD Wong.

The feature film is set to premiere on the Paramount+ streaming network, followed thereafter by a splashy rollout on Nickelodeon in other territories, including the Philippines. The movie is an even bigger deal for Josh because it allows the 33-year-old Fil-Am host to revisit his theater roots. It’s worth mentioning that before Josh bested 3,000 other hopefuls for his serendipitous hosting stint on “Blue’s Clues,” he had cut his performing chops on Broadway in musicals like Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” and Disney’s “Aladdin.”

On our theatergoing trip to New York in 2013, we even saw Josh perform at the Public Theater in “Here Lies Love,” David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s controversial musical about former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos. In our exclusive chat with Josh, he told us why he felt that the production’s setting and themes were too close to home for him. He explained, “Angela Santomero, the show’s co-creator and writer of our movie, is a huge fan of musical theater. Her love for musicals, as well as my love for them, inspired her to write this story of Josh going to New York City for his big Broadway audition, which is something that I can personally relate to. “So, that’s where the idea came from. And I hope that kids watching the movie will be able to see themselves in everything that we do. I really wanted BD Wong to portray the director because he was the one who inspired me to be an actor.

“I also want kids to see an Asian American director, especially in theater. It’s something that’s very, very rare on Broadway. So I hope that the new generation of kids will aspire not just to become actors, but also to become directors, producers and writers. And if they don’t see themselves there, perhaps they can become that people who will be able to open the door for others like them.”

Source: inquirer.net