CAPA and Broadway Across America bring high-stakes fun to the Palace Theatre with five performances of Nickelodeon’s Go, Diego, Go Live! The Great Jaguar Rescue on May 17 and 18.

The live-action stage production of the wildly popular animated preschool show Go, Diego, Go, a spin-off of Dora The Explorer, is now on its second nationwide run. Going from city to city, it transports families into an adventurous theatrical that explores language, the environment, and childhood merriment.

Diego is an eight-year-old animal rescuer who can talk to animals and also happens to be bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. He and his cousin, Dora, and sister, Alicia, embark on daring quests to find and rescue troubled animals in their indigenous Latin American habitats.

The television series is part of the wave of interactive children’s shows on television today that seek to involve kids in the viewing experience. Go, Diego Go encourages young viewers to lend a hand to helping Diego save the animals.

The stage show does much of the same thing. Diego is played by star actor Jesse Carrion, whose previous credits include performing in The Lockdown Club at the Stella Adler Theatre in Los Angeles and also in the national tour of Rent. Carrion’s Diego uses call and response to get the children in the audience to count and sing with him. The kids wear masks and learn how to growl, scratch and jump like Baby Jaguar, the animal friend who Diego must help on this special mission through the rainforest.

This masterpiece of children’s theatre has a sparkling set and costumes that impart a realistic feel to the cartoon-esque nature of the show. There are puppets, catchy melodies, and lots of gadgets and gizmos, creating a nice balance for children and parents alike.

Carrion says parents will be surprised at how entertaining the stage show is. “Although it’s a children’s show, it is thoroughly enjoyable,” he says. “It’s a heightened sensory experience.”

Channeling the energy of a child cartoon character has been an exciting and difficult challenge for Carrion. Getting up to the high register of a young boy is taxing on his lungs and the climbing, jumping and running Diego does is extremely physical. But Carrion has stumbled across tricks that get him in tune with voice and body, whether he’s boating down a river or scaling a pyramid

“In essence, I was Diego as a child,” says Carrion. “I even considered being a vet when I was younger.”

The good times being had by the cast and crew have translated into quality performances and interactive fun for audiences. More than 600,000 people beheld the excitement of last year’s tour of Go, Diego, Go Live!

Tickets for the May 17-18 productions of Go, Diego, Go Live! in Columbus are on sale for $18.50-$38.50 and may be purchased at the Broadway Across America or Ohio Theatre box offices and all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, call 614-224-7654 or go online to www.capa.com/columbus or www.capa.com/columbus.