Don’t You Wanna Go? Inside Gabby’s Dollhouse Live’s North American Expansion
The popular kids title returns with a revamped story line and dozens of new dates.
Following a sold-out first run this fall, Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! will launch a second North American leg on January 15, 2026, at Trilith Live in Fayetteville, Georgia, before rolling into more than 40 additional cities.
The expansion underscores just how quickly the Netflix hit has translated from streaming screens to live stages. Stops include some of the country’s most prestigious venues: the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, Théâtre St-Denis in Montreal, and Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater.
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The stage production premiered earlier this fall with sold-out shows in Thousand Oaks, Long Beach, and San Francisco. Demand was so strong in Southern California that extra dates were added at The Grove of Anaheim to close out the first run.
For Jonathan Shank, CEO of Terrapin Station Entertainment and executive producer of the tour, the timing couldn’t be better. “I actually started looking at this property in 2022 and thought there was a chance it could be a successful touring property, based on how it was connecting with children and families,” Shank told Billboard. “Gabby’s Dollhouse seemed like a perfect bullseye in terms of the way it was engaging families. Now feels like the perfect time to launch the tour.”
Unlike many kids’ tours that simply repackage episodes, Gabby’s Dollhouse Live features an original story, new video content, and fresh music. The plot follows Gabby as she discovers a magical acorn that needs a rainbow to grow—only to have CatRat break the rainbow and spark a colorful quest to put things back together.
“The show is an original story, and that makes it really fun and unique,” Shank said. “One of my favorite songs is Celebrate Your Sparkle. We bring together all of Gabby’s Dollhouse characters—Cakey, DJ Catnip, Kitty Fairy—and it’s just a really fun show with life-size puppets, original music, and a really engaging, interactive storyline.”
Interactive elements are built directly into the experience. “We have these incredible friendship flowers that become part of the show and connect the audience to the stage,” Shank explained.
Walmart returns as presenting sponsor, a move Shank says ties together the broader franchise strategy. “For us, the way these tours become the most successful is to connect all the dots between content, consumer products and live experiences,” he said.
He also praised the international collaboration. The live show was created by TEG Life Like Touring out of Australia, with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Destinations & Experiences managing the IP, and UTA serving as booking agent. “This is an incredible team effort,” Shank said. “We’re really proud of it.”
Shank acknowledged the challenges facing live entertainment in 2025 but said family programming has a clear opening. “This year has been difficult. The things that seem to be working are new and fresh properties, or very premium experiences,” he noted. “As it relates to family entertainment, it’s a really great time for Gabby’s Dollhouse, because there aren’t a tremendous amount of other preschool shows on the road right now. A lot of the other big titles are between touring cycles, so it feels like the lane is wide open.”
Ticket prices for the upcoming leg will remain accessible, ranging from $30 to $60, with premium and VIP options available. “We want to make it accessible to as many families as possible,” Shank said.
The tour dovetails with the upcoming feature film Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, which hits theaters this Friday (Sept. 26). The live-action project stars Laila Lockhart Kraner alongside Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan, setting Gabby on an all-new adventure in “Cat-Francisco.”
As Shank put it, the goal of the touring show is simple: “We kind of always consider it to be in the business of delivering core memories and smiles to these children. We don’t take that lightly.”
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