VeggieTales in Concert

VeggieTales in Concert was a live show attraction that serves as a musical event featuring costume characters to promote "VeggieTales Live! on Stage" located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and SeaWorld San Antonio.

Plot
Original version (1997-99)

The original version began inside the chamber of boomerangs and the classic title logo. As the show started, a cast member named Eddie Coker told guests they were going to start the big show. After some audience participation, Bob and Larry appeared on stage having a great time with the kids. Bob, Larry, and Eddie then lead the audience in singing "The VeggieTales Theme Song." As they were singing, other characters from the video series including Junior, Archibald, Jimmy, Jerry, Pa Grape, and Mr. Lunt joined in. After the song ended, the cast decided to dance in order to do something special for their guests.

Although all the other characters were dancing, Junior reluctantly admitted that he couldn't dance due to the fact that he was too scared. In order to help Junior, Bob, Larry, and Eddie decided to watch the stories in the musical theatre with soft plastic puppets on stage.

Rack, Shack and Benny

The story begins at the Chocolate Factory as Laura then approaches the front gate and, in her speaking debut, explains to George in song that she'd love to stay and talk, but she doesn't have the time because everyone works really hard at the chocolate factory. After Laura arrives at the factory, she meets up with Mr. Lunt, who tells her through song that she's in trouble because she's two minutes late for work, before he also orders the other employees (which are played by a multitude of peas) to get back to work.

We are then introduced to Rack, Shack, and Benny (played, respectively, by Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, and Larry the Cucumber), who also explain through song that they don't have any time to play because they have a lot of work to do in the factory. The employees of the factory are hard at work, making sure that all of the chocolate bunnies are made, as well as disposing of any bunnies that have been made wrong. Soon, the song ends as Laura takes off in her delivery truck to deliver the chocolate bunnies. As a lone chocolate bunny falls out of the back of the truck and lands in front of George, George then explains that every day, they make 14,638 chocolate bunnies (give or take a few), before explaining that Nebby K. Nezzer, the boss of the chocolate factory, isn't exactly a bad man, but he just gets confused real easily sometimes. George then demonstrates this by stating that it all happened when Mr. Nezzer made a big announcement.

Back inside the factory, the workers are still hard at work, when a video screen appears, before Mr. Nezzer appears on the screen, announcing that this morning, they have shipped their two millionth chocolate bunny and decides to reward everyone by allowing them to eat as many chocolate bunnies as they like for the next 30 minutes. After this announcement is made, Mr. Lunt compliments Mr. Nezzer for allowing everyone to eat the bunnies, while Mr. Nezzer is confident that everyone will give their praise to him for this announcement. While the rest of the employees ravenously eat as many of the bunnies as they like, Shack is a little bit uncertain about this decision, telling Rack and Benny that they shouldn't eat any more bunnies, because it isn't good to eat too much candy in one sitting. When Rack and Benny argue about this, stating that everyone else is doing it, Shack retorts back that they should remember what their parents taught them, as well as remembering a song that his mother used to sing to him back when he was really little. After Shack sings a little bit of the song, he then tells Rack and Benny that even though their parents aren't with them, they can still remember everything that they've learned from this. This finally convinces Rack and Benny sadly saying not to eat any more bunnies.

As time passes, the other employees are still eating chocolate bunnies, but after a while, they begin to feel rather sick from doing so. At the end of the 30 minutes free-for-all, Mr. Nezzer and Mr. Lunt then head into the workroom before noticing that everyone has become sick as dogs as a result of eating too many chocolate bunnies. Mr. Nezzer is angered by this before Mr. Lunt notices that Rack, Shack, and Benny are the only ones who are still standing up. When Mr. Nezzer and Mr. Lunt approach the three boys, he is impressed by their resilience before telling them that he's going to promote them to Junior Executives (which, according to Mr. Lunt, means that you have to wear a tie when Benny asks what it means). After Mr. Nezzer tells Rack, Shack, and Benny to meet him in his office first thing in the morning, George then shows up, stating that Rack, Shack, and Benny are able to get on Mr. Nezzer's good side, before adding that the three boys are in for a big surprise when they come into Mr. Nezzer's office.

The next morning, Rack, Shack, and Benny are greeted by Mr. Nezzer, who then explains that he will have every one of his faithful employees bow down to a chocolate bunny statue, before showing them a model of the statue, to which he says that the real thing is 90 feet tall. Mr. Nezzer then explains further that it will be a beautiful day when everyone bows down to the statue and sings a song known as "The Bunny Song," which Benny says that he's not familiar with and asks Mr. Nezzer to hum a few bars. Mr. Nezzer then obliges as he starts singing "The Bunny Song," talking about how much he loves the bunny and not anything else. After the song ends, Rack, Shack, and Benny are a little bit troubled by the lyrics, with Rack asking what will happen if anyone doesn't sing the song. Mr. Nezzer answers that question by showing the three boys the furnace where the "bad bunnies" (bunnies that get messed up during the production cycle) are sent to be destroyed, before he says in a rather intimidating matter, "Let's just say in my mind, if you don't bow down and sing The Bunny Song, you're a bad bunny." Mr. Nezzer then hops off before telling Rack, Shack, and Benny that the ceremony is starting. George then shows up and states that the boys were in a real pickle with this: "The Bunny Song" was full of all kinds of stuff that the three boys knew was wrong, but refusing to sing it would result in Mr. Nezzer throwing them into the furnace! He then asks the viewers what they would do if they were them, but decides to hold that thought as the ceremony is about to begin.

That afternoon, when everyone is gathered outside, Mr. Nezzer then announces that it is now time to bow to the bunny and sing "The Bunny Song." While everyone else bows down, Rack, Shack, and Benny are the only ones who do not bow, before Mr. Nezzer and Mr. Lunt approach them, with Mr. Nezzer telling them to sing. In response, Shack instead starts singing the lullaby that his mother used to sing to him before Rack and Benny also join in as well. After the trio finishes singing, Mr. Nezzer is touched from hearing this song and says that he'll be singing that song... as he throws them into the furnace, before calling out to the guards to take them to the fiery furnace. Three carrot guards then approach the trio, while Laura states that she has to help them, before noticing Mr. Nezzer's delivery truck.

Mr. Nezzer has now tied up Rack, Shack, & Benny, before he explains that he tried being patient & kind with the three boys & that he's infuriated by their stubbornness. When Mr. Nezzer asks the three boys if they will sing the song, they then explain to him that God wants us to stand up for what they believe is right and that they cannot sing the song. At first, it seems that Mr. Nezzer understands, before saying that they're bad bunnies before they end up getting pushed down towards the fiery furnace, but Laura saves them in time in the delivery truck. Mr. Nezzer then has two carrot guards chase after the quartet into a vent, but one of the guards runs into the wall and falls into a vat of chocolate.

The chase continues through the vents, which leads to the other carrot guard falling into the vat of chocolate as well. Once the guards have been dispatched, Laura then pilots the truck through the vents once again, and when they see that there is light on the left of the vents, they turn left, believing it to be a way out. Unfortunately, that vent brings them back to where they started from. Mr. Nezzer then has Mr. Lunt take the controls to which a pair of mechanical hands take hold of the truck and starts to tilt it downwards in an attempt to dump Rack, Shack, & Benny into the fiery furnace down below. However, Laura is able to escape before unplugging the controls just as the truck is now halfway tilted.

Laura then angrily proclaims that no one bakes her buddies. As Mr. Nezzer berates and threatens Laura, the latch bolt for the gate of the truck then comes loose, which causes Rack, Shack, & Benny to fall into the fiery furnace. Mr. Nezzer then laughs at his victory, stating that no one will ever stand up to him again. However, the room suddenly turns dark before a multitude of bright lights shoot out from the windows of the furnace. Mr. Lunt peers into one of the windows as he asks how many guys they threw into the furnace. Mr. Nezzer incredulously answers that there are three before Mr. Lunt states that there are four guys in there now, making note that one of them is real shiny, as well as the fact that they aren't burning up. Mr. Nezzer then calls out to the three boys to get out of there, before the fiery furnace gate then opens up, as Rack, Shack, and Benny come out alive and well.

When Mr. Nezzer sees that the three boys were saved by God's power, he then admits that he was wrong for trying to get them to do stuff that they weren't supposed to do, stating that he forgot everything his mother taught him. When he asks them to forgive him, they do. Mr. Nezzer then asks if there's any way that he can make it up to them. Shack then answers that he could sing of their songs, before he starts singing the song "Stand Up," before Rack and Benny also join in as well, singing about how God wants us to stand up for what we believe in when we're faced with the peer pressure of doing things that we're not supposed to do. Everyone in the factory then sings the song, before the story comes to an end.

Dave and the Giant Pickle

The story begins a long time ago in a country named Israel, Dave (Junior Asparagus) was a shepherd who lived with his three brothers (Jimmy and Jerry Gourd and Tom Grape) and his father Jesse (Pa Grape). Every day while Dave tended his sheep, the sheep would tip over and his older brothers would pick on him by making him pick up their tipped over sheep and get them food. One day, their father Jesse comes running to the boys to tell them something. He accidentally bumps into a line of sheep and asks Dave to pick them up, which utterly irritates Dave. Jesse tells his sons that Israel's sworn enemies, the Philistines, are attacking. In order to defeat them, Israel's king, King Saul (Archibald) is putting together an army to defeat the Philistines. Dave's brothers head towards the battlegrounds. Dave follows them but is stopped by his father. Jesse tells Dave that Dave was too small to fight for the army, and leaves Dave to take care of the sheep himself. Jesse then takes his three sons to battle. Dave started wondering why little people couldn't do big things.

At the battlefield, the army of the Israelites was camped out on one hill while the Philistines were on another hill. The Philistines began to throw insults at the Israelites. Then the two upfront Philistines (Jean-Claude and Christophe Pea) begin to make a deal with the Israelites. The two armies will bring out their great champions and if one of them wins, the losing army will be the winning army's slaves. King Saul agrees to the offer and the Philistines bring out their champion, a giant pickle named Goliath.

The Israelites are frightened by the sight of Goliath and they run away and hide. Goliath came back day after day for 40 days to see who would fight him. But every time he showed up, all the Israelites were in hiding. After a while, Jesse begins to worry about his boys, and he sends Dave to the campgrounds to deliver some pizza. On the grounds, Dave sees his brothers in hiding from Goliath and overhears Goliath calling the Israelites cowards. Fed up with no one willing to fight Goliath, Dave goes to King Saul and says that he'll fight Goliath. King Saul has major doubts that Dave, at his young age, can defeat Goliath. Dave, through song, convinces Saul to let him out on the field. Saul tells Dave to put on his old royal armor. Dave's not fit for the armor and says that he'll confront Goliath with all he has and the will of God. Saul reluctantly lets Dave go out and fight.

As Dave heads for the camp, he stops by a stream and picks up five smooth stones. At the camps, Dave goes to Goliath and accepts his challenge. Goliath suits up in his boxing uniform and heads out in the battlefield and confronts Dave. Dave then takes a stone he picked up and uses a slingshot to fling a stone at Goliath. The stone hits Goliath's head, knocking him completely out. The Israelites are cheering with victory as the Philistines run away in defeat and fear. The story ends with Dave riding on his sheep in the sunset, and falling off.

Josh and the Big Wall!

The story begins in the continent named Africa and the desert called the Holy Land when Bob acts as a narrator and provides Junior with some background information. The Israelites, having been held as slaves in Egypt, are liberated by Moses and led to the Promised Land. However, they flee after seeing Goliath and his family in it and are banished from The Promised Land for forty years. Upon the completion of their exile, Moses has passed away, and Joshua (played here by Larry) has become leader of the Israelites. Joshua leads them back to the Promised Land, but one thing stands in their way — Jericho.

The next day, the Israelites are met by the defenders of Jericho (the French Peas) who taunt them from atop the city's great wall. Joshua explains that God has given this land to the Israelites and that therefore the defenders will have to step aside. They are met by more insults and jeering. When a slushy falls and hits Jimmy, they fall back and regroup.

That night Joshua meets the Commander of the Army of the Lord who tells him how the Israelites are to take Jericho: they must march around the city once a day for six days; on the seventh day they are to march around it seven times, blow their horns, and all yell at the same time. At this point, the messenger states, the walls of Jericho will eventually fall. Naturally this plan leads to some skepticism. Joshua must deal with dissent among his people, some of whom want to return to Egypt and some of whom want to attack the wall with might.

But they agree to try it God's way and proceed to Jericho the next day. The city's defenders insult them all the more, turning their taunts into a choreographed musical number while bombing them constantly with slushies. The end of the day finds the Israelites on the verge of rebellion. At this point, Junior intervenes and convinces them to continue with the plan God laid out. He explains that God's way doesn't always make sense, but provides examples of how it always works out in the end.

The Israelites agree to stick with the plan and, in spite of renewed counter-attacks, march around the city for seven days as specified. On the seventh day they blow their horns and scream. At first nothing happens, but then cracks appear and the walls crashes down, just as God said it would, and Joshua claims the land for his people.

Finale

The scene then shifted back to the chamber of boomerangs, where Bob and Larry suggested that if everyone danced, Junior would too. Jimmy, Jerry, Pa Grape, and Mr. Lunt then sang a song, encouraging the audience (and Junior) to dance. Junior then thanks the audience for being such good friends. After the others left, Bob and Larry realized that it's time for the audience to go. Bob and Larry then told Rebecca the things that they did, before concluding that with friends, there is nothing you can't do. Bob, Larry, and Eddie, along with the rest of the gang, then sing "I Can Be Your Friend" as the show ends before thanking the audience and saying goodbye to them.

Special Edition Version (2001-03)

The show was completely reopened in 2001, keeping the same old sets, stories, and title logo from the original version. The musical theatre was styled into a magical world of magic and music, the costumed characters however redesigned into bright colors, and the soft plastic puppets were replaced by hard plastic animatronics which they're made by AVG Technologies, that can make some attractions at Six Flags Over Georgia and Universal Studios Hollywood.

It begins with a cast member named Rebecca St. James running on stage while the same VeggieTales theme song plays in the background. Rebecca then asks the audience to shout "It's Showtime!". While everyone is shouting, Bob and Larry themselves shout "It's Showtime!", and then invites the audience to the big show. As guests arrive at the big show, Bob, Larry, and Rebecca sing the same VeggieTales theme song, during which Junior, Archibald, Jimmy, Jerry, Pa Grape, and Mr. Lunt also appear.

At the chamber of shapes and colors, Bob and Larry informed guests that it's Sing A Song Day. In order to help out, Junior agrees to bring out the stage, Archibald agrees to get the orchestra, Jimmy and Jerry say that they can find some music, Pa Grape agrees to bring out the curtain, and Mr. Lunt says that he can get the lights. The six then explain that it is going to be difficult for them to accomplish their musical tasks. Bob, Larry, and Rebecca agree that the best way to teach kids about God is to watch the same stories from the original version. In order to watch the same stories, Bob, Larry, and their Veggie friends call on Qwerty to give the list of things to help them. The four items that they need is to prepare the big show. There are some changes during the same stories, the script was re-written, character designs had refurbished into bright colors, and different dialogue was used. The new story, "Lyle the Kindly Viking" was also used.

Lyle the Kindly Viking

Archibald then narrates, explaining that there once lived a band of Vikings who lived by the sea. Two women named Mabel and Penelope show up, asking each other how the other is doing, before wondering where their husbands are. The two then sing about how they married vikings, "the terrors of the sea." Soon, the Vikings, consisting of the leader Olaf (played by Mr. Nezzer), Ottar (played by Bob the Tomato), Sven (played by Larry the Cucumber), Harold (played by Jimmy Gourd), Erik (played by Jerry Gourd), and Bjorn (played by Mr. Lunt) return from their expedition of pillaging a bunch of stuff, before they also start singing about how as Vikings, they enjoy plundering a bunch of stuff, such as "gold and jewels and a shiny suit and a giant screen TV to boot."

Archibald then narrates that what the Vikings are actually doing is taking stuff from others, also adding that their boats were so fast that no one could be able to catch them. Then, he also explains that not all of the Vikings were involved in this unfortunate practice, there was actually one, in particular, named Lyle. Lyle (played by Junior Asparagus) then goes out on his own expedition on the sea, which confuses the other Vikings. Olaf then starts singing about how Lyle does not fit the style of the Vikings, telling Harold and Erik that for a long time, the law of stealing stuff from others has been made clear. After Olaf finishes his song, he hops off, followed by Harold and Erik. However, Sven and Ottar decide to follow after Lyle, being careful not to get too close to him. Lyle then returns to the exact same monastery that the Vikings raided before, where Sven and Ottar witness Lyle sharing a bag of potholders and a bag of money that the other Vikings gave him with the lead monk (played by Pa Grape) and his group of pea monks. The pea monks then thank Lyle in song for sharing with them.

This confuses Sven and Ottar very much, before they return home to wait for Lyle. When Lyle returns home, Sven and Ottar confront him and tell him in a song that he should stop what he's doing and that Vikings rule the sea and never give things back. Lyle then explains to them in a song that when he shares, he gets his share of friends. After Lyle finishes singing, Sven and Ottar realize that Lyle's method may be a lot better than Olaf's method after all, before realizing that Lyle would be in big trouble if Olaf learned what he was really doing. Because of this, Sven and Ottar vow to keep Lyle's secret safe – which, according to Archibald, is easier said than done. The next day, as the Vikings are heading out to raid the monastery once again, Ottar discovers that Lyle is already at the monastery before they are, and that he and Sven have to distract Olaf before he discovers what's going on. Ottar then distracts Olaf by telling him through song that there is a fish with a bunch of pretty colors all over his scales. Sven then sings to Olaf that there is a turtle wearing pink pajamas while riding on a llama and chasing a herd of giant squid. Unfortunately, Olaf doesn't believe him, and he and the other Vikings soon discover Lyle leaving the monastery, as well as the potholders and the money that he gave to the monks. This angers Olaf, just as a storm starts up.

Lyle continues rowing until he is confronted by Olaf, who grumpily asks Lyle in song what he's doing, before he starts to tear up the sails on Lyle's boat and throws away the oars, which leaves Lyle drifting away in the sea as his punishment. However, a large tidal wave, which had been brought up by the storm, knocks over the Vikings' boat, which causes them to fall into the sea. Another wave knocks over Lyle's boat, knocking him into the sea as well. The monks then throw a life ring out into the sea to save Lyle, which the Vikings witness, as they begin to realize that Lyle's method is better than theirs. Lyle then has the monks help him to save the rest of the Vikings from the storm, bringing them to safety. The storm then clears away just as the Vikings have been brought back to shore. The Vikings then thank the monks in song for saving them from the storm, and apologized for being ruthless and stole their stuff. That from now on, they will share with others instead of stealing from others. After the Vikings finish singing, Sven asks if they can't be Vikings anymore, but the lead monk tells him that it won't be necessary, but they will have to change their song. As a result, all of the Vikings then sing a reprise of the "We're Vikings" song, but this time, singing about sharing with others and that they are known as "the sharers of the sea." Sven then sings that he needs to go to the bathroom before Ottar tells him that he can just talk before the story ends.

Finale

After Lyle's story, Bob, Larry, Junior, Archibald, Jimmy, Jerry, Pa Grape, and Mr. Lunt appear back on stage at the chamber of shapes and colors. All of them were able to see that Qwerty has a verse for them. Bob and Larry then tells everyone to join the Sing A Song Day when the orchestra comes to life. After the orchestra thanked everyone, Bob, Larry, Junior, Jimmy, Jerry, Pa Grape, Mr. Lunt, and Rebecca then sing the same song from the original version. Rebecca then tells the audience to stand up and dance with them. The orchestra later took a bow, and Bob, Larry, and their Veggie friends said what made it more special was having the whole audience as their kids. The VeggieTales friends then thanked the audience and said goodbye to them, with Bob for the first line and Larry for the second line saying "God Made you Special, and He loves you very much", ending the show. When the show ends, Rebecca thanks the audience and says goodbye to them as well.