With bright costumes, an award-winning script and musical numbers covering everything from contemporary dance to jazz, the Hello Kitty stage show is worthy of any West End stage.
But instead it's here in Dubai and best of all — it's free.
Hello Kitty Fantastical Adventure, the internationally acclaimed musical show, is being held in the Middle East for the first time, at Modhesh Fun City until Saturday.
Fans can watch Hello Kitty and her friends in her magical musical show on the main stage everyday from 5pm and 8pm and three times on Friday at 3.20pm, 6.30pm and 9.10pm.
Friends all here
The cast includes Hello Kitty, the famous Japanese cartoon cat, Mimmy, Dear Daniel, My Melody, Minna No Tabo, Bad Badtz Maru, Pom Pom Purin and Monkichi.
Children and adults clapped along as the characters entertained with songs, dancing, acrobatics and jokes during the first show this week.
Jacqueline Tsang, deputy general manager of Sanrio, the creators of Hello Kitty, said she was amazed at the response to the show.
She said: "Hello Kitty is the perfect ambassador for Dubai Summer Surprises. Our endeavour at Sanrio has always been to maintain the values of friendship, compassion, and respect, and communicate these values through our shows. That is the message Hello Kitty would like to give the children of the UAE.
"She is everyone's friend and would like to meet as many of them as possible during her visit here."
Based in Hong Kong, Tsang said she had also been extremely impressed by what she saw in Dubai on her first visit to the UAE.
She added: "I'm simply amazed by the modernisation of this city and am extremely delighted to have partnered with the DSS Office in hosting Hello Kitty shows for the first time in the Middle East."
Hello Kitty is the most well-known among thousands of characters created by the Japanese company Sanrio. Created in 1974, she is now a globally-known trademark. She has also held the position of US children's ambassador for Unicef since 1983.
Tsang added: "The show is full of colour and has something for everyone."
Everyone loves Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty came into her own during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted her as a fashion statement.
Now products featuring the character can be found in many stores around the world, including Dubai. Many celebrities have contributed to the character's popularity including Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Heidi Klum, Steven Tyler, Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra and Mandy Moore as well as Paris and Nicky Hilton, who have all been spotted with Hello Kitty goods.
Singer Lisa Loeb, who markets the pink Hello Kitty guitar, has admitted to being a fan and has even dedicated a whole album in homage to Hello Kitty, called Hello Lisa.
You can find Hello Kitty stores in Deira City Centre, Ibn Battuta Mall and Times Square Centre.
It's all history
Hello Kitty was originally to be named Kitty White (from one of the cats that Alice kept in the book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Caroll). British culture was popular among Japanese girls at the time of her inception.
However, this name was not adopted. The name Hello Kitty originated from a mistranslation of the name of Japan's famous maneki neko (welcoming cat), the primary inspiration for the character.
When Hello Kitty's boyfriend Dear Daniel was created in 1999, designers took his name from the 1971 film Melody, which starred Mark Lester as a character called Daniel and features songs by the Bee Gees.
Hello Kitty's fictional world includes a whole array of friends and family members.
If you go
- What: Modhesh Fun City
- Where: Airport Expo, Dubai
- When: Until August 31.
- Time: Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed – 10am to 10pm; Thurs/Sat – 10am to 11pm; Fri – 3pm to 11pm.
- Tickets: Dh20 for children (includes some rides) and Dh10 for adults.
