What started as a children's book about an inquisitive monkey has turned into a major franchise. Created by authors Margret and H. A. Rey, Curious George has long been a wildly popular series of books published between 1941 and 1966.

Now, following on the heels of an animated series and two successful films, the characters have been brought to life on stage in a musical revue. That's right: Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat may be coming to your town in 2010 as Curious George Live, with a lot of their friends in tow!

Dancing, singing, and ever-silly antics abound as the little monkey learns life lessons. The innocence and playfulness of the performance has been greeted by critics and audiences alike as a breath of fresh air and simplicity in an age of technology-driven franticness. The 2010 run starts in mid-February with six Curious George Live shows in Salem, Virginia.

The storyline of Curious George Live centers around George's attempts to help Chef Pisghetti save his restaurant by winning the Golden Meatball Contest in Rome. Broadway-quality stage production supports the story and a thoroughly professional troupe of performers inhabits the characters.

Roaming as far north as Portland, Maine, Curious George also ventures southward all the way down to West Palm Beach, Florida in mid-June. Audiences far and wide, young and old are sure to enjoy the offering. The Midwest will even get a taste as Curious George Live swings into Cleveland in early April.

"The show's a lot of fun. Since kids haven't had a chance to see Curious George on stage before, they've been very excited," said Martino Mayotte, a member of the chorus.

Curious George has entertained and taught us for generations with his misadventures and positivity. With Curious George Live, a whole new crop of kids can experience the character that author H.A. Rey once described as being, "a good little monkey and always very curious."

"There are lots of little lessons that George learns along the way," he said. Top among them are lessons of friendship and teamwork. "George also learns that if you put love in everything you do, you can achieve a lot.”

Having burst onto the music scene with her 2002 Diamond-certified debut Come Away with Me, Norah Jones is still going strong in 2010. In fact, she's hitting the road in support of her latest offering, The Fall.

The 36-city run gets started when Jones plays Tulsa on March 5. This spring outing winds up about two months later in Atlanta on May 15. Along the way, Norah will hit markets both large and small, from San Francisco to El Paso. Generally, ticket prices range between $42.50 and $60.

This latest album came out at #3 on the Billboard 200, Norah's first effort not to reign supreme upon its release. Despite that lesser charting, The Fall has earned solid critical acclaim, largely praising Jones' willingness to go a little deeper, a little darker.

Often being labeled as a contemporary jazz artist, Jones stretched her musical wings to venture into country music on her Not Too Late, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to fans that she roamed into indie rock territory on this new one. The collection has even been dubbed a “musical science experiment.”

To ensure herself some street cred, collaborators on The Fall include Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, as well as longtime musical compatriot Jesse Harris. In total, Jones has sold more than 36 million albums worldwide largely on the power of her eight-time Grammy Award-winning debut album Come Away With Me.

Norah Jones' August performance in Durham marks her first time there since 2004 and the venue's manager is particularly excited about it.

“It’s great to host Norah Jones on her North American Tour, which is playing the most prestigious theaters in America, DPAC GM Bob Klaus said. “This is the newest big announcement in our ‘It’s Cooler Indoors — Summer Concert Series,’ and area music fans should expect more big announcements this spring.”

For North Carolina folks who simply can't wait until August, Norah Jones plays Asheville and Charlotte in mid-May.

Yo Gabba Gabba!, the popular children's television show, is branching out and hitting the road.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! There's a Party in My City! gets the fun going in Minneapolis on March 13 with all the music, animation, dancing, and fun that viewers have come to expect. It promises to be a raucous good time for the young ones... and the young at heart, replete with balloons and confetti.

Hosted by magician-musician DJ Lance Rock, along with Muno, Foofa, Plex, Brobee, and Toodee, Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! hits Milwaukee for one show on March 14 where the skits, songs, and life lessons will surely be greeted enthusiastically.

Created by Scott Schultz (of the band Majestic) and Christian Jacobs (of The Aquabats), Yo Gabba Gabba! leans heavy on music and the live show is no different. Along with DJ Lance's magic boom box, series regular Biz Markie will also be in tow to teach beat boxing in ”Biz’s Beat of the Day” when Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! plays four shows in Toronto.

“Our pure intentions were that we didn’t just want to sit our kids down in front of the television,” says Schultz. “We wanted to sit down with them and be active participants. We really created a show that we as parents would be excited to watch, with bands that we as parents wanted to listen to.”

And they surely succeeded. You never know who will appear during the Dancey Dance and Super Music Friends Show segments. Artists ranging from Sugarland to The Shins and actors like Jack Black and Sarah Silverman have all made cameos on the small screen.

Jacobs adds, “It just snowballed. It’s really been less us seeking out people and more people seeking us out and getting back in the sandbox and being kids again.”

Attendees at three sold-out shows in New York last November – including some childless hipster adults -- were treated to Devendra Banhart and Talib Kweli as the special guests. (Snoop Dogg threw down a Dancey Dance in Los Angeles.) Because the guest list is super-secret, Yo Gabba Gabba! lovers in Cincinnati and St. Louis will just have to go to the shows to see who turns up.

Having already logged a year on the road, Nickelback is extending their Dark Horse Tour with another pass through North America in 2010. The 30 dates kick off on April 6 in London, ON, and wind down on June 3 in Vancouver, BC.

Although the bulk of the dates will be in the U.S., eight of them are slated for north of the border. Nickelback will be Toronto and Montreal as well. International performances will provide a ramp up to the spring swing.

Nickelback's sixth studio outing, the double-platinum Dark Horse, was released in November, 2008 and still holds a place on the Billboard charts after debuting and topping out at number two. The latest single, “Never Gonna Be Alone,” is currently making noise at radio.

Over one million fans attended the band's 2009 Dark Horse shows, leading to a gross of nearly $50 million and the 11th most successful tour of the year. The 2010 run is on track to top those numbers.

Nickelback was also recently anointed by Billboard as the group of the decade.

Supporting acts for the 2010 dates include Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown and Sick Puppies.

With three Grammy awards and an Emmy on his shelf and a new album in stores, Harry Connick, Jr. is taking his show on the road.

Backed by an orchestra, Connick will play selections from his new Grammy-nominated release, Your Songs, as well as standards and tunes from throughout his career like “It Had to Be You” and “A Wink and a Smile.”

A show like this deserves to be seen in a great venue and there are plenty on the schedule. A consummate performer, Connick hits Santa Barbara's glorious Arlington Theatre on January 26. San Diego's wonderful Copley Symphony Hall hosts Harry and the gang two nights later on January 28.

Having sold more than 25 million records worldwide puts Connick in a league, not so much of his own, but definitely of only a few. The New Orleans native and occasional actor has also had 10 releases top the jazz charts, more than any other artist in U.S. history.

At Baltimore's Lyric Opera House, Connick will surely delight fans just as he did recently at the 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors.

Feeling romantic? Spend Valentine's Day with Connick in Jacksonville, Florida and let him melt your heart with his renditions of the Lennon/McCartney classic "And I Love Her" and Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love With You."

The Your Songs tour will touch down on both coasts with Connick's 13-city run ending in Virginia Beach on February 19.

Walking with Dinosaurs Live

The original Walking with Dinosaurs six-part documentary series aired in 1999 in the UK and 2000 in the U.S. As the most expensive documentary series ever produced, it holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. These days, the creatures dazzle audiences worldwide in a Walking with Dinosaurs arena tour.

The Yorkshire Museum first housed an exhibition back in 2000, featuring scanning models, replicas, and other pieces from the show. However, Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular show is a much grander spectacle. Animatronics and costumed dinosaurs range in size from a small cat to 36-feet tall and roam the stage to a narration by a paleontologist named Huxley. They fight and the largest specimens weigh 1.6 tons and requires three people to operate.

The live show launched in 2007 in Australia and has toured throughout Europe and North America winning various awards each year for its creative content and staging. Over 2.4 million Americans have heard the roars of Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Utahraptor, Plateosaurus, Tyrannosaurus-rex, and 12 more in the $20 million Arena Spectacular show. Audiences see how these creatures dominated the planet for 200 million years in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods until their extinction was likely caused by a meteor or comet colliding with Earth. Even the climate and planetary changes, such as the continental splits and ocean formations, are shown.

One of the producers, Carmen Pavlovic, says of the entertainingly educational work: “The BBC Series was a brilliant blend of special effects, escapism, excitement and information. Our show brings together all of that, plus something extra -- it’s live! In this production, 17 roaring, snarling 'live' dinosaurs mesmerize the audience -- and are as awe-inspiring as when they first walked on Earth.“  In March 2010 the dinosaur show will be in Las Vegas, in July the tour will be in New York at Madison Square Garden. And in September Walking with Dinosaurs is in Aneheim and then in Los Angeles.