The show is going all in on Dela Cruz’s Filipino identity: Season 2 will introduce Josh’s lola (Tagalog for grandma), played by actor and jazz performer Carolyn Fe. I don’t know if I would be the performer I am today and as accepting of my identity – which has led to my success – if it hadn’t been for Montclair State.”Īssociate Professor of Theatre and Dance Clay James says Dela Cruz made the most of his education: “Josh was the kind of student who, right from the start, took full advantage of everything that Montclair State University has to offer, in terms of professional training and performance opportunity.”Ĭritics have lauded Dela Cruz’s performance on Blue’s Clues & You! and have noted that he represents both an opportunity for Asian American children to feel seen and for children in general to have an Asian American role model. “The Theatre and Dance department took me in and put me in plays which I had never done,” Dela Cruz says, noting that he was cast in roles typically reserved for white actors – from Heinrich von Kleist’s The Prince of Homburg and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, to Ken Ludwig and George Gershwin’s Crazy for You. He credits Montclair State with helping him embrace his identity. That definitely does play a part in why maybe I never even saw myself on television – or even mainstream media.” “I never experienced seeing somebody like me on TV growing up. Josh Dela Cruz as Bobby Child in Montclair State’s production of Crazy for You, 2008.īut, as a Filipino American, Dela Cruz says he initially didn’t envision himself on television. Jessica Fox, a mother of two from Maplewood, New Jersey, reports: “Both my kids love him! And so do I!”Īfter graduating from Montclair State with a degree in Musical Theatre, Dela Cruz found success in the New York/Broadway theater scene, playing Lun Tha across from Lou Diamond Phillips and Rachel Bay Jones in The King and I, earning roles in the David Lynch/Fatboy Slim collaboration Here Lies Love and Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, and working as an ensemble cast member and understudy for the lead in the Disney hit Aladdin. Mira’s mom, Jennifer DiDomenico, says Mira is “obsessed with this show.”Īnd the appeal crosses age groups. “He is a good singer!” says 3-year-old Mira, a fan of the show from Millburn, New Jersey, who also likes that “Josh” built a block tower for Blue and his puppy friend Magenta when they were sad. Courtesy of Nickelodeon.Īccording to critics, one big reason for its wild success is Dela Cruz, whose musical theater chops and natural charm spring from the screen while pulling viewers in. Josh Dela Cruz with Blue at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2019. 1 among preschool shows in its first week, and a second season was ordered just eight days after its November 11, 2019, debut. The answer – with the dynamic Josh Dela Cruz ’11 as the human sidekick to cartoon puppy Blue – is a resounding, “Yes!” When Nickelodeon’s breakout hit children’s show Blue’s Clues (1996-2006) returned as the rebooted Blue’s Clues & You! last fall, some wondered whether this sweet and occasionally silent show from the pre-smartphone era could succeed amidst the noise of the “digital age.” Josh Dela Cruz on the “set” of Blue’s Clues & You! Courtesy of Nickelodeon. Universities Launch NJ Come Home to Bring Scholars Back to Stateīroadway actor and alumnus finds a home and a hit show on Nickelodeon.Online Graduate Programs Ranked Among Nation’s Best.Partnering With NJ First Lady to Positively Impact Maternal Health.Montclair High School Students Have It MADE. University Acquires Popular Campus Ice Arena.Seen and Heard (Sometimes Virtually) on Campus.Governor Makes a Surprise Appearance in Class.After Funding Cuts, University Plans to Close NJ School of Conservation.Researchers Study Climate Change Effects on Mangroves for NASA.Adapting to a World Changed While Abroad.On the Front Lines of the Coronavirus Crisis.Menu The magazine of Montclair State University Spring/Summer 2020
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