By Jane Norris

Published: May 8, 2008

Somewhere between the dancing vegetables and the drowsy rendition of the toothbrush song from the back seat, a little superness sinks in for young audience members of “Sesame Street Live: Elmo! Ready for Action.’’

Similarly, for the cast members presenting the high-energy show tonight, Saturday and Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena, taking its lessons to heart can save the day.

Kevin M.H. Wheeler, the dancer who plays Super Grover, is quick to point out that “anyone can have superness. The distinction that needs to be made is that it’s not superpowers.’’

So there’s no need to hunt for kryptonite or radioactive spiders to get your game on when simple but important things — getting enough sleep, making wise food choices and staying active — can keep you reaching for your best. When a day at the office requires dancing, leaping, falling and getting back up again, it’s especially important to stay in super shape.

“It’s definitely a very energetic show,’’ Wheeler said. “You have to give one hundred and ten percent of yourself or it looks as if you aren’t.

“We have to stay in shape and keep our energy up. We have to shower after every show. We have to eat to keep our energy up. It’s true — it works, or you won’t have enough superness to do the show properly.’’

The plot shows what happens when Super Grover loses his superness — “he’s not taking care of himself,’’ Wheeler said fondly — and his Muppet friends Elmo, Rosita, Telly Monster, Zoe and Zoe’s pet rock, Rocco, join forces to help him get his heroic game back on.

The Broadway-style song-and-dance numbers share the importance of good hygiene, picking healthy foods and exercise.

Super Grover soon learns that he already has the strength to succeed, and he’s got friends who can pitch in and teach him some healthy habits.

“Kids can relate to that,’’ Wheeler said. “They can have superness as well. They can do super things.’’

Wheeler said he has a frolic-friendly advantage under the lights — his costume, at about 25 pounds, is one of the lighter ones.

“Our costumes and creatures department has been doing this for a long time, and they’ve made it as comfortable as possible,’’ he said.

It’s still important, however, to bring super concentration powers on stage.

“We do have some pretty tricky choreography,’’ Wheeler said. “A dancer really needs to have a good jazz and ballet background to express the emotions through the costumes.’’

Audience members who watch Super Grover grow into greatness may be surprised to learn that his human buddy didn’t start studying dance until he was 21 and in his senior year as an anthropology and biology major at Valdosta State University. Wheeler took his first dance class in hopes of impressing a girl — and ended up stumbling onto a whole new career path instead.

“I’ve been doing this [role] for over three years, and I feel like I’m still discovering the character,’’ Wheeler said. “It’s always evolving for me.’’

Even on tour, the Valdosta, Ga., native said, he finds new moments when he thinks, “ ‘This is Groveresque,’ and I build on it from there.’’

Wheeler’s parents still live in south Georgia, and they’ve seen the show quite a few times. The national traveling schedule gives Wheeler’s family members on both coasts the chance to see him in action and keep their ties close.

“That’s one of the great things about being on the road, especially with this company, is that you get to have little mini-family reunions all over the country,’’ Wheeler said.

His relatives aren’t the only grownups who get a kick out of “Elmo! Ready for Action.’’ Wheeler said there will be plenty to keep big folks entertained, from such familiar songs as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’’ to “a lot of humor for adults.’’

Besides, there’s always the performing produce.

“We might have a few dancing vegetables, and that’s always fun to look forward to,’’ he said. “There might be a dancing bell pepper and maybe even a dancing broccoli.’’

Just as Super Grover’s friends come to his rescue, the audience provides an important part of the show’s superness equation.

“It’s a very gratifying job,’’ Wheeler said. “For some kids, it might be their only experience with theater. The more lively a crowd we have, the more energetic we are. It’s like being a rock star for kids.’’

And if you’re not feeling particularly super today, Super Grover just might set you an example.

“He falls about six or seven times during the show when he’s trying to fly, and he always gets back up,’’ Wheeler said.