Road Stage

The first finalized Road Stage at Mississauga (Dixie Rd.), Ontario, Canada during installation

(1991)

Release: Nov. 20, 1990 - Jun. 15, 2025
Units Produced: 33
Manufacturer: Corman & Associates

The Road Stage was the first-ever Cyberamic setup for Munch’s Make Believe Band, formerly found at Chuck E. Cheese’s locations. Road Stages often opened with new stores, though they have also replaced previous stages at existing stores, between 1990 and 1992 (one installation had been relocated to an existing store by 1994). Gradually replaced by 2-Stages, 1-Stages, Studio C configurations, and Dance Floors, the last remaining Road Stage installation was removed in 2025, becoming an extinct stage variant.

History

Early Development

After the creation of the Concept Unification 3-Stage in 1990, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. wanted a Cyberamic setup for Munch’s Make Believe Band to create synergy and unity between Chuck E. Cheese’s shows as production of Chuck E.’s Houses (Rocker Stages) and Chuck E.’s House Facades (C-Stages), based around the rapidly changing Pizza Time Players, wrapped up. The Road Stage was created as a solution to this, designed by the Director of Entertainment at the time, Jul Kamen. ^[1] The premise of the Road Stage was not too far off from the idea of the 3-Stage in theme. However, the execution of which would be drastically different in comparison to which. This stage may be considered as transitional, as Chuck E. Cheese himself was the only character presented as a full-body with legs, whilst the other members were still depicted as traditional half-bodies common to Pizza Time Theatre Cyberamic configurations (in the same vein as Portrait/Shelf or Balcony/C-Stage House Facade arrangements). By contrast, however, Jasper T. Jowls and Helen Henny were also given legs for the aforementioned Chuck E.’s House (Rocker Stage).

Premiere

The first Road Stage debuted on November 20th, 1990, at the then-new Jonesboro, Georgia location, which was shortly followed by Topeka, Kansas on November 26th, 1990; Springfield, Pennsylvania on December 4th, 1990; plus West Palm Beach, Florida on December 18th, 1990. These four locations premiered with the prototype Road Stage design as described below, and all eventually converted into the finalized design within a few years of installation. Topeka, upon its conversion, retained the road from the prototype, the only conversion to do so until Topeka’s stage was further upgraded with a proper stage base and curtains by 1997. ^[3] Curtains were not originally considered in the initial design, though several installations from 1991 up through 1992 included them; thus, the Road Stage was the first Cyberamic configuration to utilize curtains (though they were Austrian lift instead of side-to-side parting, traditionally used by 3-Stages, then eventually 2-Stages, and some 1-Stages).

Removal

With the inception of 2-Stages and 1-Stages in 1992, Road Stages were immediately deemed obsolete after just two years of production. Gradually, Road Stages were replaced by the latter arrangements, then eventually by Studio C configurations (in some cases), and finally by Dance Floors of the CEC 2.0. Remodel Program. The last Road Stage in the United States, Charlotte (Albemarle Rd.) in North Carolina, was removed on the night of June 2nd, 2024. Charlotte’s Road Stage was claimed to have been shipped to the SPT Distribution facilities in Topeka, Kansas. The last-ever Road Stage remaining at the time, Mississauga (Dixie Rd.) in Ontario, Canada, was originally slated to be preserved as part of the CEC Legacy Location initiative, according to CEO David McKillips and CMO Mark Kupferman in February 2025. However, it was later decided that Willowdale (2452 Sheppard Ave), Ontario, Canada, was to receive a Legacy Location status in May 2025 as a result of internal discussions. Despite alleged plans to relocate Mississauga’s Road Stage to Willowdale, according to Kupferman, it was determined that the building pedestals were “beyond repair after years of flooding and age,” thus coming to the decision that only select pieces of the Road Stage (and “other regional stages”) would be applied to Willowdale’s existing 2-Stage. In the end, Willowdale’s show only received a new Jasper hat from Mississauga and new 2.0. carpeting along the stage base as part of their legacy remodel. Mississauga’s Road Stage, the first installation with the finalized design and the last Road Stage standing, was removed on June 15th, 2025, officially becoming an extinct stage variant.

Appearance

Road Stage Prototype

Chuck E. Cheese was positioned atop a black pedestal with a white surface. His star, directly from the 3-Stage setup, was situated behind him. A neon sign similar to that of the 3-Stage, but with “Chuck E. Cheese” written in a different typeface, was present within a set of buildings situated between Chuck E. and Helen. Helen and Jasper were situated on building-like pedestals, based on the description in the 1990 CEC Stage diagnostics. ^[2] Mr. Munch, situated on his organ, was placed in front of a large jukebox-style CRT television displaying the Cyberstar/CEC TV video feed from above. Pasqually, situated on his drum set, stands in front of an abstract restaurant design established as “Pasqually’s,” which is absent from the final design. The early version of the stage lacked both a valance and a wink, and included a road element encircling the stage area. No cityscape backdrops are present other than in the foreground, and the sky consisted of late 80s or early 90s styled confetti graphics on a navy background, rather than fiber optic lighting used for the stars on the 3-Stage.

Finalized Road Stage

Chuck E. Cheese was again positioned atop a black pedestal with a white surface. His star, directly from the 3-Stage setup, was also situated behind him. At the rear of the star is a backdrop consisting of three multicolored buildings. The CRT television, originally located behind Mr. Munch, had been relocated next to Chuck E. Cheese, its design now identical to the 3-Stage ‘Jukebox’ design with an added pedestal. The neon sign, now also identical to the 3-Stage design, was hung above the Jukebox monitor. The stage backdrop now featured a vast cityscape with multi-colored buildings and a fiber optic star curtain. A “Munch’s Make Believe Band” sign, placed within the set of buildings that previously held the Chuck E. Cheese neon sign in the prototype, had been inserted behind Munch. Helen and Jasper were again situated on building-like pedestals, Mr. Munch was also situated on his organ, and Pasqually was still situated on his drum set as well. The road featured in front of the stage from the prototype design was removed, with the wink and valance added to match the 3-Stage’s standardized exterior presentation.

Munch & Pasqually Armature Retrofits.

While not originally part of the Road Stage, Mr. Munch and Pasqually figures retained their armatures from the Pizza Time Theatre era in a majority of initial installations. When the 2-Stage was rolled out in 1992, Road Stages slowly began to replace these armatures with new, appropriate arms by Kinetix so both Munch and Pasqually could play the organ and drums properly, respectively. Albeit some of these would be different than 2-Stage and 1-Stage armatures in positioning alone, making them more unique. This stage was the final instance where Mr. Munch and Pasqually Cyberamics had body turns, along with their head turns enabled. Since the creation of the 2-Stage and 1-Stage, it was instructed to secure the body turn mechanism down by removing the shoulder strap pins/stop plates and bolting a 1 1/2* ‘L’ bracket to the front of their base supports. This means only their heads could turn freely, but their bodies cannot, so they can therefore play their instruments without the possible risk of wear or damage from their restricted surroundings on those stages. ^[4]

Installed Road Stages