Evening at Pops: 1971

Evening at the Pops: A Special Program with Arthur Fiedler and Friends from Sesame Street aired on PBS on Setember 12, 1971.

This one-hour special was part of a series of music programs featuring the Boston Pops Orchestra. In this program, conductor Arthur Fiedler and the orchestra are joined by some of the Sesame Street regulars for an evening of entertainment, performed for an audience of children.

The orchestra opens the program with a selection of musical offerings, including Julius Fucik's Entrance of the Gladiators, Franz von Suppe's Light Cavalry Overture, and Burt Bacharach's Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.

Cookie Monster and the other Sesame Street cast members are featured in a performance of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony. In other highlights, Kermit the Frog sings Bein' Green; Ernie sings Rubber Duckie; Susan, Gordon and Mr. Hooper perform a sampling of some popular Sesame Street tunes, and Big Bird conducts the orchestra in a counting song.

The rebroadcast of the program on August 30, 1981 featured an introduction by John Williams.

From Sesame Street Unpaved: "According to Danny Epstein, musical coordinator for Sesame Street, when the cast played [Rubber Duckie] with the Boston Pops (Big Bird conducted), the musicians were not allowed to squeeze rubber duckies in addition to playing their own instruments unless they were paid extra. Apparently, a rubber duckie was considered to be a second instrument, and each musician was supposed to receive additional pay if they played a second instrument. When it came time for the actual performance, only the percussion players squeezed the ducks. It was determined that the rubber duck was to be considered a percussion instrument."

Also from Sesame Street Unpaved: "During the performance [of Rubber Duckie] with the Boston Pops, Will Lee (Mr. Hooper) was to play a triangle. But he couldn't read sheet music, so he didn't know when his cues were. After trying several solutions, someone decided to tie a rope to Lee's leg. Offstage, Danny Epstein, the current musical coordinator, and Joe Raposo tugged the rope and flashed a signal flashlight whenever Lee was supposed to play."

Credits

 * Executive Producer/Producer/Director: William N. Cosel


 * Writer for Sesame Street: Jeffrey Moss


 * Symphony Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra


 * Conductor: Arthur Fiedler


 * Music Director: Joe Raposo


 * Muppet Performers: Jim Henson, Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz


 * Cast: Matt Robinson, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Will Lee