Elmo the Musical



Elmo the Musical is the newest Sesame Street segment that began airing in the 43rd season. 10 segments have been produced (with five additional segments appearing the following season).

In the segment, Elmo teaches math skills while imagining himself in different musical situations. Segments include "Sea Captain the Musical," "Mountain Climber the Musical," "Prince Elmo the Musical" and "President the Musical." Joining Elmo in his adventures is Velvet, a talking set of curtains, and a series of animal and Anything Muppet friends.

The segment will inspire new online content for Sesamestreet.org. Elements of the segment (including Velvet) appear in the Sesame Street Live show, Can't Stop Singing.

Segments

 * Mountain Climber the Musical
 * Prince Elmo the Musical
 * Detective the Musical

Replacing Elmo's World
Production on the "Elmo's World" segments had ceased in the late 2000's, the last segment airing as part of the 2009 season. The segment was meant to appeal to kids younger than the target age of the show (two years and younger). Executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente was not too pleased with the success it received, as it was targeting an age the show's curriculum was not designed for. The "block format" experiment of season 40 proved to be a ratings hit, attracting more children between the ages of 3-4, leaving the "Elmo's World" segment as the youngest-skewing portion of the program, something Parente wished to change even before production halted.

Development
In June 2011, Joey Mazzarino and the other writers began developing new ideas for the new segment. One idea was to have Elmo go on road trips using his tricycle. Mazzarino stated Elmo's character was all about his excited view of the world and large imagination and they decided to go with an idea based on those characteristics. The idea of a musical segment came around and with the success of musical programs like High School Musical and Glee, the writers decided it was a good idea to move forward with.

Production
Each episode took a day to film. All the material was filmed in front of a greenscreen, with the performers dressed in green to allow characters like Elmo to appear full-bodied. Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio, known for producing other animated segments for the show, provides the CGI elements of the segment, including the backgrounds and new character Velvet. Each episode costs approximately $275,000 to produce.

Sesame Street musical director Bill Sherman helms music production for the segment.