Big Bird's Sesame Street Story

Big Bird's Sesame Street Story

Sample pages from the show's program.

Big Bird's Sesame Street Story is a Sesame Street Live stage show, produced by VEE Corporation in 1987. The show gives a fictionalized account of how the television program Sesame Street came to be.

Prairie Dawn tries to teach the alphabet to Elmo, who prefers watching TV instead. Big Bird and friends come up with an idea for a show with stories, cartoons, and puppets that teaches children while they watch. The gang travels to a television studio and tries pitching their idea to a hardheaded executive named Tedious J. Molehill, who rejects it, so they decide to broadcast the show from their street: and thus, Sesame Street is born.

A Los Angeles Times review explains the show's premise: "It's exciting, as Las Vegas is, but it's awfully grandiose for these unassuming characters. And the story line is even more narcissistic: a look at how Sesame Street got to be a TV show. It isn't a factual story; no one mentions Muppets creator Jim Henson. But its explanation of how everyone had to be convinced that kids would want to learn something from TV, as well as be entertained, is ridiculously self-promotional. Have writers Jon Stone and Joseph A. Bailey run out of story ideas that would more directly relate to the real concerns of preschoolers?"

Characters

Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, Prairie Dawn, Grover, The Count, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Tedious J. Molehill, Teenager, Grocer, Granny, Hoots the Owl

Notes

• This is the debut show for Elmo and Hoots the Owl.
• Hoots is represented as a puppet, instead of a full-body costume.
• For later additions of the show (as evident by the program), the characters of Barkley (as voiced by Fred Garbo), Betty Lou (voiced by Fran Brill), and Telly Monster (Martin P. Robinson) are added, and some of the remaining characters also appear in different acts. Telly's voice, however, can be heard during the second act's original soundtrack.

Acts

Act I

• Hi, Everybody — Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, The Count, Teenager, Granny
• Where's Grover — Grover, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, The Count, Elmo, Prairie Dawn
• The Alphabet Song — Elmo, Prairie Dawn, Big Bird
• C is for Cookie — Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, Teenager, The Count, Grocer, Elmo, Prairie Dawn
• The Learning Song — Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch
• Hoots' Band — Hoots the Owl, Prairie Dawn, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Granny, Teenager, The Count, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird

Act II

• Oscar's Taxi Service — Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Bert, Prairie Dawn, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count, Ernie
• The Little Kiddy Show — Big Bird, The Count, Bert, Prairie Dawn, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, Granny, Grocer
• The Place Where They Make Television Shows — Big Bird, Tedious J. Molehill, Elmo, The Count, Cookie Monster, Grocer, Bert, Prairie Dawn, Ernie, Granny, Grover
• The Learning Song — Tedious J. Molehill, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Prairie Dawn, Elmo, The Count, Grover, Grocer, Oscar the Grouch, Granny
• Bathtime — Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Granny, Cookie Monster, The Count, Prairie Dawn, Grover, Grocer
• Blue Bird Blues — Hoots the Owl, Big Bird
• Sesame Street — The Full Cast

Notes

• In later additions, the acts titled "The Little Kiddy Show" and "The Place Where They Make Television Shows" are re-named as Kids!, and includes both Telly and Betty Lou.

Music

• "Sesame Street Theme"
• "Rubber Duckie"
• "Kids!"
  Revised Lyrics by Marilyn Magness
• "Put Down the Duckie!"
• Grover's Where?; TV Scene Music; TV Chase; Taxi Underscore
  Music by Paul Walberg
• "The Learning Song"
  Words and Music by Paul Walberg
• "The Wheels on the Car"
  Revised Lyrics by Jon Stone
• "The Itty Bitty Little Kiddy Show"; "Blue Bird Blues"
  Words by Jon Stone, Music by Paul Walberg
• "Sing"

Notes

• The show program incorrectly states that Sesame Street went on the air on November 16, 1969. The date is off by six days from the show's actual premiere: November 10.
• A scene where the characters decide on a name for their television show recalls the Sesame Street pitch reel (written by Jon Stone) where a boardroom of Muppets brainstorm a title for the series. Big Bird also considers "Mister Big Bird's Neighborhood" and "Captain Kangabird" as possible titles.
• A running gag throughout the show is Elmo constantly talking about his new shoes, which he does in Episode 2271 and briefly mentions in episode 2413; the episodes' scripts were also written by Jon Stone.

Voices

• Jim Henson as Ernie and Guy Smiley [sic]
• Frank Oz as Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover
• Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
• Jerry Nelson as The Count and Tedious J. Molehill
• Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn
• Kevin Clash as Elmo and Hoots the Owl

Credits

• Executive Producer: Vincent E. Egan
• Produced by Bob Shipstad
• Written by Jon Stone and Joseph A. Bailey
• Directed and Choreographed by Marilyn Magness
• Art Director/Technical Coordinator: Jim Waters
• Production Associate: Paul Walberg
• Muppet character design by Jim Henson, Donald Sahlin, Caroly Wilcox, Kermit Love, Michael Frith
• Muppet costumes designed and built by Muppets, Inc.
  • Design and supervision of construction: Connie Peterson
  • Assisted by Tom McAlister, Don Creech
  • Mechanical animation by Mae Canaga, Marilee Canaga
• Program — Muppet Illustrations: Joe Mathieu