CityKids

Dread and Bird

Inside the Head

Two eyed and one eyed Koozebanians

The Dirt Sisters; Trish and Toya

Frankie Frank and the Footers

CityKids was a short-lived Saturday morning show on ABC. It first aired on September 18, 1993. Thirteen episodes were produced. The last show aired on January 29, 1994.

The TV Guide description of the first episode said: "A wacky new batch of Muppets that includes the Dirt Sisters -- two urban teens who spread the latest gossip around town -- and a group of rappin' hot dogs called Frankie Frank and the Footers highlight CityKids. The human CityKids they interact with are an ethnically diverse group of teenagers whose urban misadventures are charted. The first outing celebrates individuality and teaches a lesson in how to deal with a touchy racial situation." The Muppet cast also includes Dread, a Rastafarian philosopher who appeared with his pigeon sidekick, Bird.

The show was a co-production between Jim Henson Productions and the CityKids Foundation, a New York non-profit agency that helps young people use the performing arts to talk about issues impacting their lives. Each episode was written and produced "for kids, with kids," with members of The CityKids Foundation working as performers, creative assistants and production interns.

There was also a segment of the show showing what happens inside the heads of some of the characters. Inside The Head live Libido, Lieutenant, and Captain.

At times, the show cut away to segments on Planet Koozebane to highlight the issue being dealt with in the real world. For example, a bunch of one eyed green aliens are chasing and bullying another green alien because he has two eyes.

The show's main theme song was composed by Malik Yoba, who also composed other songs for the series and was a musical creative supervisor.

The pilot episode originally aired as an "ABC Saturday Morning Special" on January 30, 1993, and featured markedly different puppet designs for some of the characters.

Episodes

Episode list and airdates taken from TV.com listing.

1. Pilot (9/18/93)
2. Becoming a Man (9/25/93)
3. Get a Job (10/2/93)
4. The Curse of Ali Baba (10/9/93)
5. Bye, Bye Reputation (10/16/93)
6. The Mural (10/23/93)
7. Alterations with Attitude (10/30/93)
8. Quality Time (11/13/93)
9. Rooftop Thanksgiving (11/20/93)
10. Pack of Lies (12/4/93)
11. Love Letters on the Hudson (12/11/93)
12. All My Trials (12/18/93)
13. I Am Woman (1/29/94)

Cast

• Cyndi Cartagena as Angelica
• Hassan Elgendi as Snoopy
• Dulé Hill as John
• Anne Ho as Susan
• Renoly Santiago as Tito
• Diana Smith as Nikki
• Brad Stoll as David

Guest Actors:

Olivia Birkelund, Don Chastain, Donald Faison, Peter Jay Fernandez, Arthur French, Ira Hawkins, Cristina Hernandez, Kevin Jordan, John Manfrelotti, Robert Rodriguez, Angela Scott, Mary Testa, Karen Trott

Muppets

• Cenophia Mitchell as the voice of Toya
• Elizabeth Regen as the voice of Trish

Muppet Performers

• David Rudman as Dread, Frankie Frank, Lieutenant, and Toya (puppetry); also Puppeteer Captain
• Joey Mazzarino as Bird, Captain, and Trish (puppetry)
• John Henson as Libido
• Noel MacNeal
• Alison Mork
• Carmen Osbahr
• Don Reardon
• Camille Bonora (uncredited)

Credits

• Co-Executive Producer: Alex Rockwell
• Associate Producer: Pat Nugent
• Supervising Editor/Muppet Segment Supervisor: David Gumpel
• Production Designer: Lyndon Mosse
• Costume Designer: Muriel Stockdale
• Video Technical Director: Thomas Guadarrama
• Animation: Ken Brown / Lisa Crafts

External links

• The CityKids Foundation (archived)