Prairie Dawn produced and directed a series of short plays on Sesame Street. The plays were performed by her friends, with Prairie Dawn often accompanying them on piano.
Pageant sketches | ||||
| Picture | Title / EKA | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Flower Grows Episode 0578 | Ernie plays the role of Bart, a farm boy who plants a flower. Herry Monster plays the sun, and a nervous Cookie Monster plays a cloud. Bert reluctantly plays the flower. When it is said that Bert made the leaves for his costume out of lettuce leaves, Cookie and Herry proceed to eat the leaves and rip the costume apart.
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 | Let's Make a Face Episode 0711 | Prairie directs the cast in a pageant about the face. Ernie talks about eyes, Cookie Monster talks about the mouth, Bert and Grover talk about ears, and Herry Monster talks about the nose. At the end of the pageant, they assemble a picture of a face.
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 | She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain Episode 0907 | Cookie Monster, playing the heroine in this year's pageant, can't seem to grasp the concept of going "around" something (he instead goes over, under, and through) until Prairie gets an idea and lures him with a cookie.
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 | Tooth Episode 1160 | The cast demonstrates how to keep your teeth clean. Bert plays the role of the tooth. Herry Monster is a germ (complete with a black coat and moustache). Ernie and Grover come to the rescue in the roles of the toothbrush and toothpaste. Cookie Monster enters the stage with a bucket in his hands, demonstrating how to rinse afterwards. Luckily, when he throws the contents over Bert, the bucket turns out to be filled with confetti. | ||
 | The Four Seasons Episode 1165 | Grover plays stage manager (and prop man) for Prairie's play, though he keeps making mistakes and eventually falls from the rafters. Bert presents a snowman for winter, while Herry, with a flower pot, explains spring. Ernie, wearing sunglasses and wielding a beach ball, represents summer, and Cookie Monster wears a (delicious) tree costume for fall.
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 | The Life of a Butterfly Episode 1443 | A little girl (Kathryn Mullen) plays piano in Prairie Dawn's place, with Ernie as a stage hand. Two Anything Muppet kids play some eggs on a stick, Bert plays the caterpillar who hatches from an egg, and Herry Monster sprouts out as the butterfly. | ||
 | Feelings Episode 1731 | Prairie Dawn presents a pageant about feelings. Bert dresses as Cupid to represent love -- but his lines don't ring true. Instead, he sings his own song, "That's Love". He sings that to him, love means pigeons, oatmeal, his little nephew Brad -- and even his best friend Ernie. After the song, Bert complains about his costume and how he is always humiliated in many pageants. Ernie points out to the viewers that "He should have been Angry." | ||
 | Food We Eat Episode 2293 | Prairie Dawn plays piano for a pageant about food. Elmo plays an asparagus (a role that would, years later, be performed by Telly). Herry Monster is stuck in a fish costume that's "three sizes too small" and was made by his mom. Leo the Party Monster portrays a potato (mentioning that potato chips make a great party food). Telly, in the role of milk, carries a full pitcher of milk on his head and is concerned about spilling it. When he proudly concludes he managed to say his lines without making a mess, Herry tells him to take a bow. Telly does so, and gets the milk all over Prairie's hair! | ||
 | The Sky Cooperates Episode 2420 | In a play similar to the earlier flower pageant, Gladys the Cow stars as a seed. Ernie plays the rain and Herry Monster the sun, whose attentions cause the seed to bloom into a flower. | ||
 | Milk Episode 2837 | This pageant shows where milk comes from, with Elmo as a glass, Telly, the Big Bad Wolf and a Little Pig as three different sized quarts of milk, Gladys as the cow, and Herry Monster as the grass. | ||
 | Island Episode 2850 | Telly, Ruby and Herry appear in a pageant about islands. | ||
Featured pageants | ||||
 | "The Night Before Christmas" A Muppet Family Christmas | Ernie narrates the pageant, with Rowlf the Dog on piano. Bert reluctantly plays Mama, Grover plays a mouse, The Two-Headed Monster plays Santa Claus, and various monsters play reindeer. | ||
 | Computer Episode 2618 | Prairie Dawn hosts a pageant on the Street with Forgetful Jones as the keyboard, Elmo as the monitor and Telly as a floppy disk. | ||
 | Growing Vegetables Episode 2839 | In this pageant which is set in the garden section of Sesame Street everyone gathers around for the "Growing Vegetables." Elmo comes out dressed as a radish, Big Bird comes out dressed as corn with the husk on. Then Snuffy comes out dressed as his favorite vegetable, a cabbage. | ||
 | Seasons Episode 2855 | Tim Robbins performs the seasons in Prairie Dawn's pageant. | ||
 | Letter B Episode 3088 | Baby Bear, Oscar, Rosita and Big Bird star in a pageant about B words. | ||
 | Heavy and Light Episode 3311 | Prairie hosts a pageant about heavy and light, where Monty shows heavy with a large boulder and Merry Monster shows light with a feather. | ||
 | Sunflowers Episode 3374 | Big Bird stars in a pageant about sunflowers growing. | ||
 | Quiet and Loud Episode 3462 | Prairie presents a pageant about things that are quiet and loud. | ||
 | Things in the Air and Things on the Ground Episode 3475 | Telly, Baby Bear and other star in a pageant about things that are found in the ground, and things found in the air. | ||
 | Being Sick Episode 3595 | Bob fills in for a sick Prairie as the cast acts out a pageant about being sick. | ||
 | Maria Episode 3725 | Prairie writes a pageant based on the experience of Maria fixing her piano. | ||
 | Lunches Episode 3728 | Everyone stars in a play about their favorite things for lunch. | ||
 | Best Friends Episode 3810 | Prairie Dawn decides to direct a best friends pageant, but all of the best friends on Sesame Street start arguing with each other. | ||
 | Little Red Riding Hood and the Oat Bran Cookies Episode 3989 | Prairie Dawn directs a play called, "Little Red Riding Hood and the Oat Bran Cookies." | ||
 | Healthy Food Episode 4122 | Prairie Dawn decides to put on a "Healthy Food Pageant." Prairie plays the piano while everyone else dresses up like different foods and sings about the foods' health benefits. Zoe sings about potatoes and Rosita sings about tortillas. Telly is just about to go on as an asparagus, but he just isn't feeling the part as he has never tasted one. Another problem arises right before Elmo is about to make his broccoli debut - he can't find his costume! | ||
 | Thanksgiving Episode 4801 | Elmo, Bert, Ernie and the kids participate in a short production about the foods they eat at Thanksgiving. | ||
 | The Nativity Elmo's World: Happy Holidays | A pageant of the Nativity story is presented by Prairie Dawn and the Sesame Street cast. In the pageant, Natasha plays baby Jesus, with Bert as Joseph, Rosita as Mary, Zoe as an angel, and Herry, Grover and Cookie Monster as the Three Kings. | ||
Pageants in other media | ||||
 | A Christmas Pageant Merry Christmas from Sesame Street | In this audio skit, everyone votes for Bert to play a Christmas tree in Prairie Dawn's Christmas pageant (against Bert's will, of course). | ||
 | "The Little Red Hen" The Little Red Hen | Bert stars as the hen with Herry Monster as the pig, Ernie as the dog, Cookie Monster as the cow, and Grover as the sheep. | ||
 | The Sesame Street Weather Play Don't Be Shy | Snuffy is cast as the Sun, but is initially too shy to come out. Also in the cast are Bert as Snow, Ernie as Rain, and Cookie Monster as Wind. | ||
 | Jack and the Beanstalk pageant We're Counting on You, Grover! | Prairie Dawn asks Grover to help her to create the beanstalk for the play. | ||
| | Thanksgiving pageant The Sesame Street People in Your Neighborhood 1991 Calendar | Prairie Dawn presents a Thanksgiving play for the month of November. | ||
 | Feelings pageant Happy and Sad, Grouchy and Glad | Prairie Dawn presents a pageant about feelings, with participation from Grover, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, the Amazing Mumford, Elmo, Telly Monster, and Shelley the Turtle, amongst others. The majority of this pageant did not involve costumes. | ||
 | Job pageant When I Grow Up and When Elmo Grows Up | In this Sesame Street Live show, the entire play is presented as a pageant, with the characters portraying their ideal occupation. | ||
 | Sing a Song of Sixpence pageant The Sesame Street Dictionary | Cookie Monster plays the queen who is eating bread and honey in the famed nursery rhyme. | ||
 | Jack and the Beanstalk pageant The Sesame Street Dictionary | Ernie takes on the character of Jack, while Bert plays the beanstalk. | ||
 | Cinderella pageant The Sesame Street Dictionary | Prince Charming tries the glass slipper on Prairie Dawn, who plays Cinderella. | ||
 | Goldilocks and the Three Bears pageant The Sesame Street Dictionary | Ernie, Bert, and Herry Monster played the The Three Bears while Prairie Dawn took on the title role of Goldilocks. | ||
 | Little Miss Muffet pageant The Sesame Street Dictionary | The Nursery Rhyme tale of Little Miss Muffet and a spider, played by Stanley. | ||
 | Ali Baba and his Forty Thieves pageant
The Sesame Street Dictionary | Ernie takes on the role of Ali Baba in this story from One Thousand and One Nights. | ||
 | Peter and the Wolf pageant The Sesame Street Players Present Peter and the Wolf | In this book and tape set, the Sesame characters present the story of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. | ||
 | The Nutcracker pageant Here Comes Christmas! | In this Sesame Street coloring book, the classic tale of the Nutcracker is shown. | ||
See also
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