Sesame Studio shows

Two Sesame Studio shows were performed at the Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania -- The Wild Duckie Chase from 1989 to 1994, and The Amazing Adventures of Elmo and Zoe from 1995 to 2000.^[1]

In 1989, that space in Sesame Studio became Sesame Production Company Presents: The Wild Duckie Chase, an interactive video stage show that mixed audience participation with pre-recorded footage of Sesame Street characters.

The audience sat facing a stage with a green screen, and children were chosen from the audience to come on stage and act out what appeared to be strange actions, like opening a door or hopping from one place to another. When all of the required pieces were filmed, the green-screen footage was mixed with the pre-taped Sesame footage using chroma-key. At the end, the audience watched a complete 8-minute video, in which the guests "interacted" with the characters, sets and plot. Participants of the show were able to purchase a souvenir copy of their Sesame Street "appearance" on VHS after the show.

In 2001, the show was replaced by the stage show Elmo's World Live.

The Wild Duckie Chase (1989-1994)[]

The Wild Duckie Chase begins with a brief roll call of all of the characters -- Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Ernie and Rubber Duckie, Bert and Super Grover -- as well as the children participating in the show.

After the introduction, Big Bird is standing on a chroma-key Sesame Street, and begins the story: "Once upon a time, it was a regular old day on Sesame Street. Oscar was grouchy as usual..." Oscar pops his head out of his trash can to tell Big Bird to get lost. Big Bird says that Bert was headed out for his morning stroll...

On the steps of 123 Sesame Street, a participant opens the door -- revealing Bert, who asks for the child's name, and thanks them for opening the door for him. Ernie shouts for Bert, and when Bert comes running, announces that they need to look for Rubber Duckie.

They head out to a river, where Ernie and Bert are seen waiting in a rubber raft for some participant children to board their own raft. The kids put on life vests, and then scamper across some slippery rocks into their raft. Once they're in the boat, they all paddle down the river. Suddenly, they paddle over a waterfall, and everyone screams as the rafts fall. The camera cuts to the audience, who scream and then yell "Splash!" as the rafts come to rest in a quiet pool of water.

Ernie and Bert head under the water in a pink submarine, while participants "swim" underneath them. Ernie and Bert encourage the kids to swim in a dark, spooky cave. In the submarine, Bert reminds Ernie that Rubber Duckie doesn't swim under the water, he floats on top.

The search continues in the air, as Ernie and Bert fly in a two-seater airplane. Super Grover flies by, and announces that he'll help them -- along with some super-helpers, who are wearing purple capes and flying through the sky.

Returning to Sesame Street, Bert commiserates with Ernie for the loss of Rubber Duckie, but Ernie reveals that the duck has been in his pocket the whole time. He explains, "I never said Rubber Duckie was lost, Bert. I just said that I wanted to go look for him!"

The Amazing Adventures of Elmo and Zoe (1994-2000)[]

In 1994, The Amazing Adventures of Elmo and Zoe replaced The Wild Duckie Chase as the new Sesame Studio show.

In the new show, audience members walk down Sesame Street in front of Big Bird. Zoe blasts off to outer space, as Big Bird watches through binoculars. Then the children dance with Elmo, before he jumps onto a trampoline, shooting into the sky to save Zoe. The show features appearances by Grover (as an astronaut), Cookie Monster (on Cloud 9), Bert, and Ernie (as firefighters).