Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Released	2021
Duration	107 minutes
Director	Marilyn Agrelo
Music	T. Griffin
Studio	Macrocosm Entertainment

Street Gang production team: Heather Kenyon, Mark Myers, Matt Daley, Marah Strauch, Michael Davis, and Trevor Crafts.

Street Gang - Official Trailer

Official trailer

Teaser poster

HBO Max teaser

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, originally titled simply Street Gang, is a Sesame Street documentary based on the book of the same name by Michael Davis. Much like the book, the documentary focuses on the creation of the Children's Television Workshop and the development of Sesame Street during the first 20 years of the show.

The film was first announced in 2016, with Marah Strauch originally attached to direct. Funding for the production was partially raised from an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign, which offered customized Sesame Street perks. When the campaign launched, the film was expected to have "a late 2017 or early 2018 release." The film's release date was later pushed back to 2019, then 2020, before finally being released in 2021.

A companion book to the film, The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, was released in December 2021.

Premiere

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film made its nationwide online world premiere on January 30, 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival, with a second screening on February 1. Geoblocking was set to keep the event limited to US audiences only.

The film's Sundance premiere was followed by a publicly available Q&A session with the filmmakers (YouTube), as well as one of the festival's Cinema Café interviews featuring Sonia Manzano and Rita Moreno, both reminiscing about their careers and collaborations. (YouTube)

Distribution

Ahead of the film's Sundance premiere, the U.S. theatrical and home entertainment rights were acquired by Screen Media. The film was later announced for screenings around the country beginning April 23rd. The film additionally received screenings at the Museum of the Moving Image in June.

The film became available to rent digitally on May 7th, with a DVD and Blu-ray release on July 6th.

In Fall 2018, the U.S. streaming and broadcast rights were acquired by HBO and the worldwide rights by Focus Features. The film, co-produced by HBO's Documentary Films division, aired on the network and was released for streaming on HBO Max on December 13, 2021.

Home Video Extras

• Jerry and Richard: The Puppeteers (2:53)
• When It Went Wrong: Muppet Outtakes (2:51)
• Joe Raposo: Musical Genius (3:17)
• Sunny Days: Origin of a Song (1:08)
• Sounds of Sesame Street Featurette (2:42)
• Music Experimentation (iTunes Exclusive) (3:51)

Interviewees

• Christopher Cerf, Roscoe Orman, Sonia Manzano, Kate Stone Lucas, Polly Stone, Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Sharon Lerner, Lisa Henson, Brian Henson, Frank Biondo, Bob McGrath, Holly Robinson Peete, Matt Robinson, Jr., Dolores Robinson, Fran Brill, Emilio Delgado, Caroll Spinney, Oscar the Grouch, Nick Raposo, Norman Stiles
• Archival footage interviewees: Jon Stone, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Ernie and Bert, Joe Raposo

Notes

• "The Muppet Wiki" is among those mentioned in the end credits under "The Producers Wish To Thank."

Credits

• Director: Marilyn Agrelo
• Produced by Trevor Crafts and Ellen Scherer Crafts
• Producer: Lisa Diamond
• Executive Producers: Lisa Heller, Nancy Abraham, Brian O'Shea, Nat McCormick, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Mark Myers
• Co-Executive Producer: Michael Davis
• Director of Photography: Luke Geissbühler
• Editor: Ben Gold
• Original Soundtrack Composed by T. Griffin
• Archival Producer: Rich Remsberg
• Associate Editor: Gil Choi

External links

• Official site
• Alternative official site
• Official Facebook fan page
• Sundance - Meet the Artist: Marilyn Agrelo on STREET GANG
• IndieGoGo Page