Do you know how to get to Sesame Street?
Were you a Sesame Street fan when you were growing up? What did you like best about the popular children’s TV programme? Was it Jim Henson’s fuzzy Muppets, catchy sing-along tunes or witty educational content that made learning enjoyable?
For most of us, it must be all of the above. After all, who can forget Sesame Street? It’s a place where everyone knows your name and where barriers of race, creed, size or colour have never stood in the way. Plus, it is the only TV show where frogs (think: Kermit The Frog) are made to look cute and vampires (remember Count Von Count?), mysterious yet hilariously funny!
As one of the cornerstones of childhood education for 45 years, Sesame Street has taken over pop-culture with its unique brand, where education is combined with entertainment to make learning fun. When it started off in 1969, it was one of the few (if not the first) children’s TV programming that incorporated colourful puppet characters (called the Muppets) to teach numbers and alphabets to children to help them prepare for school. How cool was that?
Besides educational content, Sesame Street went a step further to deal with social issues. Remember Cookie Monster and the importance of healthy eating, Kermit The Frog and his environmentalism drive or Kami – the HIV-positive Muppet – who taught us how to deal with AIDS?
Over the years, the longest-running TV series – created by Ralph Rogers and Joan Ganz Cooney –
has garnered numerous prestigious awards in television broadcasting and production. In total, it has received 159 Emmy Awards and eight Grammy Awards – more than any other children’s show.
Beside awards, Sesame Street has branched out into a merchandise brand, ranging from toys, DVDs to clothes. And let’s not forget Sesame Street Live, the successful live musical that has been touring the world for over three decades.
Starting Nov 28, the show makes a stop at Genting International Showroom at Genting Highlands, Pahang. It will run till Jan 3. The multi-million dollar Broadway-style musical production, organised by Resorts World Genting and produced by VEE Corporation, takes the audience on an entertaining escapade that crosses generational divide and cultural barriers.
“The 75-minute show features nearly two dozen songs, including classics that children will love to sing along to. Look out for toe-tapping numbers like Sunny Days, Cookie Rumble Crumble, Fuzzy In Blue, Elmo’s World and C Is for Cookie. The show is kept vibrant, with dashes of
humour that cater to people of different ages,” says Sesame Street Live- Elmo Makes Music director Christopher Harper, 37, who was in Kuala Lumpur recently to promote the show.
Harper is one of the few people who understands the breakdown of the nuts and bolts of the show and its brand creativity. In the last 15 years, he has been with performance director of the show and a Sesame actor, having played numerous characters ranging from Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar The Grouch, Bert, The Count to Telly.
And it isn’t surprising that Harper thinks his job the coolest in the world.
“It’s not everyday that you can work with your child heroes. Plus, there’s nothing more fulfilling than entertaining children and adults alike. While each Muppet may have its distinct personality, we can relate to these characters as they are fun and lovable,” said Florida-based Harper, who joined VEE Corporation in 1999, after auditioning for a role as a Sesame Street character.
Over the years, the friendly man rose up the ranks, from actor to choreographer to performance director. Apart from helming the team for Elmo Makes Music, Harper has also served as performance director for VEE Corporation’s When Elmo Grows Up and My Little Pony Live.
Prior to joining VEE Corporation, Harper was attached to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and served as an actor in shows such as Aladdin’s Royal Caravan, Toy Story Parade, Lion King and Beauty and The Beast.
In Elmo Makes Music, ‘fairy-in-training’ Muppet Abby Cadabby decides to start a new band on Sesame Street. But there’s a problem - all the instruments are missing. What can Abby do to save the day? Why, round up her Sesame Street friends to discover ‘instruments’ they never knew existed. Join in the fun as they find items such as pots, spoons, trash can lids and cookie jar to make beautiful music together.
According to Harper, the show encourages children to use their ingenuity to be creative and overcome obstacles.
“It teaches how simple tools ranging from bottle caps, jack hammer to trash can to drum up audience interest. This helps with their cognitive development while teaching them about music appreciation,” said Harper, adding 17 Muppet characters will be featured in the show.
To incorporate creative elements in the set design, there will be trademarks of Sesame Street such as the court yard, Big Bird’s Nest, Oscar’s rubbish bin and Cookie Monster’s cookie jars.
“The stage set is colourful and made to resemble the arbour between 123 Sesame Street and Hooper’s Store. There will be moving scenery pieces ranging from fences, trash cans, jack hammers to brooms. We have kept to as much originality to the TV show so that the audience can relate to it.”
Harper says that Sesame Street TV show and Sesame Street Live shows (which opened in 1980) have managed to sustain itself for decades due to its ingenuity in tackling new educational content, cognitive and emotional development and emotional skills for pre-school children.
And he firmly attest that creating children’s TV programmes and live shows isn’t as easy as ABC as it involves a lot of care, research and thought to ensure it encompasses different educational goals.
“A lot of research goes into the educational content. Sesame Workshop (the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street) work with psychologists and child experts on how to present engaging and educational messages to can hold a child’s attention. The Muppets are a great influence to spread positive messages such as healthy eating, keeping good hygiene and exercise. Essentially, the crux of the show is to keep education fun and real,” says Harper on a concluding note.
Sesame Street Live - Elmo Makes Music takes centrestage at Genting International Showroom from Nov 28 till Jan 3. Showtime is 5.30pm (except Tuesday). There is an extra 2pm show on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are priced at RM158 (VIP, adult), RM118 (VIP, child), RM108 (PS1) and RM88 (PS2). Genting Rewards members can enjoy a 15% discount for the Adult tickets of VIP and PS1 price scales. For more, browse www.rwgenting.com or call 03-2718 1118.
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