The beloved characters from "Sesame Street," known to children and parents alike, will gather onstage to entertain as they ponder aloud the age-old child's question: What do I want to be when I grow up?
"When Elmo Grows Up," this year's "Sesame Street Live" production, features Broadway-style costumes, music, stage settings and more as the characters act, sing, dance and interact with the audience. Each of the characters will come up into the audience area at Mellon Arena to play and dance with the kids.
"That's one of the best parts about this show — when you get to get down from the stage and interact with the kids," says Christina Young, 27, who plays Ernie. She is a native of Portersville, Lawrence County. "You can see their faces close-up, and see their reactions and how excited they are. We're like their rock stars, I think."
The performers silently play their Muppet characters by body movements, as recorded voices of the characters provide the dialogue that fans will recognize. The characters — including the favorites of Elmo, Grover, Ernie, Bert, Big Bird and Cookie Monster — dream about their future professions as part of a pageant initiated by Prairie Dawn.
Playing characters with just body language and dancing presents an interesting challenge, says Krystal Caldwell. The Greensburg native plays Grover and Baby Bear.
"You get to play with them a lot more if you don't have to worry about your voice," says Caldwell, 21. "It's a lot of fun because we get to just dance away the whole show.
"I actually loved Grover," she says. "It's kind of ironic that I'm playing him."
At the beginning of the show, Ernie says he wants to be a doctor and wants to help diagnose people. Later, with his buddy Bert, the two say they're going to be forest rangers together.
"Ernie was always my favorite character growing up ... because he's silly and he's a little bit goofy," Young says. "He likes to bother Bert. I have a twin sister, so I kind of understand. He likes to pretend to get people in trouble."
Some characters can't decide what they want to be when they become adults, whereas Elmo wants to be everything but can't settle on one thing. Grover wants to be a police officer, and Baby Bear wants to be a train engineer. In the end, the "Sesame Street" characters come to an important conclusion, Young says.
"We find that you can be anything you want to be when you grow up, but for now, you can just be a kid," she says. "You can try anything you want."
Young and Caldwell say they can't wait to come to Mellon Arena and perform in their hometown area, where they can count on family and friends to be their fan clubs. They also say they love playing "Sesame Street" characters with which they grew up. The multi-generational aspect also delights parents in the audience and gives a meaningful parent-child experience, Young and Caldwell say.
"Kids love it because they get to see the characters that they watch on TV every day," Caldwell says. "Parents love it because they get to see the characters they grew up with. It's a really bonding experience for parents and children because they get to watch things they both love."
Young agrees.
"I think when parents go to the show, they have just as much, if not more, fun as the kids that are ... there," she says.
Additional Information:'Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up'
When: 7 p.m. today; 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m., 2 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Admission: $13-$23, except for tonight, when all seats are $12
Where: Mellon Arena , Uptown
Details: 412-323-1919 Additional Information:
Facts about 'Sesame Street Live'
⢠The first show premiered Sept. 17, 1980, at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minn. Since then, more than 50 million people have attended performances.
⢠'Sesame Street Live' has been staged in 28 countries and continents, including Puerto Rico, England and Australia.
⢠Minneapolis-based Vee Corp. ⢠a licensee of Sesame Workshop, formerly the Children's Television Workshop ⢠produces 'Sesame Street Live.'
⢠A portion of the proceeds from every 'Sesame Street Live' ticket sold goes to Sesame Workshop to fund children's educational programs.
⢠Each tour is a multimillion-dollar production that travels nearly 20,000 miles in a given season. All performers are professional dancers and actors.
⢠Big Bird's costume is made from 4,000 custom-dyed turkey feathers, each of which is individually hand-sewn to a piece of yellow organdy fabric before being attached to the costume. Zoe's tutu consists of 15 yards of fabric stitched in seven separate layers.
