By Theresa Goffredo Herald Writer
“Elmo Makes Music” blends the lessons of Sesame Street with the wonder of music in a concert of good times and creativity.
The creativity comes from the fact that the Sesame Street characters make music from all sorts of things and in all sorts of way: from feet and hands, to trash can lids and cookie jars.
The music part is the fact that this show is all about music, Jane O’Hara said.
“And how just about anything can be used to make it,” said O’Hara, director of sales and marketing for VEE Corporation, which produces Sesame Street Live, which uses life-sized Sesame Street characters for live stage shows.
In the show, Jenny, the human performer, guides the story line as the new music teacher in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the moving truck with all of Jenny’s instruments is late. She doesn’t quite know what to do for her Sesame Street friends who want music lessons.
To the rescue comes Elmo and the gang who surprise Jenny with instruments they have invented.
Some of the examples are Oscar banging on his trash can lid to an accompaniment of brooms and jackhammers for “Honk, Bang, Whistle and Crash” that includes “Stomp”-style choreography.
Then there’s Big Bird tweeting to “Rockin’ Robin.”
Cookie Monster shakes his cookie jar for the “Cookie Crumba-Rumba,” and Bert and Ernie make music with bottles, with the whistle sounds leading to a “Hustle”-like disco scene, O’Hara said.
“The recurring theme is that everything, and everyone, makes music,” she said.
O’Hara underscored that the Sesame Street Live tour shows — with Broadway-caliber scripts, music, sets and lighting — are highly interactive.
“Jenny and the Sesame Street Live characters encourage kids to sing and dance along,” O’Hara said. “The audience also helps keep the new musical instruments a surprise for Jenny.”
During the show, a few of the characters venture off stage so families on the main floor always get that extra, up-close-and-personal treat, O’Hara said.
New during this live tour performance is an addition to the family fun that happens before the show even begins: Play Zone.
Play Zone, similar to what kids might find at a children’s museum, is a hands-on activities center where kids are in a fun environment learning stuff such as counting fruits and vegetables at Mr. Hooper’s Store or dancing to a “magic” computer screen at Fuzzy and Blue, O’Hara said.
Kids can also visit Oscar’s trash can and sit in Big Bird’s nest. Sesame Street characters will make guest appearances.
Like the shows, Play Zone is designed for children ages 2 to 6. Play Zone is free to ticket holders.
Sesame Street Live “Elmo Makes Music” starts at 10:30 a.m. and 7 tonight, 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Comcast Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett.
Tickets are $12, $16 and $23. Call 866-332-8499 and online at ComcastArenaEverett.com.
For group tickets call 425-322-2609. For more information go to www.sesamestreetlive.com.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
