The sports and entertainment business, through music, athletic competition and face-to-face gatherings, is woven into the fabric of our community. Embracing the quality-of-life argument when funding arenas, stadiums and convention centers comes naturally to me after 40 years of covering the business.
But the role family shows have in that community had somewhat escaped me. I knew those events brought families together, got them off the couch, helped them make memories. But Sesame Street Live! Let’s Party! goes even further. It’s about teaching children to be kinder and gentler, to contribute to a community, and to protect the environment. It’s a message that resonates loudly in these turbulent, violent times.
Before immersing myself in dress rehearsals at Feld Entertainment Studios in Ellenton, Fla., I hadn’t thought a lot about the motivation behind the creativity that produces entertainment. From costumer to producer to company manager to set designer, inspiration in this instance came from immersing themselves in Sesame Workshop’s educational mission at the television studios in New York, a strategy that brought many to tears as they realized the impact the project could have.
Nicole Feld, producer, brought the sensibilities of a mom of young children along as well, testing concepts on her kids, reveling in their delight at touching iconic symbols on Sesame Street.
The whole experience revealed what fun Feld employees have. Rob Lange, company manager, was joking that everyone’s dream is a one-truck show, but this one will take three. I said Champions of Magic managed to get their show on one truck, and he quipped, “Sure, they make things disappear.”
The design team took the task of making cookies that crumble for one of the gags to heart. Designer Michelle Bruback spent her weekend studying how the cookie crumbles, concocting a recipe of water, paper and hot glue that resulted in the perfect prop. The key is in the dehydration, she said.
Dawna Oak was happy to switch from the “random fire suit repair” on Monster Jam to finding perfect and timeless fashion statements suitable for Citizens of Sesame Street to dance and play in while also engaging the audience in the look. Their attention to detail is astounding. I will never again wonder why it takes a year to produce a family show.
I did not grow up on Sesame Street, nor did I have kids who did. But by the time I had interviewed half a dozen of the crew behind the new Feld production, I felt very privileged and even unreasonably nostalgic to sit on the stoop of 123 Brownstone.
If you are one of those 68 venue managers hosting the first run of the Feld version of Sesame Street Live! I highly recommend taking a walk on Sesame Street, be a child again, imagine the thrill if you were two again. And remember to bring in additional booster seats and diaper changing tables – we still need to be practical.
Feld has created a Preshow Experience so that up to 200 guests per show can walk on Sesame Street. They are a brave bunch. Little kids move slowly and dance to their own drummer. But it’s more than a show, it’s experiences.
God grant you many years to create a kinder, gentler world.
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FROM THE EDITOR
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