Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411210041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There was an hour to go - not much time before the throngs of gleeful kids would mob the place, before the ushers would start ushering, before the popcorn and balloon vendors would begin making out like bandits.
Sixty minutes left before Friday morning's show, and the "Sesame Street Live" set was almost silent.
Like the calm before the storm.
Backstage at the Salem Civic Center, the performers were limbering up in preparation for their acrobatic dance routines. Props master Abby Feldman was checking the set, ensuring that all the props - including the numbered tambourines for the Count's "Transylvania Polka" routine, Big Bird's 10-foot inflatable birthday cake and Ernie's beloved rubber duckie - were in place. In the costume workshop, Judi Smutz was reinforcing the seam in a character's pants.
And through it all, Jim McPartlin, assistant to the company manager, was rattling off little-known tidbits of information.
The amount of stuff this traveling show packs is staggering. The set, with all its parts, fills 11/2 48-foot tractor-trailers. Each truck weighs nearly 30 tons when full. Ten backdrops, painted and wired with lights, hang from the rafters.
There are thousands of lights, although the exact number stumped McPartlin. "Well, you better just say somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 bulbs," he said, "because I'm not sure."
It takes nearly eight hours to set up the show, and about four hours to take everything down, he said.
Then there are the facts about the "Sesame Street" gang itself. Above all, "Sesame Street Live" is a costume show. "We could do a performance without a prop or something, but if we don't have a particular costume, we're sunk," McPartlin said.
Each costume is unique. Did you ever notice that Cookie Monster is the only character with five fingers to a hand? Most of the familiar friends have four. Big Bird has only three. And speaking of the lovable "eight-foot yellow canary," Big Bird is made from 4,000 turkey feathers, each one custom-dyed and sewn to a yellow organdy piece of fabric before it is attached to his not-insubstantial body.
Except for the furry folks, the characters wear shoes - brightly colored sneakers, BIG sneakers - cast out of latex in huge plaster molds. Bert and Ernie take size 15. Oscar's larger-than-life trash can and Bert's bubbly bathtub are made out of fiberglass.
"Oscar needs to walk in his can, so it has to be fairly lightweight," McPartlin explained.
A half-hour before the extravaganza, a crew member turned on the fans behind the stage. Each costume is ventilated, McPartlin said, but the performers use the precious minutes between scenes to cool down in front of the fans.
"The costumes are designed to allow air passage," McPartlin said, "but when you've got 10,000 watts of lights shining on stage and you're dancing up a storm, there's not much you can do. Fan time is very important."
A few minutes later, the gang started to come to life. Out came Elmo with his fiery orange-red fur, ready to go. Super Grover adjusted the crash helmet atop his fuzzy, blue-violet head, and the Count flung his cape around his shoulders.
Just in time. The fans, busloads of kids from day-care centers and elementary schools, had arrived. They trekked in, pods of children wearing school T-shirts or name tags, and scrambled to find their seats. All the while, the 3,000 kids echoed a common refrain: Where's Big Bird, they yammered, where is he?
It was an appropriate question for this show, which centers on a search for Big Bird, who has run away from Sesame Street because he thinks his friends forgot his birthday. Actually, Big Bird's pals were busy planning a surprise party for their feathered friend, but Oscar the Grouch all-too-willingly leads Big Bird astray.
Throughout the show, the "Sesame Street" gang dances and sings a delightful mix of tunes, including a rap ("I wonder where Big Bird's at/Let's look at his habitat"), a Muppet version of "Footloose" and the ``Sesame Street'' classic ``Rubber Duckie.''
The plot takes an alarming turn when the always-gullible Big Bird signs a 10-year contract with conniving ringmaster P.T. Barnswallow. But never fear. With the help of Keystone-type cops from the "New York City Department of Missing Birds," Cookie Monster's voracious appetite and audience members who interact with the characters on stage, the end is a blast.
"Sesame Street Live" shows are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Salem Civic Center. Tickets, regularly priced $9 and $10, are available at the box office and at all Ticketmaster locations.
by CNB