By:Susan Lin
Here's a little secret: Adults want to see Sesame Street Live, too. The kids are really just an excuse to go.
"It's true," said Kim Gladman, who is the performance director for Sesame Street Live, a musical owned by the Vee Corporation in Minneapolis. This year's show, called "Everyone Makes Music," is coming to the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale September 6 to 9.
"You don't come to see Sesame Street Live just for the children," said Gladman, explaining that the show is "nostalgic for the parents." They remember the hours they had spent in front of the TV hanging out with Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and the gang.
Adults also appreciate the quality of the production. Though based on a children's TV show, the Muppet musical takes itself seriously: scripts, music composition, set design and construction, lighting and costumes for each production are "Broadway caliber." And all its actors and dancers are professionals, and members of Actor's Equity Association, a national labor union.
Gladman said that the parents of today might also recall seeing Sesame Street Live, which debuted in 1980, when they were kids. If so, they might have seen Gladman herself on stage. She started with Sesame Street Live as an understudy for seven or eight characters, and later played Prairie Dawn, a little pink girl with long, blond hair and fond of ruffly dresses.
Gladman also originated the role of Tee Hee for Sesame Street Live. Tee Hee was an alien from the planet Crayon. Grover found her when her spaceship had broken down "so all the Sesame Street friends gathered together to help her get back home," Gladman said.
Sesame Street Live this year also features a storyline with a depth that adults might enjoy. "Everyone Makes Music," written by Annie Evans who is a regular on the TV series, revolves around Jenny, a music teacher. She is moving to Sesame Street and the truck carrying her musical instruments is lost.
All the Muppets rally together to help her find it, but in the meantime establish that you don't actually need musical instruments to play music. They gather around the neighborhood to find things from which Jenny can use to make sounds.
In "Everyone Makes Music," a 90-minute musical, Jenny is the only character who appears on stage without a full-body costume. The others wear life-size replica versions of the Sesame Street puppets.
Here is where Sesame Street Live might be even better suited for adults, rather than kids. "Children are used to seeing these friends on a 24-inch TV screen, and then all of a sudden they are life-size. Some of our smaller characters are as big as their fathers. Because of the size sometimes, the [ITAL]initial[END ITAL] shock can be overwhelming, mixed with surprise and awe," said Gladman. Adults who are larger than young children probably would feel less intimidated.
Sesame Street Live, though, tries to accommodate youngsters. "We can't help that Big Bird is 8-foot-3, but we try to be approachable to the children, entertaining and visually appealing to the eye," said Gladman.
There is one thing that parents will need kids for, though -- to verify the authenticity of the Muppet characters. "Children know their characters. They know their mannerisms, idiosyncrasies and the minute you're off, [it's obvious to them]. That is a great challenge," said Gladman. So far, though, she hasn't received any complaints.
"Just like if we as an adult go into a store, and there're purple round things, and they're selling them as apples. We would think, No, that's not what we know as an apple. That's not it," said Gladman.
What: Sesame Street Live's "Everyone Makes Music"
When: 7 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 6.
10:30 a.m. & 7 p.m. Fri. Sept. 7
10:30 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 8
1 p.m. & 4:30 p.m. Sun., Sept. 9
Where: Nassau Coliseum
1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale
Tickets: $12 or $18. Opening night all seats, except premium seats, are $10. To charge tickets by phone, call (631) 888-9000. For more information, visit SesameStreetLive.com.
Art
Ashcan artists
Hoboes, sweatshops, beer halls and even garbage cans are the subject of the exhibit "Old New York and Artists of the Period: 1900-1941," opening Sunday at the Nassau County Museum of Art. Works by artists of the Ashcan School and Realism, such as Robert Henri, John Sloan, George Luks will be on view.
Nassau County Museum of Art, One Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor, (516) 484-9337; Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Friday to 8 p.m.; $5 adults, $4 children under 12.
WEEKEND PICKS
Theater
'Alone Together'
The house seems so empty now that the kids have left the nest, and Mom and Dad are enjoying being alone together. But the peace and quiet is shattered when all three sons re-descend upon them, filled with woe at the hardships of the real world. What will it take to get them to leave again? Find out in this cheerful comedy by playwright Lawrence Roman.
BroadHollow Theatre Company, Centre Stage, Molloy College, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. Box office (631) 581-2756. Saturdays, Aug. 11, 18, 25, at 8 p.m.; Fridays, Aug. 17, 24, at 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, Aug. 12, 19, 26, at 3 and 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m., and Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 2 and 8 p.m.; $20-$16, $12 students 16 & under.
Art
Harlem Renaissance
Works by photographer Carl Van Vechten feature many of the leading figures in the Harlem Renaissance, during the first half of the 20th century. The photos capture poet Langston Hughes, artist Horace Pippin, civil right activist James Weldon Johnson, singer Lena Horne, actor Robert Earle Jones and others.
Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave. (at Rte. 25A), Huntington, (631) 351-3250, www.heckscher.org. Through August 26. Museum hours: Thurs. to Sun.: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tues. & Wed.: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sugg. adm., $5 adults, $3 seniors, $1 kids.
