Sesame Street Live!

'Sesame Street Live! 'was a hexad of live stage shows occurring between late winter and late fall 2021. The first show took place at Madison Square Garden in New York from Feb. 14-15, the second show was at Staples Center in Los Angeles from Apr. 12-13, the third was at Amway Center in Orlando from Jun. 10-11, the fourth at Wembley Arena in London from Jul. 20-21, the fifth at Rogers Centre in Toronto from Sept. 16-17, and the final show at International Convention Centre Sydney from Nov. 18-19.

Ernie and Bert are the hosts of a two-hour variety show (directed by Prairie Dawn with assistant Trevor Monster) featuring their Sesame Street friends. Unlike other Sesame Street live shows, these shows utilized the official puppets used on the show itself rather than walk-around costume versions. The puppeteers, clad in black, are exposed to the audience, while two large screens loom over both sides of the stage, both of which frame only the Muppet characters. Unusual for a live show, the Muppet performers both spoke and sang live, making the experience slightly different for each show.

In addition, celebrities make cameos throughout the show (who vary from show to show), including Jason Isaacs, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bobby Moynihan, Neil Patrick Harris, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Rosie O'Donnell, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, John Ratzenberger, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Trejo, The Wiggles (Greg Page, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field) and Friends, Elvis Costello, Paul Williams, Hayden Christensen, Steve Burns (of Blue's Clues fame), Randy Rainbow, Michael Buble, Billie Eilish, Celine Dion, Sia, Ryan Reynolds (reprising his role as Deadpool), and Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker.

The shows were produced by Sesame Workshop in collaboration with the Jim Henson Company, Sirius Thinking Ltd., WGBH Educational Foundation, FilmRise, and Scholastic Media (a rare instance of a Scholastic-produced project that isn't a media adaptation of their trademarked books); the current Sesame Workshop logo, the 1992 Jim Henson Productions logo (with "Productions" replaced with "The Jim Henson Company"), the Sirius Thinking Ltd. logo, the 1977 WGBH logo, the classic FilmRise logo, and the 2003 Scholastic logo are all seen during the beginning of each show. The MSG, Staples Center, and Amway Center shows aired on their respective local PBS stations (WNET, KOCE, and WUCF-TV), as well as on PBS Kids and Universal Kids, on Jan. 18, 2022, while the Wembley Arena, Rogers Centre, and ICC Sydney shows aired on BBC and CBeebies, YTV and Treehouse TV, and ABC and ABC Kids in Australia, respectively, the very next day. The following week, in a rare move for a Sesame Street production, they were shown on PBS' WGBH station, ABC, NBC, CBS, CBC, HBO and HBO Family, FOX, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, CBBC, Citytv, TBS, TNT, the CW, Boomerang, Paramount Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Freeform.

All six shows were released on DVD, Blu-ray, Ultra-HD Blu-ray, and digital download by Shout! Factory in May 2022, complete with bonus material, including behind-the-scenes footage, bios on the Muppet characters and their performers, a photo gallery, a sing-along feature, trailers for other Shout! Factory titles, and more. They were also released on the HBO Max streaming service in early August 2022, as well as on the Noggin mobile streaming app.

Highlights
Guy Smiley ("America's favorite game show host") introduces the show and the acts that the audience is about to see.

Ernie, Bert, and others sing a medley comprised of: "Somebody Come and Play", "Sesame Street Theme", "Rubber Duckie", "Doin' the Pigeon", "C is for Cookie", "ABC-DEF-GHI", "Song of the Count", "Elmo's Song", and "Welcome!"

Ernie explains the history of Sesame Street, including its co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney, the influence of Jim Henson and his Muppets, the importance of music on the show, and the topics it has tackled over the years, from healthy habits and social skills to emergencies and death.

Ernie spotlights the numerous co-productions of Sesame Street from around the world, including Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Israel, Egypt, India, Spain, France, Brazil, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Indonesia, Palestine, Portugal, Norway, Turkey, Poland, Northern Ireland, and Britain (The Furchester Hotel). He and Bert originally scheduled a parade of international Muppets, but according to Prairie Dawn (who's barefoot throughout the show because her shoes are being shined and her socks are "this week's dirty laundry"), no one from the international streets could make it, citing time concerns and travel costs. Ernie wonders if they could instead stage a salute to commercial mascots (MSG), comic book supervillains (Staples), American theme parks (Amway), children's TV characters (Wembley), professional wrestling (Rogers), and the nations of the world (ICC Sydney), but the idea is shot down by Prairie.

A Lavender AM caricature of Michael Jackson lip-syncs to Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel", with backup by three Anything Muppet singers.

Oscar the Grouch sings "I Love Trash", while some other Grouches present the trash mentioned in the song. Slimey the Worm, a rebuilt Bruno the Trashman, Oscar's mother, and Irvine also make appearances.

Zoe leads Julia and some monster friends, and the audience, in a performance of "A Very Simple Dance".

Elmo leads Trevor Monster (and the audience) in a performance of "Sing After Me". Since Ryan Dillon performed both Elmo and Trevor, Trevor was performed onstage by another puppeteer, lip-synching to Dillon's live vocals.

The Two-Headed Monster spells out a word and demonstrates its meaning (BOOM at MSG, DANCE at Staples, SWIM at Amway, RUN at Wembley, FLY at Rogers, and DUCK at ICC Sydney).

Prairie Dawn leads Trevor Monster and the audience in a rendition of "Beep". Like in the original song, while Prairie demonstrates how to remember simple numbers by saying "beep" that number of times, Trevor asks about higher and higher numbers until Prairie grows frustrated and runs off.

Ernie, clad in his pajamas, sings and tap dances to "Dance Myself to Sleep" with some Muppet sheep while playing his bugle, even inviting Abby Cadabby and Prairie Dawn (calming down after the "Beep" fiasco) to dance with him. Abby is instantly eager to join in, while Prairie is initially reluctant, but after Ernie offers her dancing advice ("Let your feet feel the beat and your body does the rest."), she and Abby get so caught up in tap dancing that they continue even after Ernie heads for bed ("This is so much fun, I don't think I'll ever fall asleep!" exclaims Prairie). The scene was executed in front of a black background, with nine puppeteers, three for each Muppet, dressed all in black and invisible to the audience.

In Ernie's dream, he sings "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" with Christopher Cerf (MSG), Randy Rainbow (Staples), Michael Buble (Amway), Billie Eilish (Wembley), Celine Dion (Rogers), and Sia (ICC Sydney). Several Sesame Street Muppets make cameos during the song, including Slimey (referencing a story arc from the show's 29th season in which Slimey became one of five worms to fly to the Moon), a Martian, Wanda Cousteau, some Muppet goldfish, Chicago the Lion, Herb the Dinosaur, Shivers the Penguin, some Muppet penguins, Gladys the Cow, Alfred Duck, Buster the Horse, Fred the Wonder Horse, some Muppet dogs, Little Murray Sparkles, Chip and Dip, some Muppet pigeons, and Iago the Donkey.

Murray Monster makes his triumphant return, and plays "One of These Things" (changed to "Three of These Things" in the Staples Center, Amway Center, and Wembley Arena shows) with his old friend Ovejita the lamb, using scissors, a sheet of paper, a bottle of glue, and a rock (MSG); Murray, Ovejita, and two other monsters (Staples); a cat, a dog, a mouse, and a tiger (Amway); a towel, a rubber duck, a bar of soap, and a pillow (Wembley); a kiwi, a pineapple, a plum, and a jellybean (Rogers); and a baseball, a basketball, a golf ball, a tennis ball, and a football (ICC Sydney).

In Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck, Cookie Monster and Chef Gonger prepare beef Stroganoff (MSG), calamari (Staples), watermelon gazpacho (Amway), hasenpfeffer (Wembley), cordon bleu (Rogers), and cabbage rolls (ICC Sydney).

Ernie introduces the audience to "the bathtime boogie that's sweeping the nation" as he invites them to "Do De Rubber Duck", sung by Zoe instead of Ernie himself, who originally sang the song (though he does provide duckie squeaks). She's soon joined by Telly, Oscar, Abby (singing Kermit the Frog's verse from the original version), the Count, Grover (singing Biff's verse), Guy Smiley, Gladys the Cow, and Hoots the Owl. While not getting verses, Elmo, Rosita, Baby Bear, Little Bird, Rudy, and Julia also appear in the bathroom. At the end of the song, the other characters disappear ala getting sucked down the drain.

After a spirited introduction from Mr. Snuffleupagus, The Oinker Sisters perform "A New Way to Walk".

Accompanied by four AM Monsters on piano, guitar, saxophone, and flute, Trevor Monster sings "Bein' Green". Throughout the song, he lampshades the oddity of a yellow monster singing a song about the color green, lamenting that he's the wrong color before singing ("Oscar didn't want to sing it, so...") and changing one of the final lyrics from "I'm green, and it'll do fine" to "If I were green, it would do fine".

The Honkers dance and honk to "Honk Around the Clock", until they destroy the clock offstage.

Backstage, Trevor Monster finds Prairie Dawn in her dressing room, and asks if she's ready for the next number. Prairie claims not yet, as she wants to paint her toes a jet black color, to compliment her dress. Trevor tells her, one, he doesn't see why Prairie would want her toes painted, and that they're beautiful just the way they are (he almost finishes before being shot down by a dirty look from Prairie), then informing her that each toe would require its own bottle of nail polish (and Trevor only has one left), and two, she's needed onstage right now. A shocked Prairie instantly runs off. (This scene was only performed at MSG and Staples Center)

Prairie Dawn (MSG, Staples), Rosita (Amway, Wembley), and Abby Cadabby (Rogers, ICC Sydney) sing "Copacabana" with The Oinker Sisters as backup singers, with Anything Muppets taking on the roles of Lola (Lavender), Tony (Green) and Rico (Pumpkin). Prairie's era-appropriate outfit consists of a black bowtie atop her head, bronze earrings, a maroon dress cut down to the top of her legs, and silver rings decorating her toes. Rosita's attire includes a Carmen Miranda-inspired hat, a frilly dress that stretches to her legs, and blue fabric attached to her arms (resembling her original winged arms from pre-2004). Abby wears a flashy fairy dress and a ring on her pinky finger. Character cameos include Guy Smiley, Louie, Mae, Freddy, Roosevelt Franklin, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Humphrey, Ingrid, Leo the Party Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats, The Amazing Mumford, Barkley, Watson, Polly Darton, Lefty the Salesman, Little Bird, Don Music, Mr. Honker, a Dinger, Roosevelt Franklin's Mother, Little Jerry and the Monotones, Professor Hastings, Granny Fanny Nesselrode, Sam the Robot, Captain Vegetable, Harvey Kneeslapper, Simon Soundman, Monty, Herbert Birdsfoot, Benny Rabbit, Colambo, Lulu, Deena, Pearl, Stinky the Stinkweed, Madame Chairbird, Meryl Sheep, Ferlinghetti Donizetti, Dexter, Placido Flamingo, Elizabeth, Sonny Friendly, Leo Birdelli, Tough Eddie, Aristotle, Sherry Netherland, Bug, Narf, Mel, Googel, Phoebe, Roxie Marie, Merry Monster, Ruby, Leslie Mostly, some Pesties, Biff and Sully. Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk dance in the background.

Ernie and Rosita perform "El Patito", a parody of "Despacito", about Rubber Duckie.

Elmo sings "In Your Imagination". Wolfgang the Seal and Hoots also make appearances.

Abby sings "Imagine That". Other characters in the song include Ernie (who originally sang the song) as a king, the Muppet horse used as Pferd on Sesamstrasse, a Muppet dragon, and Elmo as a sea captain.

Cookie Monster sings the hip-hop song "Healthy Food", joined by a Muppet pineapple, apple, loaf of bread, pear, and broccoli. Later, they're joined by a Muppet tomato, banana, lettuce, potato, ear of corn, eggplant, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, peach, beet, zucchini, and pumpkin.

The Count and some Muppet sheep perform "Lambaba". Mary from "Mary Had a Little Lamb", Little Bo Peep, a Muppet ram, duck, cow, chicken, and dog also make appearances.

In a diner setting, Bert, seated at an otherwise empty table, sings "Send in the Clowns" as he waits for a potential date, accompanied by a band consisting of Ernie on trumpet, Elmo on violin, Prairie Dawn on piano, Hoots on saxophone, Baby Bear on flute, Telly on tuba, Herry on bass, Trevor on clarinet, and Rosita on harp. The tragic scene is juxtaposed with footage of Grover, Zoe, Cookie Monster, Gonger, the Two-Headed Monster, Frazzle, a Honker, and several AM Monsters dressed as circus clowns performing absurd antics, as a literal pun on the song's title. The orchestration and pitch of the song are taken from Frank Sinatra's cover.

Big Bird sings "When the River Meets the Sea", accompanied by Prairie Dawn on piano, Elmo on violin, and Rosita on acoustic guitar. He is soon joined by Paul Williams (who wrote the song), and the other Sesame Street Muppets on backup.

The Wiggles perform a medley consisting of: "Big Red Car", "Get Ready to Wiggle", "Fruit Salad", "Hot Potato", "Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?", "Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep on His Pirate Ship", "Dorothy the Dinosaur", "Wags the Dog", "Move Your Arms Like Henry", "Do the Monkey", "Balla Balla Bambina", and "The Wiggle Groove".

During intermission, Weldon the Internet troll appears, and attempts to drive the audience away from the theater. (This sketch was only performed at Amway Center)

Ernie, some backup monster singers (including Trevor Monster), Cookie Monster and Gonger sing a humorous parody of "Bohemian Rhapsody", called "Cookie's Rhapsody". The song is about Cookie Monster as he becomes wrecked with guilt after he eats a flan that was meant for Gonger, with the singers not helping him feel better at all. Near the end, Gonger arrives and tells Cookie he's not angry at him; he doesn't even like flan. Cookie smiles, then breaks down in quiet tears as Gonger comforts his friend.

Big Bird, Elmo, Ernie, Abby, Zoe, Rosita, Prairie Dawn, Trevor Monster, Bert, Oscar, Grover, Cookie Monster, The Count, Herry, Telly, Baby Bear, Snuffy, Hoots, the Two-Headed Monster, Gonger, Little Bird, Roosevelt Franklin, Betty Lou, Louie, Mae, Barkley, Alice Snuffleupagus, and Mr. Johnson all sing "What's the Name of That Song?"

In a new installment of "Monsterpiece Theater", Alistair Cookie reviews a trailer for humorous film parodies: a film based on the Super Morphin Mega Monsters (themselves parodies of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise) starring Elmo, Zoe, Telly Monster and Rosita (MSG), Grouch (a parody of the Todd Phillips-directed Joker) starring Oscar (Staples), Batmonster & Red Robin (a spoof of the 1960s' Batman TV series and tie-in movie) starring Cookie Monster and Elmo as superheroes battling Muppet versions of the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, and Harley Quinn, voiced by Tara Strong, with the help of Super Grover (Amway), Star S'mores: The Rise of Piewalker (spoofing Star Wars' ninth film installment) starring an older Luke Piewalker and Princess Parfaita, and two new Muppets; Brulee (a parody of the character Rey from the sequel trilogy) and Kylo Creme (spoofing Kylo Ren) (Wembley), a Sesame interpretation of The Producers starring Oscar as Max Bialystock and Telly as Leo Bloom, with The Count as Franz Liebkind, Rosita as Ulla, and Bert and Ernie as Roger De Bris and Carmen Ghia (Rogers), and a documentary film starring Cookie Monster spoofing Steve Irwin as "The Cookie Hunter" (with Zoe as a parody of Terri Irwin) in The Cookie Hunter: Call of the Wild.

A 20-second "Parade of Classic Sesame Street Muppets" which marches by Ernie and Bert (in lieu of the parade of international characters). The Muppet characters in the parade vary from show to show: Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, The Amazing Mumford, Farley, Rodeo Rosie, Merry Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Forgetful Jones, Barkley (MSG); Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Biff, Sully, Harvey Kneeslapper, Don Music, Forgetful Jones, Lefty the Salesman (Staples); Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, Professor Hastings, Kingston Livingston III, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Polly Darton, Sonny Friendly, Forgetful Jones, Clementine (Amway); Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, Placido Flamingo, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Frazzle, Sam the Robot, Wolfgang the Seal, Forgetful Jones, Simon Soundman (Wembley); Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, Roxie Marie, Dr. Nobel Price, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Baby Natasha, Alice Snuffleupagus, Forgetful Jones, Benny Rabbit (Rogers); Roosevelt Franklin, Little Bird, Ruby, Humphrey, Ingrid, Sherlock Hemlock, Betty Lou, Leo the Party Monster, Forgetful Jones, Deena (ICC Sydney)

The Michael Jackson Muppet returns, this time lip-synching to "Billie Jean".

Prairie Dawn plays a slower, lower-pitched version of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" on her piano.

The Count and some backup Anything Muppets sing "Clap for the Wolfman", with Jackman Wolf providing witty quips. The music is played by a monster band consisting of Elmo on acoustic guitar, Telly on tuba, Herry on bass, Murray on electric guitar, the Two-Headed Monster on keyboard, Gonger on drums, and Trevor on saxophone.

Grover performs "Monster in the Mirror" with some other monsters. The twin Grover in the mirror was achieved with an identical spare Grover puppet behind a mirror frame, lip-synched to Eric Jacobson's vocals by another puppeteer. Backup singers include Maurice Monster, Clancy, Kermit the Forg, Harvey Monster, Harry Monster, Bruce Monster, the lavender Frazzletone, and Billy Monster.

Ernie invites the viewers (and Bert) to play three rounds of "Guess What's Next", first using household items to create a shape pattern (circle, square, triangle), fruits and vegetables to create a color pattern (red, orange, yellow, green), and finally Muppet animals (duck, sheep, penguin, chicken, cow). The sketch ends with Horatio the Elephant running amok and the entire cast running for their lives.

Dr. Thad and the Medications sing "Ten Commandments of Health" while their patient, Mr. Johnson (Harvey P. Dull in the Wembley Arena show) repeats the commandments.

Stunt Monster Grover attempts a dangerous act or unnatural magic trick: cutting through a pineapple on Telly's head while blindfolded (MSG), attempting to become the first monster to successfully jump over the Moon (Staples Center), revealing his mastery at card manipulation (Amway Center), shooting a laser beam arrow through an apple atop Mr. Johnson's head (Wembley), using mind powers to reverse time to the first episode of Sesame Street (Rogers), and assisting Prairie Dawn in creating a real-life version of a comic book character (ICC Sydney).

Bert (MSG), Ernie (Staples), Telly (Amway), Grover (Wembley), Elmo (Rogers), Big Bird (ICC Sydney) and some Anything Muppets perform "People in Your Neighborhood", spotlighting a trash collector, a barber (MSG), a postman, a firefighter (Staples), a teacher, a newsdealer (Amway), a grocer, a doctor (Wembley), a dentist, a bus driver (Rogers), a baker and a cleaner (ICC Sydney). In each version, the main singer uses the AM's attire and accessories to figure out what their job is.

Ernie and Hoots the Owl perform "Put Down the Duckie" with Mama Bear and the Monsters.

The Count and his bats teach "The Batty Bat", a dance that he reminisces of learning as a boy in a castle in his native Transylvania, to the audience.

In a park, Oscar, Grundgetta, and a chorus of Grouches sing "I'm Sad Because I'm Happy" as characters like Baby Bear, Telly, Trevor, Rosita, Abby, Grover, Herry, Elmo, Zoe, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Gonger, Prairie Dawn, Roosevelt Franklin, Betty Lou, Little Bird, and Benny are blown away in a hurricane. (The Staples Center version replaces Grover with Mr. Johnson, since the former is still soon to leap over the Moon)

The Sesame Street Muppets perform a "Salute to Broadway", which consists of select songs from ''A Chorus Line, A Little Night Music, Annie, Annie Got Your Gun, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Cabaret, Carousel, Cats, Chicago, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Gypsy, Hair, Hairspray, Hamilton, Hello, Dolly!, Into the Woods, The King and I, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors, Mamma Mia!, Man of La Mancha, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Oh! Calcutta!, Oklahoma!, Paint Your Wagon, The Phantom of the Opera, Pippin, The Producers, Rent, The Rocky Horror Show, Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Spamalot, West Side Story, Wicked, and The Wizard of Oz'', among other shows. (This sketch was only performed at Madison Square Garden)

The Sesame Street Muppets perform a "Salute to Disney", consisting of select songs from 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Coco, Dumbo, Frozen, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Moana, Monsters, Inc., Mulan, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Pocahontas, The Princess and the Frog, Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Song of the South, Tangled, Tarzan, Toy Story, and Winnie the Pooh, among other films. (This sketch was only performed at Staples Center)

Ernie, three Honkers, and a Dinger perform "The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree".

Bip Bippadotta and three Anything Muppets sing "Fat Cat". As in the original version, Bip runs up and annoys the other three with a fast scat that combines the four main rhymes in each verse and others.

In a remake of a classic Sesame Street sketch, Ernie and Bert invite the Count to a sleepover at their apartment, with Bert offering to sleep on the couch so the Count can take his bed. However, the Count finds he is unable to fall asleep, so Ernie suggests counting (Muppet) sheep as they jump over a (CGI) fence, which the Count does, complete with his trademark thunder and lightning, which startles and frightens Ernie. The next morning, the Count wakes up feeling cheerful and energetic, leading Bert to believe the Count had slept well last night, to which the Count retorts, "Slept? Who slept?" It soon becomes apparent that the Count had kept Ernie awake all night long with his counting, as Ernie is now sleepwalking and counting in a monotonous voice. The Count asks Bert if he can have another sleepover, to which an exasperated Ernie collapses.

Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Chicago the Lion, Butch the Tiger, Horatio the Elephant, Kathleen the Cow, Dawg the Dog, Chip and Dip, Poco Loco, the Big Bad Wolf, Joey and Davey Monkey, Ralphie the Parrot, Athena the Owl, Shelley the Turtle, a Muppet bear, fish, sheep, goat, frog, chicken, pig, horse, gnu, camel, alligator, toucan, penguin, duck, robin, woodchuck, mouse, kangaroo, cricket, gorilla, moose, beaver, koala, zebra, ostrich, snake, crow, rooster, raccoon, skunk, polar bear, and the Twiddlebugs sing "We Are All Earthlings".

Big Bird leads the other Sesame Street Muppets and the various guest stars in singing "Sing" and "One Small Voice" as part of the closing melody. For the third song in the melody, Ernie, Abby, Elmo, Bert, Prairie Dawn, and the other Sesame Street Muppets perform "Just One Person".

For an encore, the Sesame Street Muppets and guest stars sing "The Street I Live On", with Ernie thanking the guest stars before the final verse. After the song, the Muppet performers take their bows, with the main performers receiving a roll call. Toots Thielemans' classic harmonica instrumental of the Sesame Street theme song plays as the audience leaves the theater.

As the music ends, Ernie tells one final joke. In the Madison Square Garden show, he says, "Thank you, everyone! We just love being at the Garden. There's just one thing it needs: flowers!" At Staples Center, the joke is, "Ah, Los Angeles! The people here are just so nice! Of course, when you're called "the City of Angels", it comes with the territory." At Amway Center, the joke is, "I tell ya, there isn't a place lovelier than Orlando, Florida! Of course, I also love Miami. And my uncle." The Wembley Arena joke is, "Wonderful London, England. I'm glad we put on a show across the pond. After all, we're already mainstream." The joke at Rogers Centre is, "Toronto, Canada, home of the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. I'm kinda disappointed they don't also have the Keeshan Arena." (a joke about Fred Rogers [AKA Mister Rogers] and Bob Keeshan [AKA Captain Kangaroo]) The ICC Sydney joke is "Sydney, Australia. Everything about it is just so top-notch beautiful. Too bad it's sometimes called "the land down under." After the joke, Ernie does his signature laugh and walks off.

Cast
The Sesame Street Muppet Performers

Pam Arciero as Grundgetta, Oinker Sister

Jennifer Barnhart as Zoe, Maggie Cadabby, Mama Bear, Gladys the Cow, Granny Bird

Bill Barretta (Staples Center and Amway Center only) as Louie

Warrick Brownlow-Pike as Gonger

Tyler Bunch as Louie, Ricardo, Benny Rabbit, Chewie the Cookie, Firefighter

Sarah Burgess (Wembley Arena only) as Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz, additional Muppets

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Abby Cadabby, Rosa, Parfaita, Oinker Sister, Rose, Harley Quinn puppeteer

Kevin Clash (Staples Center and Amway Center only) as Elmo, Hoots the Owl

Frankie Cordero as Rudy, "Fat Cat" Green Singer

Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Prairie Dawn, Mae, Brulee, Lead Oinker Sister, Trash Collector

Ryan Dillon as Elmo, Trevor Monster, Kylo Creme, "Fat Cat" Fat Blue Singer, Cleaner, Bert understudy

Dave Goelz (Amway Center only) as Sly the Secretary Bird

Louise Gold as Funella Furchester (Wembley Arena), Newsdealer, additional Muppets

Stacey Gordon as Julia

Christopher Hayes as Hoots the Owl

Brian Henson (Staples Center only) as Sly the Secretary Bird

Eric Jacobson as Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Two-Headed Monster, Guy Smiley, Baker

Peter Linz as Ernie, Herry Monster, Daniel, Luke Piewalker, Zostic

Joey Mazzarino as Murray Monster

Rob Mills (Rogers Centre only) as Sly the Secretary Bird, additional Muppets

Ron Mueck (ICC Sydney only) as Sly the Secretary Bird, additional Muppets

Carmen Osbahr as Rosita, Ovejita

Martin P. Robinson as Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Sly the Secretary Bird (MSG), Slimey

David Rudman as Cookie Monster, Baby Bear, Two-Headed Monster, Freddy, Chicago the Lion

Andrew Spooner (Wembley Arena only) as Furgus Fuzz, additional Muppets

Neil Sterenberg (Wembley Arena only) as Harvey P. Dull, additional Muppets

Matt Vogel as Big Bird, Count von Count, Mr. Johnson, Male Teacher, Ernie understudy

Steve Whitmire (Amway Center only) as Weldon the IT Guy

Mak Wilson (Wembley Arena only) as Sly the Secretary Bird, additional Muppets

Additional Muppet Performers: Anthony Asbury, Heather Asch, Billy Barkhurst, Jake Bazel, Tau Bennett, Cheryl Blaylock, Camille Bonora, Rickey Boyd, Lindsey Briggs (Dalia), Lisa Buckley, Bruce Connelly (Barkley), Austin M. Costello, Jamie Donmoyer, Matthew Furtado, Mark Gale, Cameron Garrity, Liz Hara, Haley Jenkins (Karli), Avery Lee Jones, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, John Kennedy (Bip Bippadotta, Jackman Wolf, "Fat Cat" Lavender Singer, Dentist), Kathleen Kim (Elena), Adam Kreutinger, Jim Kroupa, Tim Lagasse, Weston Chandler Long, Spencer Lott (Samuel), Rick Lyon (Barber), Lara MacLean, Noel MacNeal (Dr. Thad, Postman), Jim Martin (Grocer), Paul McGinnis (Clem), Anney McKilligan-Ozar, Andrew Moriarty, Kathryn Mullen (Female Teacher), Karen Prell (Bus Driver, Joker puppeteer), David Quesal, Joey Rudman, Andy Stone, John Tartaglia (Doctor), Gabriel Velez, Jack Vogel, James Wojtal, Eric Wright, Bryant Young

Additional Muppet Performers (NY/FL): Lawrence Basgall, Nate Begle, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, Matt Brooks, Brian Carson, Ceili Clemens, Josh Cohen, Melissa Creighton, Carole D'Agostino, Bill Diamond, Ben Durocher, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Olga Felgemacher, David Fino, Galen Fott, Aymee Garcia, Noah Ginex, James Godwin, BJ Guyer, Andy Hayward, Patrick Holmes, Ulysses Jones, Liz Joyce, Joe Kovacs, Mary Robinette Kowal, Michael Latini, Matthew Lavin, Amanda Maddock, Ed May, Megan McNerney, Tracie Mick, Sarah Nolen, Chris Palmieri, Annie Peterle, Marc Petrosino, Abby Roderick, Michael Schupbach, Michael Schwabe, Thom Stanley, David Stephens, Lisa Sturz, Ian Sweetman, Daniel Weissbrodt

Additional Muppet Performers (LA/FL): Brad Abrell, Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, David Barclay, Tim Blaney, Julianne Buescher, Kevin Carlson, Raymond Carr, Brian Clark, Nathan Danforth, Dorien Davies, Alice Dinnean, Artie Esposito, Peggy Etra, Darci Lynne Farmer, Genevieve Flati, Thom Fountain, Terri Hardin, Rachel Herrick, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, James Kemp, Donna Kimball, Bruce Lanoil, Len Levitt, Jayden Libran, Paul Louis, Drew Massey, Jess McKay, Alison Mork, James Murray, Michael Oosterom, Brett O'Quinn, Felix Pire, Mike Quinn, Jared Ramirez, Carla Rudy, Michelan Sisti, David Skelly, Colleen Smith, Allan Trautman, Jack Venturo, Russ Walko, Chase Woolner, Victor Yerrid

Additional Muppet Performers (UK): Don Austen, Michael Bayliss, Susan Beattie, Mikey Brett, Simon Buckley, Dave Chapman, Tim Cherry-Jones, Sheila Clark, Marcus Clarke, Richard Coombs, Paul Currie, Phil Eason, John Eccleston, Josh Elwell, Iestyn Evans, Damian Farrell, Geoff Felix, Phil Fletcher, Julia Frost, Lesa Gillespie, Andy Heath, Beccy Henderson, Brian Herring, Mark Jefferis, Chris Kendall, Steven Kynman, Ronnie Le Drew, Alison McGowan, Rebecca Nagan, Wim Oppenheimer, Nigel Plaskitt, Sally Preisig, Colin Purves, Gillie Robic, Garry Rutter, Helena Smee, Katherine Smee, Olly Taylor, Chris Thatcher, Heather Tobias, William Todd Jones, Rob Tygner, Julie Westwood, Victoria Willing, Michael Winsor

Additional Muppet Performers (CA): Terry Angus, Lee Armstrong, Adam Behr, Jamie Bradley, Stephen Brathwaite, Jeny Cassady, Morris Chapdelaine, Kanja Chen, Ben Deutsch, Todd Doldersum, Ali Eisner, Matt Ficner, Tim Gosley, Kellie Haines, Kira Hall, Ingrid Hansen, Paul Hooson, Jason Hopley, Jani Lauzon, Trish Leeper, Jordan Lockhart, Benton Lowe, Kathy MacLellan, Alexander Mantia, Frank Meschkuleit, John Nolan, Pier Paquette, John Pattison, Mike Petersen, James Rankin, Dan Redican, Geoff Redknap, Gord Robertson, James Rowley, Sandra Shamas, Jamie Shannon, Ron Stefaniuk, Marty Stelnick, Fred Stinson, Bob Stutt, Karen Valleau, Cheryl Wagner, Wende Welch, Eric Woolfe, Noreen Young

Additional Muppet Performers (AUS): Winston Appleyard, Danielle Baker, Katy Bowman, Megan Cameron, Daniel Carlisle, David Collins, Will Conyers, Janette Dalgliesh, Emma De Vries, Jamie Dunn, Liss Gabb, Graeme Haddon, Andrew Hansen, Brett Hansen, Mal Heap, Frank Italiano, Ingrid Maganov, Malcolm Martin, Sean Masterson, Rob Matson, Matthew McCoy, Heath McIvor, Roy McNeill, Avril McQueen, Tim Mieville, Phillip Millar, Heather Monk, Richard Mueck, Amber Parry, Bob Parsons, Rod Primrose, Helen Rickards, John Rogers, Liz Rule, Terry Ryan, Peter Seaborn, Hugh Simpson, Michele Spooner, Mary Sutherland, Liza-Mare Syron, Neville Tranter, Maeve Vella, L. Peter Wilson, Peter J. Wilson, Annie Wylie

Special Guest Appearances: Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Tony Bennett, Jack Black, Michael Buble, Steven Burns, Alessia Cara, Jim Carrey, Christopher Cerf, Hayden Christensen, Cleto and the Cletones, Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Billie Eilish, Jessie Eisenberg, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Alan Grier, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Isaacs, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jimmy Kimmel, Jared Leto, Bobby Moynihan, Rosie O'Donnell, John Oliver, Jim Parsons, Jordan Peele, Randy Rainbow, John Ratzenberger, Daisy Ridley, Guillermo Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Sia, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Danny Trejo, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, Doug Walker, Jodie Whittaker, and Paul Williams, with Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Tara Strong as the voice of Harley Quinn, and Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker

The Wiggles: Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field, Greg Page

Wiggly Friends: Lachlan Gillespie as Henry the Octopus, Paul Paddick as Captain Feathersword, Simon Pryce as Wags the Dog, Emma Watkins as Dorothy the Dinosaur

Muppet Characters
Abby Cadabby, Alexis the Giraffe, Alfred Duck, Alice Snuffleupagus, Alligator, The Alphabeats, AM Monsters, The Amazing Mumford, Ant, Anything Muppets, Aristotle, Arthur, Athena, Baby Bear, Baby Natasha, Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk, Barkley, Bart, Bats, Benny Rabbit, Bernie Broccoli, Bert, Bertina, Betty Lou, Biff, The Big Bad Wolf, Big Bird, Big Jeffy, Billy Monster, Bip Bippadotta, Bluejay, Brad, Bruce Monster, Brulee, Bruno the Trashman, Bug, Bunnie Bear, Buster the Horse, Butch, Cactus, Camel, Cats, Captain Vegetable, The Cheese, Chewie the Cookie, Chicago the Lion, Chickens, Chip and Dip, Chrissy, Clancy, Clementine, Colambo, Cookie Monster, Corny the Corn, The Countess, Count von Count, Cow, Cricket, Crow, Curly Bear, Dani, Daniel, David Attenbird, Dawg the Dog, Deena, Dexter, Dimples the Dog, Dingers, Dogs, Don Music, Dr. Nobel Price, Dr. Thad and the Medications, Dragon, Ducks, Elena, Elizabeth, Elmo, Elmore, Ernestine, Ernie, Ex-Ray, Farley, Fenwick, Ferlinghetti Donizetti, Fish, Flora the Koala, Fluffy, Forgetful Jones, Francine Lloyd Wright, Frazzle, Fred the Wonder Horse, Freddy, Frog, Funella Furchester, Furgus Fuzz, Gabrielle, Gary Grouch, Georgie, Gladys the Cow, Gnu, Goat, Goldilocks, Gonger, Googel, Granny Bird, Granny Fanny Nesselrode, Grouches, Grover, Grover's Mother, Grundgetta, Gulliver, Guy Smiley, Hansel and Gretel, Harry Monster, Harvey Kneeslapper, Harvey Monster, Harvey P. Dull, Helena, Henrietta Honker, Herb, Herbert Birdsfoot, Herry Monster, Honkers, Hoots the Owl, Horatio the Elephant, Horse, Humphrey, Iago, Ingrid, Irvine, Jackman Wolf, Jake the Polar Bear, Joey and Davey Monkey, Julia, Kasey the Kangaroo, Kermit the Forg, Kingston Livingston III, Kylo Creme, Lavender Frazzletone, Lefty the Salesman, Lenny the Gorilla, Leo Birdelli, Leo the Party Monster, Little Bird, Little Bo Peep, Little Chrissy, Little Jerry, Little Murray Sparkles, Louie, Luke Piewalker, Lulu, Lydia the Ostrich, Madame Chairbird, Mae, Maggie Cadabby, Mama Bear, The Martians, Mary, Masha, Mel, Merry Monster, Meryl Sheep, Michael Jackson Muppet, Monty, Morton the Beaver, Mouse, Mr. Chatterly, Mr. Honker, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Mrs. Grouch, Murray Monster, Narf, Natalie the Cow, The Oinker Sisters, Old MacDonald, Old McDougal, Oscar the Grouch, Osvaldo el Grunon, Ovejita, Papa Bear, Parker Monster, Pearl, Penguins, Pesties, Phoebe, Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz, Pigeons, Pigs, Placido Flamingo, Poco Loco, Polly Darton, Porcupine, Prairie Dawn, Preposterous, Preston Rabbit, Princess Parfaita, Professor Hastings, Raccoon, Ralph the Moose, Ralphie, Ram, Randall the Zebra, Ricardo, Robin, Rockin' Richard, Rocky the Cat, Roosevelt Franklin, Roosevelt Franklin's Mother, Rooster, Rosa, Rose, Rosita, Roxie Marie, Ruby, Rudy, Sam the Robot, Samuel, Segi, Sheep, Shelley the Turtle, Sherlock Hemlock, Sherry Netherland, Shivers the Penguin, Simon Soundman, Singing Food, Slimey, Sly the Secretary Bird, Snake, Sonny Friendly, Spider, The Squirrelles, Stinky the Skunk, Stuie Monster, Stuntkip, Sully, Telly Monster, Tessie Twiddlebug, Thomas Twiddlebug, Timmy Twiddlebug, Tina Twiddlebug, Toucan, Tough Eddie, Trevor Monster, Turkeys, Two-Headed Monster, Wanda Cousteau, Warren Wolf, Watson, Weldon the IT Guy, Wolf, Wolfgsng the Seal, Zoe, Zostic

Crew
Executive Producer: Benjamin Lehmann

Produced by Ken Scarborough

N.Y. and CA shows directed by Matt Vogel

L.A. and FL shows directed by Kevin Clash

U.K. and AUS shows directed by Jack Jameson

Head Writer: Joey Mazzarino

Written by Christine Ferraro and Annie Evans

The Jim Henson Company Puppet Workshop

Workshop Manager: Jason Weber

Workshop Supervisor: Connie Peterson

Project Supervisor: Paul Hartis

N.Y. Puppet Captain: Matt Vogel

L.A. Puppet Captain: Kevin Clash

FL Puppet Captain: Jeff Conover

U.K. Puppet Captain: Mak Wilson

CA Puppet Captain: Rob Mills

Workshop Crew: Heather Asch, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, Erin Slattery Black, Mary Brehmer, Matt Brooks, Brian Carson, Melissa Creighton, Carole D'Agostino, Andrea Detwiler, Ben Durocher, Richard Dyar, Victoria Ellis, Henri Ewaskio, James Godwin, Tyler Hall, Liz Hara, Michelle Hickey, Joshua Holden, Ann Marie Holdgruen, J. Douglas James, Rollie Krewson, Jim Kroupa, Kari Love, Lara MacLean, Anney McKilligan-Ozar, Tom Newby, Jane Pien, Stephen Rotondaro, Kate Rusek, Sierra Schoening, Michael Schupbach, Polly Smith, David Valentine, Stacey Weingarten, James Wojtal

N.Y. Puppet Wranglers: Vanessa Gifford Gillis, Tim Lagasse

L.A. Puppet Wranglers: Jane Gootnick, Peter MacKennan

FL Puppet Wranglers: James and Scott Silson

U.K. Puppet Wranglers: Janet Knechtel, Darryl Worbey

For The Jim Henson Company: Jill Colley, Carolyn Fanelli, Joseph Roddy, Jason Seck

Grover's Card Magic performed by Shin Lim

Special Thanks: Paul Andrejco and Puppet Heap Workshop, Ivy Austin, Steve Axtell, William Banyard, John Barrett, James Barton, Daisy Beattie, Bill Berner, Jeanette Betancourt, Frank Biondo, Molly Boylan, Fran Brill, Patrick Bristow, Lynn Robertson Bruce, David Bulbeck, Kerry Butler, Frank Campagna, Jerry Cancel, Jessica Carleton, Kristin Charney, Denise Cheshire, Charles, Edward and Stephen Chiodo, Ed Christie, Geri Cole, Patrick Comerford, Joan Ganz Cooney and the executives and directors at Sesame Workshop, Matthew Crowfoot, Sue Dacre, Andrew Davenport, Bobby Del Russo, John Derevlany, Ken Diego, Victor DiNapoli, Dave Driscoll, Jeff Dunham, Sarah Durkee, Bonnie Erickson, Ed Eyth, Bob Fappiano, Molly Fite, Michael K. Frith, Paul Fusco, Rob Gardner, Dan Garza, Dean Gordon, Jerome Green, Makeda Mays Green, David Greenaway, Thomas G. Guadarrama, David Gumpel, Tanya Haden, Gary Halvorson, Shaun Harkins, Barnaby Harrison, Lisa, Cheryl, and Heather Henson, Jane Howell, Dave Hulteen, Peter Hurst, Paul Jacobs, John Jennings, Brown Johnson, Scott Johnson, Brian Jones, Gary Jones, Frank Kane, Nick Kellington, Nina Keogh, Emily Perl Kingsley, Dave Kinnoin, Mitchell Kriegman, Chris and Christy Knowings, Pui Fan Lee, David Letterman and Worldwide Pants, Jim Lewis, Mallory Lewis, Aria and Mica Linz, John Lovelady, Derek Lux, Sharon Lyew, Tony Lymboura, Magnetic Dreams, Mark Mander, Boitumelo Betty Maretele, Hugh Martin, Wayne Martin, Ted May, Debbie McClellan, Brian Meehl, Alan Menken, Ted Michaels, Pat Minietta, Louis Henry Mitchell, Nat Mongioi, Jason Murphy, Steven Nallon, Mike Nawrocki, Phil Vischer and Big Idea Entertainment, Jodi Nussbaum, Jimmy O'Donnell, Sarah Oh, Amanda Oleander, John Orberg and 3/Design Studio, Pete Ortiz, Frank Oz, Mike Pantuso, Carol-Lynn Parente, Angie Passmore, Megan Piphus, Bill Prady, Gordon Price, Mark Radice, Chris Renaud, Mark Renaudin, Mike Renzi, Alex Rockwell, Tim Rose, Cathi Rosenberg-Turow, Adam Rudman and Spiffy Pictures, Paul Rudolph, Paul Rugg, Mark Saltzman, Nicolette Santino, Mia Sara, Rob Saunders, Craig Shemin, Benjamin Siemon, Jessica Simon, Larry Solomon, Debra Spinney, Robin Stevens, Jocelyn Stevenson, Kenny Stevenson, Yvonne Stone, John Styles, Dave Taylor, Norman Tempia, Richard Termine, Kirk Thatcher, Dave Thompson, Tom Trbovich, Rosemarie Truglio, Chuck Tutino, Amy Van Gilder, Art Vega, Alex Villa, Chuck Vinson, Robin Walsh and Screen Novelties, Ron Washburn, John Wheatley, Mark Whitman, Melissa Whitmire, Vanessa Whitney, Caroly Wilcox, Mark Bryan Wilson, Anne Wood and Ragdoll Productions, Phil Woodfine, Francis Wright, Sarah Wright, "Lucky" Matt Yates, Paul Zaloom, Paul Zerdin, Autumn P. Zitani-Stefano, the families of the puppeteers, and the many cast and crew members who helped make Sesame Street what it is today

Dedicated with respect and admiration to the memory of our mentors and friends, Jim Henson (1936-1990), Michael Earl (1959-2015), Eric Engelhardt (1966-2007), Faz Fazakas (1918-2013), Tony Geiss (1924-2011), Jane Henson (1934-2013), John Henson (1965-2014), Richard Hunt (1951-1992), Jerry Juhl (1938-2005), Kermit Love (1916-2008), Tim Miller (1944-2019), Jeff Moss (1942-1998), Jerry Nelson (1934-2012), Joe Raposo (1937-1989), Matt Robinson (1937-2002), Don Sahlin (1928-1978), Caroll Spinney (1933-2019), Jon Stone (1931-1997), Nikki Tilroe (1941-2005), and Mark Zeszotek (1954-2004). Thank you for giving so much life to our favorite Muppets.