Sesame Street Live! Say Hello
Shubert Theatre
March 14, 2025
Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Friday night, it was on College Street. The Shubert Theatre to be exact. It was the place to greet and get playful with the iconic children’s show’s crew of monsters and other lovable birds and beasts in their newest Sesame Street Live! stage production, aptly titled Say Hello. This reporter, a lifelong fan, and her husband made a date to dive back into some core memories while watching a captivated and super cute crowd party with their fuzzy faves.
The toddler equivalent of rock stars, the Sesame Street gang has the same if not a more fevered devotion than most. Not unlike at your typical concert, nearly every little one was outfitted in a piece of clothing emblazoned with one or more characters. A generous number of their adults also suited up in their own Elmo red or Cookie Monster blue tee. Many were clutching the stuffed equivalent of their favorite “band member,” with Elmo being the clear frontrunner for number one.
For those who did not have a little friend to cuddle, the merch table at the entrance of the theater had plenty for sale as well as one of those light-up spinning glittery wands that could add to the festivity of it all. I asked my husband, “Are those the equivalent of the lighters we used to hold up at shows for encores?” He laughed in response, but I think he agreed.
Yes, indeed, this reporter and her husband may have been there to take in this delightful show sans children or grandchildren, but we did have a boatload of memories of when we did take our own children to such events, as well as memories of watching the show when we were children ourselves. I even decked myself out in a big hot pink fuzzy coat for the occasion because often when I wear it, I am told I look like a Muppet. To me, this is one of the highest of compliments I have ever received.
There were a few stares in our direction, possibly because we were most likely the only adults there without a small one or two in tow. (Or maybe it was the coat?) But nearly all eyes were on the stage as everyone walked in to the theater itself, the stage dressed in primary color vertical curtains hanging like a giant rainbow below another curtain of a white cloud-kissed blue sky. Phones were out for snapshots and selfies. But once the music started it was cameras away and on to play and sing and dance and generally smile for an hour.
The premise of the show is fairly simple and sweet as are all things Sesame Street related: You meet and greet old friends and new while everyone (including the audience) tries to help find Elmo’s dog Tango during a game of hide and seek. On the way you sing and move along to the music, have some number and letter-related fun, and interact with the characters and audience members. You also learn a few lessons about cooperation, perseverance, and kindness.
Simon Says was the first game of the night, led onstage by friend Jamie who was then joined by another friend Jordan for a round of Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, before Tango came out to the delight of many a screaming fan. The game of Hide and Seek was chosen, and Tango left to hide. The familiar bars of the theme song “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?” rang through the room as the giant colorful neighborhood set was revealed. It sounded like nearly everyone sang along.
Two more big moments followed: Beloved characters Grover and Abby Caddaby came out on stage. Soon after, the one and only Elmo appeared, greeted as if he was a rock idol of the highest order (which in this age group, technically, he was). They soon were singing “Hello, Hello,” a song that offers a catchy way to remember to be kind and greet the new people you meet and any old friends as well.
“The more friends that can play, the better,” said Elmo as they all practiced with the audience how they wanted us yell “Hello, Tango” really loud if we saw him at all during the game. I’m pretty sure the rehearsal of that was one of the loudest things I’ve heard in a good while.
Elmo got his wish for even more friends: Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Rosita, and The Count all made appearances throughout the show as the gang worked their way through Tango’s favorite neighborhood places to find her.
One of the songs that was sung at different points during the show highlighted the importance of working together as well as keeping at it, not just with finding Tango, but with any challenge.
“I wonder, what if, let’s try” was not just a catchy phrase and tune that had even me and the mister singing along after a couple of renditions. It also highlighted one of the best reasons to watch Sesame Street: Its primary goal has not just been to educate, but to include and encourage everyone. Sharing ideas, listening to each other, and working together do not go out of style, and no one has taught those lessons more consistently and with such joy as this show.
Let’s not forget that they have been around since 1969, the anchor of the PBS children’s show lineup that also included such classic educational programming as The Electric Company and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Of the three, Sesame Street is the one that persevered, even as it made its move to HBO in 2016.
I am one of those children who grew up on that lineup, as did my husband. Sesame Street always stuck out the most for me. I learned endless lessons from that show, including how to count to ten in English, Spanish and French. So many of the songs and skits are engrained into me as much as, if not more than, most of the Billboard Top Ten from my adult years. On Friday night, when Oscar the Grouch burst into the song “I Love Trash,” I sang and swayed along to every word, as did many other adults in the room.
I wondered how many of them were just as excited to hear and see these songs and characters as their children were. Our own two children watched the show and saw a Sesame Street Live show or three when they were younger, too, but I will admit it did hit a little different going without kids. Watching other parents holding their tiny toddlers while they stood on their laps and clapped along was another type of joy. Seeing the pride in the older toddlers as they counted the paw prints they found of Tango’s on the walls and doors of the neighborhood made me proud of them too. It was just all so sweet and entertaining, a lovely communal experience, and being in one of the area’s oldest and most regal of theaters, the Shubert, made it all seem even more familial and fun. (FYI, the theater provided booster seats for any kids who needed one as well. Brilliant.)
I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by telling you that Elmo did find Tango. It was only a game after all, and it lasted only an hour (with a 20-minute break in between), but amongst all the other games and songs they were also able to fit in a version of “Bingo” modified into “Tango” in honor of everyone’s favorite Sesame Street pooch. I asked my husband if that was the equivalent of a local band covering Bob Dylan, and he laughed again. I think he had a good time. I mean, he even shouted “Cookie Monster!” when they asked everyone to shout out who was their favorite.
Streamers shot out over the audience during the final song. Lots of little ones as well as adults grabbed a few to take home as a souvenir. What struck me the most: No one was fighting over them. In fact, many were sharing pieces with others who wanted one or finding another who didn’t get one and giving a strand or two to them. Cooperation, generosity, and sharing: All pretty great lessons to reiterate on a Friday night in 2025.
If you are a fan of all things Muppet related, Fraggle Rock Live is coming to the Shubert on Sunday, March 30. Check their website for more details.