Changes: A Sesame Street Mystery: The Case of the Missing Rara Avis

Revision as of 11:36, 13 December 2013

SESAME STREET LIVE MYSTERY COVER — Sesame Street Live 1st Edition Program Cover

Seedybirds-costumes — Big Bird joins the Seedy Birds for a chorus line

SSLiveE&BPigeon — Bert and Ernie perform "Doin' the Pigeon."

Fattys — Fat Blue and Green Anything Muppet costumes

A Sesame Street Mystery: The Case of the Missing Rara Avis was the very first Sesame Street Live show, produced by VEE Corporation in 1980, for a 1980-1981 tour season.

The show was repeated in the United States on tours in 1981-1982, 1984-1985, and 1985-1986. The show traveled to Australia in 1982-1983, and to Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong in 1990-1991.

In 1992, the show was updated and toured under the title Where's the Birdie?.

Plot

Big Bird runs away from Sesame Street after Oscar tells him that everyone has forgotten about his birthday (when they are actually planning a surprise party for Big Bird). Big Bird eventually runs into showman and con artist Phineas T. Barnswallow, proprietor of Barnswallow's Barnstorming Aviary, who sees the giant bird as a perfect new addition to his all-bird troupe The Seedy Birds - and plans to keep him forever. Meanwhile, back on Sesame Street, Big Bird's friends realize that he has gone missing, and contact the New York City Department of Missing Birds, led by Inspector Fortescu Farquar, to help find him.

Characters

Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, Count von Count, Inspector Fortescu Farquar, New York City Department of Missing Birds, Phineas T. Barnswallow, The Seedy Birds, Anything Muppets, including The People in Your Neighborhood (Mailman, Doctor, Painter, Fireman, Grocer, Student, Carpenter, Old Lady) .

Voices of the Muppets

Jim Henson as Ernie
Frank Oz as Cookie, Grover, and Bert
Jerry Nelson as the Count
Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
Louise Gold as Anything Muppets
Kathy Mullen as Anything Muppets
Richard Hunt as Anything Muppets
Grenoldo Frazier as Phineas T. Barnswallow
Daniel Nanni as Inspector Fortescu Farquar

Touring cast

Original cast, 1980-1981

Thomas Butters as The Count
Lionel Douglass as Big Bird
Grenoldo Frazier as Phineas T. Barnswallow
Richard Galli as Bert
Barbara Goldstein as Old Lady
Juan Iglesias as Cookie Monster
Chikae Ishikawa as Seedy Bird
Derek Jackson as Grover
Nancy Jones as Carpenter
Roger Kachel as Ernie
Amy Lachinsky as Seedy Bird
Dianne Miller as Painter
Daniel Nanni as Inspector Fortescu Farquar
Stan Nelson as Mailman
Stephen Nelson as Fireman
Sandra Robinson as Baker
Thomas Sanford as Seedy Bird (Victor)
Lisa Stanley as Grocer
Buz Suraci as Oscar the Grouch
Ellen Swartz as Seedy Bird
Judy Swartz as Doctor
Carol Wilshire as Student
New York City Department of Missing Birds Constables: Lionel Douglass, Chikae Ishikawa, Amy Lachinsky, Stan Nelson, Thomas Sanford, Lisa Stanley, Buz Suraci, and Judy Swartz.

Songs

The show used ten familiar songs from Sesame Street, plus three original songs. Paul Walberg and Dell Hake wrote two instrumental pieces, "Chicken Tango" and "Constable Chicken Chase", plus a third, "Bird Song", with lyrics by Jon Stone.

Walberg went on to write songs for the Muppet Show stage shows, The Muppet Show on Tour! and The Muppet Show on Tour: 2nd Edition.

Merchandise

There were some items exclusively available for the tour. Among them were four posters, a souvenir program, banners and pennants.

Credits

Produced by Bob Shipstad
Directed and Choreographed by Anita Mann
Written by Jon Stone and Joseph A. Bailey
Music Director: Paul Walberg
New Sesame Street Live Muppets designed by Michael Frith
Muppet costumes designed and built by Muppets, Inc.
Design and supervision of construction by Ray Diffen
Assisted by Connie Peterson
Mechanical animation by Mae Canaga
Dialog Editing, Recording Engineering & Mixing by Allen Kaufman

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:SESAME_STREET_LIVE_MYSTERY_COVER.JPG|thumb|300px|Sesame Street Live 1st Edition Program Cover]]
+[[Image:Sesamelive80cast.JPG|thumb|300px]]
 [[Image:Seedybirds-costumes.jpg|thumb|300px|Big Bird joins the Seedy Birds for a chorus line]]
+[[Image:BigBirdTheSeedyBirds.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:Img0053A.jpg|thumb|300px]]
-'''''A Sesame Street Mystery: The Case of the Missing Rara Avis''''' was the very first ''[[Sesame Street Live]]'' show, produced by [[VEE Corporation]] in [[1980]], for a 1980-1981 tour season.
+[[Image:SSLiveE&BPigeon.jpg|thumb|300px|Bert and Ernie perform "Doin' the Pigeon."]]
+[[Image:Fattys.JPG|thumb|300px|Fat Blue and Green Anything Muppet costumes]]
+'''''A Sesame Street Mystery: The Case of the Missing Rara Avis''''' was the very first ''[[Sesame Street Live]]'' show, produced by [[VEE Corporation]] in [[1980]], for a 1980-1981 tour season.
 The show was repeated in the United States on tours in 1981-1982, 1984-1985, and 1985-1986. The show traveled to [[Australia]] in 1982-1983, and to Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong in 1990-1991.
+In 1992, the show was updated and toured under the title ''[[Where's the Birdie?]]''.
+==Plot==
+Big Bird runs away from [[Sesame Street (location)|Sesame Street]] after Oscar tells him that everyone has forgotten about his birthday (when they are actually planning a surprise party for Big Bird). Big Bird eventually runs into showman and con artist Phineas T. Barnswallow, proprietor of Barnswallow's Barnstorming Aviary, who sees the giant bird as a perfect new addition to his all-bird troupe The Seedy Birds - and plans to keep him forever. Meanwhile, back on Sesame Street, Big Bird's friends realize that he has gone missing, and contact the New York City Department of Missing Birds, led by Inspector Fortescu Farquar, to help find him.
 ==Characters==
-*[[Big Bird walk-arounds|Big Bird]], [[Bert walk-arounds|Bert]], [[Ernie walk-arounds|Ernie]], [[Cookie Monster walk-arounds|Cookie Monster]], [[Grover walk-arounds|Grover]], [[Oscar the Grouch walk-arounds|Oscar the Grouch]], [[The Count walk-arounds|the Count]], [[Inspector Fortescu Farquar]], [[New York City Department of Missing Birds]], [[Phineas T. Barnswallow]], [[The Seedy Birds]], [[Old Lady]], [[Anything Muppets]], including [[The People in Your Neighborhood]].
+*[[Big Bird walk-arounds|Big Bird]], [[Oscar the Grouch walk-arounds|Oscar the Grouch]], [[Bert walk-arounds|Bert]], [[Ernie walk-arounds|Ernie]], [[Cookie Monster walk-arounds|Cookie Monster]], [[Grover walk-arounds|Grover]], [[Count von Count walk-arounds|Count von Count]], [[Inspector Fortescu Farquar]], [[New York City Department of Missing Birds]], [[Phineas T. Barnswallow]], [[The Seedy Birds]], [[Anything Muppets]], including [[The People in Your Neighborhood]] (Mailman, Doctor, Painter, Fireman, Grocer, [[The Teenager|Student]], Carpenter, [[Old Lady]]) .
 ==Voices of the Muppets==
-*[[Jim Henson]] as Ernie
+*[[Jim Henson]] as [[Ernie]]
-*[[Frank Oz]] as Cookie, Grover, and Bert
+*[[Frank Oz]] as [[Cookie Monster|Cookie]], [[Grover]], and [[Bert]]
-*[[Jerry Nelson]] as the Count
+*[[Jerry Nelson]] as [[Count von Count|the Count]]
-*[[Caroll Spinney]] as Big Bird and Oscar
+*[[Caroll Spinney]] as [[Big Bird]] and [[Oscar the Grouch]]
 *[[Louise Gold]] as Anything Muppets
 *[[Kathy Mullen]] as Anything Muppets
 *[[Richard Hunt]] as Anything Muppets
-*[[Grenoldo Frazier]] as Phineas T. Barnswallow
+*[[Grenoldo Frazier]] as [[Phineas T. Barnswallow]]
-*[[Daniel Nanni]] as Inspector Fortescue Farquar
+*[[Daniel Nanni]] as [[Inspector Fortescu Farquar]]
 ==Touring cast==
-===1980-1981===
+===Original cast, 1980-1981===
-* [[Lionel Douglass]] as [[Big Bird]]
+* Thomas Butters as The Count
-* [[Roger Kachel]] as [[Ernie]]
+* [[Lionel Douglass]] as Big Bird
-* [[Buz Suraci]] as [[Oscar the Grouch]]
+* [[Grenoldo Frazier]] as Phineas T. Barnswallow
+* Richard Galli as Bert
-* [[Grenoldo Frazier]] as [[Phineas T. Barnswallow]]
+* Barbara Goldstein as Old Lady
-* [[Juan Iglesias]] as [[Cookie Monster]]
+* [[Juan Iglesias]] as Cookie Monster
-* [[New York City Department of Missing Birds]]: Lionel Douglass, [[Chikae Ishikawa]], Amy Lachinsky, Stan Nelson, Thomas Sanford, Lisa Stanley, Buz Suraci, and Judy Swartz.
+* Chikae Ishikawa as Seedy Bird
+* Derek Jackson as Grover
+* Nancy Jones as Carpenter
+* [[Roger Kachel]] as Ernie
+* Amy Lachinsky as Seedy Bird
+* Dianne Miller as Painter
+* Daniel Nanni as Inspector Fortescu Farquar
+* Stan Nelson as Mailman
+* Stephen Nelson as Fireman
+* Sandra Robinson as Baker
+* [[Thomas Sanford]] as Seedy Bird (Victor)
+* Lisa Stanley as Grocer
+* [[Buz Suraci]] as Oscar the Grouch
+* Ellen Swartz as Seedy Bird
+* Judy Swartz as Doctor
+* Carol Wilshire as Student
+* [[New York City Department of Missing Birds]] Constables: Lionel Douglass, Chikae Ishikawa, Amy Lachinsky, Stan Nelson, Thomas Sanford, Lisa Stanley, Buz Suraci, and Judy Swartz.
 ==Songs==
 The show used ten familiar songs from ''Sesame Street'', plus three original songs. [[Paul Walberg]] and Dell Hake wrote two instrumental pieces, "Chicken Tango" and "Constable Chicken Chase", plus a third, "Bird Song", with lyrics by Jon Stone.
 Walberg went on to write songs for the ''[[The Muppet Show|Muppet Show]]'' stage shows, ''[[The Muppet Show on Tour!]]'' and ''[[The Muppet Show on Tour: 2nd Edition]]''.
 *[[Sesame Street Theme]]
@@ Line 49: / Line 75: @@
 ==Merchandise==
 There were some items exclusively available for the tour. Among them were four posters, a souvenir program, banners and pennants.
+<gallery widths="300" captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center" bordersize="none" bordercolor="transparent" hideaddbutton=true>
+Image:1980_sesame_street_live_pennant.jpg
+</gallery>
 ==Credits==
-* Written by [[Jon Stone]] and [[Joseph A. Bailey]]
 *Produced by Bob Shipstad
 *Directed and Choreographed by [[Anita Mann]]
+*Written by [[Jon Stone]] and [[Joseph A. Bailey]]
-*New Sesame Street Live Muppets were designed by [[Michael Frith]]
+*Music Director: Paul Walberg
+*New Sesame Street Live Muppets designed by [[Michael Frith]]
 *Muppet costumes designed and built by [[The Jim Henson Company|Muppets, Inc.]]
-*Design and supervision of construction by [[Ray Diffen]]
+*Design and supervision of construction by Ray Diffen
-*Assisted by Connie Peterson
+*Assisted by [[Connie Peterson]]
 *Mechanical animation by Mae Canaga
+*Dialog Editing, Recording Engineering & Mixing by Allen Kaufman
 [[Category:Sesame Street Live Shows|Sesame Street Mystery]]

Muppet Wiki