Elmo's Coloring Book

Elmo's Coloring Book was a Sesame Street Live show produced by VEE Corporation in 1997. In 2004, it was updated and revived for Sesame Street Live's 25th anniversary touring season.

Plot

In this show, Elmo and the gang, along with an artist named Professor Art, go into Professor Art's Guzzinta 2000 machine, which brings coloring book pages to life, allowing the cast to go into their drawings. Meanwhile, many different things turn from their original color to white. Among these is Oscar the Grouch, who suddenly turns nicer when he's white. Eventually, they learn that the colors were taken by Blanche the Polar Bear, who wanted to see what it's like to be other colors. However, she soon realizes that her natural color is best for her, and she returns the colors.

The original show, with smaller walkout stage

A white Oscar the Grouch & Friends, circa 1997

Blanche, Big Bird, and Professor Art

Bert and Ernie in the Land of Dinosaurs.

Cast

Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Count von Count, Telly Monster, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Rosita, Baby Bear, Zoe, Prairie Dawn, Grover, Honker, The Palettes, Professor Art, & Blanche the Polar Bear

Production Notes

While the program may list Grover, Zoe, and the Honkers as cast members, they have no speaking lines (though Zoe is listed in the voice credits in the original 1997 program book). This was due to the fact that these three Muppets were the understudies for the show, which are usually the Muppets who are given no dialogue, and can easily be removed from the production if any of the other performers aren't able to perform. However, in the 2004 revamped version of the show, Zoe is given a speaking role, and Prairie Dawn (who was given a part in the original) is the "small" understudy in the show. The performer who plays the part of Zoe also plays the part of Blanche, the Polar Bear, in the second half of the show. Rosita and Baby Bear also are given the same stage performer also.

Telly Monster also has a bigger role in this show, as he was absent from the previous Sesame Street Live show, 123 Imagine! from 1996. Also, unlike the original show, Big Bird is given sort of a "minor part" although he is listed after Elmo in the official program) and isn't seen much until the show's second half. Other changes also include the Palettes design, who are seen sporting unique hairdos of their secondary colors (ex. Blue=Green, Red=Purple, Yellow=Orange). This change was added in the 2004 show.

A revamped version of the show meant for theatres instead of arenas, directed by Sloan Bayer, hit the road for a 2006-2007 international tour. The tour included two weeks at Madison Square Garden, a performance on The Today Show and several months of performances outside the U.S. It was replaced on the theatre circuit in 2007 by Super Grover! Ready for Action. This would result in VEE Corporation either dubbing original shows or writing new shows to star Elmo's name. This practice has been done since the 2006 show, Elmo Makes Music.

Performers

• 1998: Kim Sanders as Bert
• 1999: Yram Rivera
• 2006-07: Matthew Furtado as Professor Art

Acts

Act 1:

• Welcome to Sesame Street
• Professor Art's Workshop
• Egypt
• The Land of The Dinosaurs
• Oscar's Junkyard

Act 2:

• Mellow Oscar
• Back to the Workshop
• The Blizzard
• Rainbow Cave
• Dance of the Colors
• The Grouch Song
• Blanche Has a Change of Heart

Vocals

Fran Brill as Zoe (Prairie Dawn in the original)

Kevin Clash as Elmo and T- Rex

Jerry Nelson as the Count

Carmen Osbahr as Rosita

Frank Oz as Bert and Cookie Monster

Martin P. Robinson as Telly Monster

David Rudman as Baby Bear

Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar

Steve Whitmire as Ernie

with

Ivy Austin as Blanche the Polar Bear

Renée Goldsberry as Yellow Palette

Kamilah Martin as Blue Palette

and

Melanie Taylor as Red Palette

Soundtrack

• Elmo's Coloring Book (soundtrack)