If you’ve had some distance between then and now – “then” meaning those formative childhood years parked in front of Sesame Street or The Muppet Movie, and “now” meaning an adult’s fond but abstract appreciation for Jim Henson’s marvelous felt and fleece and foam puppet creations – then do yourself a favor. Dip back in. I did, and I can report that upon witnessing the Swedish Chef, Animal, and squeaky-piped Beaker – no champions of elocution, they – sob-singing their way through an incomprehensible “Danny Boy,” I howled so hard my abdominals ached.
The Muppets settle in for a monthlong residence at the Alamo Ritz this April, with a half-dozen-plus opportunities to rediscover why C is for cookie, why it isn’t easy being green, and why rubber duckie is still, eternally, the one.
April 2: Jim Henson & Friends: Inside the Sesame Street Vault
A look back at Sesame Street‘s many winning instructionals on how to be a better speller and a better citizen of the world
April 3: Sing! The Music of Sesame Street
From “Mahna Mahna” and Harry Belafonte to Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin’s spirits-lifting duet “Just the Way You Are,” crooned to Oscar the Grouch in his trash can of gloom
April 6: Commercials & Experiments
This one includes Henson’s Sixties live-action shorts and clips of early Cookie Monster shilling – le blasphème! – for Munchos potato crisps.
April 7 & 14: The Muppet Movie Sing-Along
Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
April 9: Sesame Street at 40: Milestones on the Street
From its first air date in 1969, Sesame Street established itself as urban, multiracial, and endlessly inventive in its fusion of entertainment and education. Expect a lot of wet eyes when episode “Farewell, Mr. Hooper” is excerpted.
April 10: Muppet Fairytales: “The Frog Prince” and “The Elves and the Shoemaker”
Two longer-form retweaks of classics make up this program: Henson’s 1971 “The Frog Prince” and David Grossman’s 1994 short “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” previously featured on the straight-to-video release Muppet Classic Theater.
April 24: Zzang!!! Presents: The Dark Crystal
Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 collaboration about the iron-fisted, evil Skeksis race (looking kinda like hulking, landlocked vultures) and the two Gelfling wards determined to defeat them. Yes, it will still freak your shit out.
This article appears in Dome Sweet Dome.
