Sesame Street Live on Tour

It is not often that children acquire to have their own touring shows but that’s exactly what “Sesame Street Live” is. “Sesame Street Live” is a touring assemblage based upon the all time popular children's television show entitled “Sesame Street”.

The continuing series are produced by the Minneapolis company, VEE Corporation. The initial debut for the road show occurred on the, 17th of September 1980 with a live production show entitled “Missing Bird Mystery”. The opening show was performed at the Metropolitan Sports Center located in Bloomington, Minnesota. It also played that coming Christmas for a 4 weeks stretch at Madison Square Garden to which since that time has been a popular children’s production. It has been considered the longest continuous performing stage tour for young children in existence.

The ensemble is now produced as three or four different tours with each performing a different show. Each of the Sesame Street Live performances has their own individual plots, their own characters, specially constructed scenery, and their own individual soundtracks. These children’s shows are performed in various theaters and arenas around the civilized world. These tours generally work on an 8 to 10 month schedule concluding in the springtime and restarting again in the later part of summer. Sesame Street Live is a truck and bus show while traveling in the United States, with all the shows equipment being moved within two to three moving trucks while the personnel will travel by the bus. Many touring type show tend to travel by rail such as the ever popular Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. When the show is performing outside of America, it will have its equipment shipped via sea containers or air cargo.

The live show features original style songs and music scores created specifically for the show as well a compliment of the all time great tunes from the TV series. Dancing as well as the various motions are performed by a cast of skillful professional dancers dressed in costumes and performing the parts of the various Sesame characters and Muppets. Each of the productions are accomplished in a highly theatrical style. In the event that the program is performed in an arena then a false stage is constructed in the middle to create the impression of going to an actual stage show.

Vincent E. Egan the founder of VEE Corporation met with members of the Children's Television Workshop as well as the creator of the Muppets, Jim Henson in 1980. He contracted with both parties to become the exclusive creators of the life size replicas of both the Muppets and the Sesame Street characters for use within touring stage shows.