TWO GREAT EXHIBITS AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

I feel  incredibly lucky to live in a place that is so rich in opportunities to engage with and celebrate the arts.  This year, I am committed to getting out and taking advantage of more of these opportunities.

Specifically, I want to see more performances, go to exhibits, watch more DVDs, read more books, and talk to people in the arena of my first true love, the performing arts.

So I started 2015 by going to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to see "Somebody Come and Play:" 45 Years of Sesame Street Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder.


The exhibit, conceived by Sesame Workshop archivist Susan Tofte, features Sesame Muppets, archival footage, scripts, storyboards, lead sheets, designs, and scores from the archives of the show.  There is also behind the scenes footage, animation cels, photographs, blueprints, and an architectural model of the set from the early 90’s. There's lots of nice opportunities to view show highlights, including a  look back at many of the celebrities and other notable people that have visited Sesame Street.

I sat down for quite a while on a tiny wooden bench with some 70s-style headphones to watch some of the archival footage.  I was fascinated by the clips from from the brainstorming sessions of the folks who conceptualized the show before it ever went on air.  I got teary-eyed as I listened to the cast explain to Big Bird that his dear friend Mr. Hooper had passed away and would not be coming back.
Also sweet was the episode where Luis and Maria get married.

Looking around at all the families passing through, and being reminded that Sesame is in 150 countries around the world, I could really feel and see  the impact that this show has had on the lives of millions of people around the globe.

After spending a few hours at the Sesame Street exhibit, I traveled to another part of the library and stumbled upon another exhibit.  This one was titled Broadway Revealed: Photographs by Stephen Joseph Behind the Theater Curtain.  In the center of the room were fantastic costumes from various musicals and plays.  How fun to see the bright red beauties (see photo above) from Kinky Boots standing proudly in a lucite display box.

On the walls surrounding the costumes wre photographs of all the people who work behind the scenes to make the magic that is Broadway.

In between visits to these two fab exhibits, I took time to explore the shelves of this branch of the NYPL dedicated entirely to the performing arts.  Such an exciting array of books, CDs, DVDs, and videos.  I checked out a book of essays by deceased playwright Wendy Wasserstein, as well as some DVDs from The Best of Soul Train collection.

I finished my time at the performing arts library by writing my dad a letter to thank him for taking us to some really great musicals when we were children, and for encouraging us to go behind the scenes to see what the performing arts were all about.

I hope to extend that sense of inquiry and wonder into 2015, and make it integral to many of the adventures which I seek out this year.

Happy 2015, everyone!

LETTERS TO BIG BIRD

By the time Weston Long was five years old, he had watched so many Sesame Street television episodes and video specials that he knew how to count in multiple languages -- Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish included. A big reason for Weston’s loyalty to Sesame was his love for a particular character on the show. “He was enamored with Big Bird,” shared Weston’s mom, Jill.

When Weston was five, he started writing letters to Big Bird. He wrote up to two letters a day, and his mom confessed that she mailed a few but put most of them in the garbage. After all, she didn’t want to inundate Big Bird - aka Caroll Spinney – with mail.

But unbeknownst to Mom, her son was salvaging those letters and putting them into the mailbox himself. When Weston was six, he received a personal invitation from Mr. Spinney to come visit him on the set of Sesame Street. That visit was followed by subsequent ones and was interspersed with a few visits to Caroll’s home. “Caroll also sends him old photographs and other publicity materials from the early days of Big Bird,” said Jill.

Weston, who is now 12, has been mentored by Mr. Spinney for six years. “Caroll said that he saw a lot of himself in Weston,” said Jill. Caroll, like Weston, took an interest in puppets and theater at a very early age. Caroll confirmed this fact when he approached me, Weston, and Jill after completing his first shoot of the day on the set of Sesame out in Astoria, Queens. Caroll, totally fit and energized at the age of 75, told me that he was five then he first started doing puppet shows. His mom, an artist, sewed the puppets he used.

It was obvious that Weston knew Caroll well. As Caroll proceeded to talk about his history as a performer, Weston would sometimes complete Caroll’s sentences. Both Weston and his mom were obviously happy to have Caroll as a mentor. Jill let me know that Weston came from a family of athletes, including herself, her husband, and her three other children. Weston, however, had always been interested in puppetry, theater, and dancing. Bringing her son to the set of Sesame and supporting his friendship with Caroll is one of the ways she had figured out to nurture Weston’s interests.

Big Bird, Caroll Spinney, is one of television’s biggest stars. He has reached hundreds of millions of adults and children over these past 40 years. I like the fact that he has taken time out over these last six years to nurture the dreams of a single young person who shares his love of performing. With Caroll’s support, Weston has a good shot at sustaining and realizing his dream of a career in theater.

It was just another day on Sesame Street and I'm glad I got to drop by.