‘Sesame Street Live’ exuberant

The residents of the most famous street on children’s TV made their way to Bangor’s Main Street Tuesday night, as “Sesame Street Live” opened at the Bangor Auditorium in the first of three shows.

The cast of 15 brightly colored Muppets hammered home the evening’s theme of friendship, through the use of song, dance and vibrant sets and lights. The stage was set on the left side of the auditorium, with the bleachers and seats on the right side nearly filled to capacity.

Opening the show was the whole cast in “Say Hello,” in which all the Muppets introduced themselves.

The plot, to use the word loosely, of “Let’s Be Friends” is that Elmo and Zoe formed the Elmo and Zoe Friendship Club. Soon Big Bird and all the other Muppets want to join, and what started out as an exclusive club soon had wide-open membership.

That’s the framework upon which the show’s production numbers are hung. The first half shows the cast members joining the club one or two at a time.

Perhaps the highlight of the first half was when the blue-furred Latina monster Rosita joined. Her signature tune was “Hola” (Spanish for `hello’), performed as Muppets garbed in serapes and sombreros danced in the background. Bert showed off his vast knowledge of Spanish, spinning a tune with lyrics made up of Mexican foods.

After a 15-minute intermission, friendship club members help each other deal with such traumatic situations as a haircut or cleaning a room.

Cookie Monster got help cleaning his room, so he could go to the circus. The production numbers were set to uptempo ’50s songs. “Yakety Yak” became “Clean Your Room;” “Shout” became “Clean.” Sure, “Sesame Street Live” can labor a point, but the children in the audience didn’t mind.

The performers in the cast were acrobatic, energetic and enthusiastic. Even in the barnlike auditorium, they really worked up a sweat dancing, singing and tumbling across the stage.

Unlike the recent Disney on Ice show, “Sesame Street Live” kept merchandising a little more subdued. Yes, there were several kiosks throughout the building. And that cloud of Elmo-head balloons that appeared at intermission was a scary sight. But no one was hawking $6 snowcones in the aisles.

For most of the children in the audience, the best part of the evening was when the Muppets would frequently come down off the stage and shake hands with the kids. That made many in the crowd very happy.

The remaining two shows are at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. today at the Bangor Auditorium. For tickets, call 990-4444.