‘Elmo Makes Music’ charms Bangor crowds

Can you tell me how to get,

How to get to Sesame Street?

Absolutely. On Tuesday and Wednesday, thousands of children, along with moms, dads and grandparents found their way to the colorful Sesame Street stage at the Bangor Auditorium for the show “Elmo Makes Music.”

The whole gang was there jazzing up the place – Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Telly Monster, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Grover and of course, furry red Elmo, to welcome new music teacher Jenny to the neighborhood.

“I love that song, that was great,” Big Bird said after the music that has welcomed generations of little learners to the Emmy-winning program on public television since 1969.

Then it was time for the beloved characters to introduce themselves to Jenny, entertaining her with “We Are the Monsters in Your Neighborhood.”

Little tots giggled, laughed, smiled, danced or just watched, wide-eyed.

Nineteen-month-old Andrew Perry of China sat spellbound on his mom’s lap until the Sesame Street crew broke into “Singing Up the Scale.” Every time they reached the number 8 at the top of the scale, the little boy thrust his arm into the air and shouted, “Ay!”

The plot of the show was easy for the children to follow. The truck with Jenny’s instruments was late, so the characters set about coming up with other things to use to make music – Cookie Monster’s cookie jar, Telly’s triangle, even the cover on Oscar the Grouch’s trash can.

The best part of the show, said 4-year-old Lexis Perry, was “when they danced,” something the characters did nonstop. Big Bird was particularly nimble, considering his giant feet, and Mr. Noodle tumbled his way across the stage.

Lexis’ favorite song was “The ABCs,” she said. There was lots of agreement there as young and old joined in the familiar alphabet tune.

Adults in the audience had fun watching “Bert’s Disco,” with the beloved Muppet having his suave John Travolta moment doing the hustle in a white suit from the ’70s. They also applauded the clever number with dancers in neon costumes highlighted with black light.

The splendid show, which took the stage three times over two days, wrapped up with the audience joining Jenny and her new music students in “Sing, Sing a Song.”

Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear,

Just sing – sing a song.