Happy New Year! - Sesame Street Stays Up Late

PBS, 1993

Voices of Carol Spinney, Kevin Clash, Martin P. Robinson, and Fran Brill

Directed by Chuck Vinson

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's kick off 2026 with a look at one of Sesame Street's lesser-known specials. Though Big Bird was still the focus of most stories at this point, with the death of Jim Henson and the need to recast many of his characters (like Ernie), other Muppets and puppeteers stepped up to the spotlight. Elmo was just being built up as a major character when this special debuted. Sesame Street had been evolving at this point as well, with new adult human characters, a new set, and new Muppets like the just-debuted Rosita and Zoe. How is all this reflected in this look at how countries around the world celebrate the New Year? Let's get to Sesame Street, where Big Bird is announcing that it's time to party, and find out...

The Story: As most of the adults go out for the New Year, the kids and Muppets of Sesame Street remain behind for a party of their own. Gina (Alison Bartlett) and tap-dancing wunderkind Savion (Savion Glover) keep an eye on them and help them with preparations. Oscar the Grouch (Spinney) is trying to get through to his family long-distance and isn't too happy with Ernestine the Telephone Operator's (Lily Tomlin) constant chatter. He tells a nervous Telly the Monster (Robinson) that if the year ends, so will everything else. Telly does everything he can to keep the New Year party from happening. 

Meanwhile, Elmo (Clash), Prairie Dawn (Brill), and the Muppet News Network do reports on New Year's Eve celebrations around the world. The reports from Norway, Germany, Israel, and Portugal come direct from those countries' versions of Sesame Street and their own Muppet characters. Elmo's "cousin" Pepe (Clash) helps Rosita (Carmen Osbahr) with the reports on the New Year's fiesta in Mexico, while Elmo's cousin Elmo-noske (Clash) reports from Japan. 

The Song and Dance: This is so sweet. For one thing, the only countries whose New Year's customs I knew anything about before I saw this were Mexico and Israel. It really is fascinating to learn about New Year's celebrations in other parts of the world. I liked seeing the Muppets from other versions of Sesame Street, too. From the Oscar-like Moiske Oofnik and huge, sweet Kippi in Israel to pretty kitty Tita in Portugal, I love seeing how different cultures represent puppetry and kid-friendly characters. Elmo makes for an adorable and hilarious host (and generally doesn't hog the spotlight as much as he would later in the 90's and 2000's), and Prairie Dawn's on-the-spot reporting on Sesame Street is funny, too. Telly's story, on the other hand, is handled with marvelous sensitivity for younger kids who may not understand what New Year's is really about and might be nervous about the noise and the idea of the year ending. There's also the cute side plot with Big Bird spending the special trying to wake up Snuffy before midnight.

The Numbers: We open with Big Bird's announcement to the kids on the Street that "We're Going to Stay Up Late and Party." Rosita and Pepito join the children of Mexico to perform a "Mexican Folk Song" as they make their pinata. "Oshagatu" is the song for the children of Japan as they fly kites and enjoy their day of freedom. "Bashanah Habaah" is the joyous number celebrating the Jewish New Year and its unique customs. The children and Muppets of Germany go from house to house asking for treats in the "Rummel Pot Song." Max Mekker, Alfa, and Bjarne Betjent from the Norwegian Sesame Street join the children of Lillehammer, Norway in the kid amusement park Lilleputhammer for the lovely "It's New Year's Eve." Oscar finally connects with his family in a brief "New Year's Chorale for Six Grouches." Big Bird gently reminds everyone that it's the "Faces That I Love" that make New Year's special.

Trivia: Known on VHS and some older streaming copies as Sesame Street Celebrates Around the World. 

There's a couple of references to the Olympics in the Norway segment. Lillehammer, Norway would host the Winter Olympics in 1994.

This was one of the first appearances of Ernie since Jim Henson's death in 1989. He was voiced in his brief appearance here by Steve Whitmire. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while Elmo doesn't take over this special to the degree that he would dominate the show later in the 90's, there's still a lot of him here. If you're not a fan of him, you may not be into this.  Second, this is an older Muppet special. Some younger kids may wonder where more recent characters like Julia or Abby Cadabba are. The "around the corner" set where most of this takes place was retired in 1998, along with the characters who inhabited it. Most kids watching Sesame Street nowadays may not even know they existed. 

The Big Finale: If your kids are fans of Elmo or Big Bird, or you remember this from when you were a kid, this remains a charming look at holiday customs in other parts of the world and here in the US.

Home Media: Streaming is your best bet for this one, usually under the "Celebrates Around the World" title. The DVD is currently hard to find and pricey.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Merry Christmas Eve! - Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

PBS, 1978

Starring Bob McGrath, Debbie Chen, Will Lee, and Roscoe Orman; Muppet Voices of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Carroll Spinney, and Jerry Nelson

Directed by Jon Stone

Music and Lyrics by various

We celebrate the holidays in New York with the 70's cast of one of the most beloved children's shows on television. By the time this and the prime-time show A Special Sesame Street Christmas debuted in 1978, Sesame Street was an institution that taught children numbers, letters, and many life lessons via short clips, skits, cartoons, and its diverse cast of Muppets and humans. Many of the most famous Muppets and humans appear in this lovely special that was one of the big holiday offerings on PBS that season. Is it still as much fun over 45 years later? Let's head to a skating rink in New York City as the Muppets, their neighbors, and skaters from the professional show Holiday On Ice show their stuff and find out...

The Story: After the skating party, Oscar the Grouch (Spinney) tells Big Bird (Spinney) and little Patty (Chen) that if Santa can't get down those skinny New York chimneys, no one will get any presents! The duo spend the rest of their Christmas Eve trying to figure out how Santa does it. They ask Kermit the Frog (Henson), but his and Grover's (Oz) interviews of local kids don't produce the desired results. Having Mr. Snuffleupagus (Nelson) pose as Santa only ends with him stuck in a trash canister. Big Bird finallydecides to go to the roof and find out himself...but when Patty realizes he's gone, the entire neighborhood turns out to find him.

Elsewhere on Sesame Street, Bert and Ernie want to buy presents for each other, but they have no money. They turn to Mr. Hooper (Lee) to exchange the things they love most for them. Mr. Hooper, however, knows what they really want. Cookie Monster would love to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas...if he could stop eating the writing utensils!

The Song and Dance: This couldn't be a greater contrast between this and Special Sesame Street Christmas. Made by Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) on PBS with the regular cast and most of the regular Muppet characters of the time, it's heartwarming, adorable, and very funny rather than too cheesy or over-the-top. Spinney has the most fun as the wistful Big Bird, who just wants to know if Santa will get through, and the cynical Oscar. Ernie and Bert's side plot is just as sweet, especially if you're familiar with the famous O.Henry short story it's based on. Cookie Monster has a few good gags with him getting so into thinking about cookies and treats, he eats anything he could use to write Santa.

The Numbers: We open with the skating party and the Holiday On Ice ensemble. Full body puppets of Ernie, Bert, the Count, Oscar, and Cookie Monster show off, while a child helps Big Bird skate to the tune of "Feliz Navidad." "True Blue Miracle" is a chorus number, performed by all the human neighbors as they buy their trees and wreaths on the way home from the skating rink. Big Bird spends the song telling an unimpressed Oscar his ideas for how Santa gets down those chimneys. 

Bob Johnson (Bob McGrath) performs "Keep Christmas With You" as local kids do the song in sign language for his deaf girlfriend Linda (Linda Bove). Oscar's not a fan of holidays period, as he complains in "I Hate Christmas." Bert and Ernie sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" after they open their gifts and realize how much they mean to one another. The entire cast reprises "Keep Christmas With You" just before the end credits, after they find Big Bird. 

Trivia: This won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program in 1979. 

What I Don't Like: This might seem slow or corny compared to many children's holiday specials today. I'm not sure what younger children will think of this now. It was made well before the debut of such popular recent Muppets as Elmo, Julia, or Rosita. Most of the neighbors are very different, too. Maria's with David rather than Luis, Bob has a girlfriend, and there's Mr. Hooper, who has been gone for so long, many adults may not remember him, let alone their kids. 

The Song and Dance: If you have fond memories of seeing this one on TV or video in the 70's and 80's or have children who love Big Bird and won't mind the lack of recent characters, this sweet trip to Sesame Street during the holidays is very highly recommended. 

Home Media: It's on Amazon Prime and Max, but most streaming copies cut either the "Feliz Navidad" skating sequence or the end stinger with Cookie Monster after having eaten Olivia and Gordon's Christmas tree. You may be better off looking for this one on DVD, either solo or paired with the much later holiday special Elmo's Christmas Countdown.

DVD

DVD - Holiday Double Feature: Elmo's Christmas Countdown/Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - She Loves Me (1979)

The BBC/PBS, 1979

Starring Gemma Craven, Robin Ellis, David Kernan, and Diane Langdon

Directed by Michael Simpson

Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

We return to Europe for our next vintage Christmas tale. The 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around the Corner starred James Steward and Margaret Sullivan as co-workers at a Hungarian perfume store who hated each other, but who were also each other's secret pen pal. This became the basis for the 1963 Broadway musical She Loves Me. The original production wasn't a huge hit, but it was well-remembered enough to be adapted into this version. Originally produced for the BBC in 1978, it eventually ran on PBS as part of their Great Performances series in December 1979. How well does it handle the story? Let's begin in front of Maraczeck's (Derek Smith) Parfumerie at Budapest, Hungary in 1937 and find out...

The Story: Head salesman Georg Nowack (Ellis) is excited about the pen pal letters he's been receiving from a mysterious woman who only signs herself "Dear Friend." He's certainly not interested in Amalia Balash (Craven), the young woman who turns up in the store and earns a job simply by passing off a difficult-to-sell cigar holder as a candy box. Seems Amalia also has a "Dear Friend" she's been writing to, one whose letters seem rather familiar. 

Amalia thinks she hates Georg, but she's more concerned when he's fired because Maraczeck thinks he's been sleeping with his wife. After Maraczeck nearly ends his life, he realizes how important his head clerk is...and Amalia begins to realize that maybe Mr. Nowack isn't such a bad fellow after all. 

The Song and Dance: Craven and Ellis are perfectly cast as the antagonistic salespeople who don't realize they're really in love in this sweet production. Diane Langdon and David Kernan also have a great time as flirtatious co-worker Illona Ritter and smooth-talking Steven Kodaly, whose seductive methods of getting ahead are what actually causes the trouble at the store in the first place. Bock and Harnick's best score along with Fiddler On the Roof is retained in almost its entirety and is stunningly performed. 

The Numbers: We open with the cast introducing themselves in "Good Morning, Good Day." That takes us right into "Thank You, Madam," as the salespeople do their jobs with the wealthy women who come in looking for perfume. Amalia convinces the lady to buy that box by telling her "No More Candy." "Three Letters" is a montage of Amalia and Georg reading off the letters they write each other over the next few months. Georg is excited to meet his pen pal "Tonight at Eight." Amalia admits to Ilona that "I Don't Know His Name." 

Sipos (Peter Sallis), an older clerk, gives "Perspectives" on the situation at the store. Kodaly seduces his "Ilona" while Sipos and delivery boy Arpad Lazlo (Nigel Rathbone) look on. Ilona, for her part, claims "I Resolve" to not fall for charming rascals like Kodaly. Amalia wonders "Will He Like Me" during the aborted date at the expensive restaurant, while the head waiter pushes for a "Romantic Atmosphere." She finally lets Georg have it with the "Tango Tragique" and laments that she's lost her "Dear Friend." Georg manages to cheer her up the next day with "Ice Cream" even as she wonders "Where's My Shoe?" 

Lazlo energetically begs Maraczeck to "Try Me" as a clerk while he's in the hospital. At the store, Ilona gushes about her new romance and the handsome scholars you can meet during "A Trip to the Library." The now-fired Kodaly claims it was "Grand Knowing You," but he's going to start his own store. Everyone is excited that it's "Twelve Days to Christmas," but Amalia and Georg are only interested in remembering him and the "Ice Cream."

Trivia: She Loves Me debuted on Broadway in 1963, with Barbara Cook as Amalia, David Massey as Georg, and Jack Cassidy as Kodaly. Critics loved the show - Cassidy won a supporting actor Tony - but audiences of the early 60's preferred their musicals bigger and bolder, and it ran for a little over a year and a half. The London production in 1964 didn't even make a year. It's done much better on both sides of the Atlantic in the past three decades, including hit Broadway revivals in 1993 and 2016. The 2016 revival was so popular, it became the first Broadway show to have a performance streamed live.

This isn't the first musical version of The Shop Around the Corner. The 1949 MGM musical  In the Good Old Summertime featured Van Johnson and Judy Garland in the leads and set the story in turn-of-the-century Chicago. It would be remade again as another non-musical romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, in 1998. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, there's a reason this took thirty years to catch on with the general public. It's not for people who prefer their musicals on the bigger and bolder side, or who aren't a fan of operetta. There's a lot of music in this movie, and most of it is even more old-fashioned than its setting. While the cramped pastel sets do allow for a feeling of intimacy, they also make the film look like the cheap BBC production it is. 

The Big Finale: I'm glad people are finally starting to succumb to the charms of this sweet and delicate romantic comedy. Perfect for cozy, quiet nights by the fire side during the holiday season. 

Home Media: Alas, the only place you can currently find this in the US is YouTube. At least the copy I have linked here is the full original production, complete with vintage 1978 PBS logos and original stage show stars Barbara Cook and Daniel Massey an interview near the end.

YouTube

Musical Documentaries - Broadway: The American Musical

PBS, 2004
Hosted by Julie Andrews
Directed by Michael Kandor
Music by Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, and others

Tonight, we're going to launch a new occasional series. Documentaries and musicals have exploded in popularity in the last decade. People have increasingly turned to non-fiction programming on YouTube and elsewhere for news and information, while the song and dance on shows like America's Got Talent and Dancing With the Stars have reintroduced many viewers to live musical performance. That revival was just beginning when this miniseries covering the history of the stage musical was a major event on PBS in 2004. Is it as entertaining as many of the shows it discusses? Let's join Julie Andrews onstage at the Shubert and New Amsterdam Theaters in New York to find out...

The Story: Julie Andrews hosts six hour-long documentaries covering the history of the American stage musical, featuring interviews with either historians, people who lived through the era (or who knew people who did), and current stage and musical stars. The episodes are peppered with archival footage, stills of shows, song recordings, Tony Awards performances, and in the first three episodes, current stage stars acting as the "voices" of the stars of the early part of the 20th century.

Give My Regards To Broadway: 1893-1927 - We learn about Times Square's humble beginnings as the tenderloin Longacre Square, archetypal Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld and his famous Follies reviews, nervy writer/director/dancer George M. Cohan bringing a truly American sound to the New York stage, Jewish comedienne Fanny Brice, African-American comedian Bert Williams and the early experiences of minorities on Broadway, the Actors Equity strike of 1919, how World War I effected Broadway, and the creation of the first truly integrated musical, Show Boat.

Syncopated City: 1919-1933 - Spread from coast to coast by radio, talking movies, and syndicated news columns, New York's fascinating rhythms captured the heart of America like never before or since with flappers like Marilyn Miller who could look sweet and dance hot, blacks pushing for more of a presence in Shuffle Along, the success of jazzy young songwriters like Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwin brothers, writers and journalists like Walter Winchell creating a new, slangy American vernacular, Cinderella tales of pretty young girls who meet the millionaire of their dreams, and flashy singers like blackface-wearing Al Jolson and comedian Eddie Cantor. It all came crashing down in the early 30's, thanks to the one-two-three punch of vaudeville winding down, talkies causing talent to head west to LA, and the onset of the Depression.

I Got Plenty O' Nuthin: 1929-1942 - The Depression effected millions around the globe, and it hit Broadway especially hard. The difficult times created shows and talents that could never have come out more flush eras, including brassy singer Ethel Merman, bluesy Ethel Waters, and dancers Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Hit shows included George Gershwin's ambitious folk opera Porgy & Bess, the the political satire Of Thee I Sing (which became the first musical to win a Pulitzer), and revues with a social conscious with songs like "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Supper Time," the glamorous comedies of wealthy songwriter Cole Porter, and "Cradle Will Rock," an opera developed by the Federal Theater that was so politically charged, director Orson Welles and producer John Houseman had to have the cast perform it in the seats and boxes of the theater, because the government wouldn't let them onstage. Irving Berlin returns with the all-soldier revue "This Is the Army" as the US enters World War II.

Oh What a Beautiful Mornin': 1942-1960 - Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were looking for new writing partners just as the US became involved in World War II. They turned the dramatic play Green Grow the Lilacs into the dramatic musical Oklahoma!, and turned Broadway on its ear. Oklahoma! was not only the biggest stage hit of the war years, but proved once and for all that the book of a musical could function as more than waits between songs. Their work inspired not only a new generation of songwriters like Frank Loesser, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Jules Styne, and Leonard Bernstein, but brought out some of Irving Berlin's best work in Annie Get Your Gun and encouraged Cole Porter to revive his career with Kiss Me Kate.

Tradition: 1957-1979 - Rodgers and Hammestein were hardly the only songwriters whose work enlivened the Golden Age of the American Musical. Starting with the darkly romantic smash West Side Story, Stephan Sondheim wrote shows like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd that pushed the boundaries of what the musical could do. Songwriters Kander and Ebb and director Harold Prince turned the decadent Caberet and cynical Chicago into brazen commentaries on American life in the mid-20th century. Even as Jerry Herman wrote music for effervescent and brash comedies like Mame and Hello Dolly!, the US was being rocked by cultural upheavals, including New Yorkers leaving a crumbling city for the suburbs, rock music replacing the Broadway sound in the hearts of many young people, and the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement causing a vast generation gap. Shows with up-to-date rock scores like Hair and Grease sought to recapture the imagination of the younger generation, while Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof and Bob Fosse's shows like Pippin introduced the musical to darker, more integrated dance routines.

Putting It Together: 1980-2004 - After years of decline, New York roared back to life as British producer Cameron Macintosh brought a series of massive London and Paris stage hits to the US. Miss Saigon, Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera delighted audiences with their spectacle, larger-than-life plots, and gorgeous music. Stephan Sondheim brought out his final shows in the 80's and early 90's, including Sunday In the Park With George, the fairy-tale fantasy Into the Woods, and the daring off-Broadway revue Assassins.

The AIDS crisis of the 1980's cut a large swath through the Broadway community, killing many promising talents, even as the first show about a gay couple, La Cage Aux Folles, debuted. The success of the Disney company with their animated musicals in the 90's inspired them to bring these shows to the stage, beginning with Beauty and the Beast. Their restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater encouraged Times Square to finally clean up its act. Even as Broadway sees a revival with hits like the historical drama Ragtime and the comedy The Producers, the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 suddenly makes all Americans understand just how important Broadway and its productions are to the country's mindset.

The Song and Dance: What I love about this is the sheer amount of archival footage and interviews. Many of these people, especially in the first three episodes, are no longer with us, making the interviews doubly important. Those first three episodes in particular cover parts of history that don't often turn up elsewhere, like the treatment of early minority performers like Bert Williams, the 1919 Actors' Equity strike, and discussions of performers like Brice and Miller who aren't as well-known today. Some of that footage was hard to find until the rise of YouTube and other internet video streaming sites.

What I Don't Like: As comprehensive as this is, I wish it had gone even further into its subject. I would have liked to have heard more about the American operettas of the 10's and 20's and how they helped shape the modern integrated musical, for instance, or about German songwriter Kurt Weill, whose groundbreaking work included the 40's hits Lady In the Dark and One Touch of Venus. I also wish they'd found better footage - some of it was grainy or washed out, or just not in good shape, even for later shows.

Wish PBS would consider updating this. I'd love to see another segment covering more recent musicals, discusing the rise of hits like Hamilton, Into the Heights, Memphis, Dear Evan Hansen, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Fun House, Next to Normal, Come From Away, and even Disney's Frozen and stage version of Newsies.

The Big Finale: Even with the above caveats, what they do include is absolutely fascinating. If you love musicals, especially stage musical, and want to learn more about their history, this is a great place to start.

Home Media: Wildly out-of-print and unavailable for streaming at present - the Blu-Ray is slightly cheaper than the insanely expensive DVD set. Your best bet may be to look for this one used, like I did.

Blu-Ray