This is part one in a multiple part series.
Sesame Place opened in Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1980. At the time there were no costumed characters in the park. I have heard several reasons for this, and perhaps all of them are true. Or it’s a combination of some of them.
I have heard that there was contractual language specifying that the television puppeteers had to provide the voices in the park, there was a desire to have the characters be able to move their mouths, and there were questions revolving around if only puppets should be used at the parks.
Regardless, before the costumed characters made their debut at the park, there were “Automated Muppets.” Animatronic versions of Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch appeared in the park starting in the 1981 season. These characters were voiced by Frank Oz and Caroll Spinney, respectively.
Oscar was located in his trash can, which was situated inside of a cart that was covered in fabulous junk, including an old tire. The cart looked similar to a theme park beverage cart and could be set up in multiple locations.
Cookie Monster was also inside of a cart which was usually situated in The Food Factory restaurant. He appeared inside of a cookie jar.
These characters would talk, sing, laugh, and tell jokes. Micheal Firth, creative vice president of Henson, said in 1982 that these were “a perfect reproduction of each character.”
The first batch of costumed characters debuted the following year and included Ernie, Bert and Green Honker and Pink Honker.
These characters would perform in a show entitled “The Bert and Ernie Show.” A special stage was built for them in front of Mr. Hooper’s Emporium and the show lasted at that location for two years.
An aside: these character costumes were equipped with controls to move their mouths and lip sync. Sesame Place had characters with movable mouths from the very first day they added character interaction! It has taken a few decades for the Disney parks to add that to the stage shows they run. There is something great about having a character move his or her mouth, rather than pantomime a show.
In 1986, the next character was added to Sesame Place. It was the most obvious choice: Big Bird. The cast of “The Bert and Ernie Show” now joined him in The Big Bird Theater for a show called “Big Bird & Company.”
The Big Bird of Sesame Place operates differently than the one on television. As most Sesame Street fans know, Caroll Spinney holds the 5 lbs Big Bird head up with his hand and looks at a small monitor inside the costume. The Big Bird costume at Sesame Place has a solid cone neck and the performer can see through eye holes in Big Bird’s tie.
Now the park needed some monsters. But we’ll get to them next time.
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