''Elmopalooza!'' is a ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998. It was taped in the middle of the 29th season of ''Sesame Street'' and featured songs by celebrity guests.

About the show

The special begins with an announcer (Jerry Nelson) introducing a special Sesame Street musical show live from Radio City Music Hall, along with the celebrity guest stars. The Sesame Street Muppets are so excited as they enter the theater for tonight's special show to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sesame Street. In the dressing room, Prairie Dawn gets Jon Stewart prepared to host the show, along with the show crew to work behind the scenes and operate the stage. Elmo visits Jon to wish him good luck, but just as he closes the door, Jon warns him that it's broken and it won't open once it's shut, but it's too late. Meanwhile, over on Sesame Street, Gordon, Susan, Bob, Gina, and Mr. Handford are waiting for a limousine to pick them up to Radio City, but are surprised to see Grover as their chauffeur, as well as a chicken serving food. Back in the studio, David Alan Grier reminds Jon that he's on in 30 seconds, but Jon says he, Prairie, and the crew can't come out since the door's stuck, much to David's surprise. Telly worries about something terrible going to happen if Jon can't get out of the dressing room, and thinks everyone will be sad and the economy will collapse and "the country will be doomed!". Elmo says he'll take care of everything by hosting the show, and the rest of the Muppets will be the crew. With ten seconds left, The Count manages to count down the seconds himself until showtime. On stage, Elmo tells the audience that he will be subbing for Jon, due to technical doorknob difficulties. As he speaks, the Two-Headed Monster argues over the camera. David tells Elmo to introduce the first song, but not before he finds who ate the script. Elmo sees Cookie walking by, burping chewed paper bits out of his mouth. Then, The Fugees, Big Bird, and Snuffy perform "Just Happy to Be Me". After the song, an elephant wants to be in the show. He decides to dance and calls himself the "Lord of the Elephants". Meanwhile, Grover's limo stops at a snowy landscape to pick up some penguins, much to the adults' confusion. Back in the studio, David hires Biff to use a jackhammer to make the door unstuck, but it goes out of control. Elmo then introduces the next song: Gloria Estefan singing "Mambo I, I, I" with Rosita, Maria, Luis, and the Oinker Sisters. Elmo gets Telly to be a comical doctor. Telly nervously "checks up" on Elmo, who ends up laughing when he's tickled. David tells him to introduce the next song: The Count and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones singing "Zig Zag Dance". Big Bird brings in Richard Belzer to help get the door unstuck, but he needs help from his stuntman Sparky, who runs to the door and hits it with his head, but still no success. Then, Shawn Colvin and Ernie sing "I Don't Want To Live On The Moon." Jon Stewart tries digging his way out of the studio, as Chris Rock enters the picture. He tries to get them out, but what he didn't know was that the door is stuck. After an insult from Oscar, he decides to fill in on hosting duty. But when Prairie insists that he cannot tell any dirty jokes, he instead decides to go back to his seat, leaving Oscar interested in his mud jokes. Meanwhile, Grover's limo ends up lost in Roswell, New Mexico, leaving the adults unhappy, when a UFO appears in front of them and a Martian joins in the carpool, much to their surprise. Then, En Vogue, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Frazzle, and the Two-Headed Monster perform "I Want A Monster To Be My Friend." Backstage, as Elmo checks the script, he realizes that he doesn't know how to read. David comes to tell Elmo that the tape machine is malfunctioning so they can't do the next song. Elmo then decides that he's going to sing a song that will bring down the house. He calls in the big cheese, Rosie O'Donnell, and asks her if she wants to sing with Elmo. Rosie accepts and they both head to the stage, singing "Nearly Missed", with a prop rainbow, sun, and shooting star displaying. As they finish, Rosie accidentally knocks Elmo backstage, creating a mess on the stage. Elmo decides to surrender. Then, Kermit the Frog and Jimmy Buffett sing "Caribbean Amphibian". Elmo, thinking he has ruined the show, walks away from the studio as Big Bird tells him he can't give up and the show won't go on without him, but Elmo leaves anyway. Back in the dressing room, Prairie Dawn, Jon Stewart, and the human crew pull a rope tied to the doorknob as hard as they could, but it's still no use. Jon then asks David to play "One Small Voice", but Prairie points out that the song's tape is stuck in with them. Meanwhile, Grover's limo has successfully made it to Radio City Music Hall, but Grover wants to find another parking space, and the adults beg him not to go around the block again and they hurriedly leave the vehicle. Back inside, David huddles with some Muppets and discuss on how they should get the door unstuck. Bert says he has a pepper shaker and salt shaker just in case someone sneezes so hard it knocks down anything. He hands it to Oscar and sprinkles it on his worm Slimey, who lets out a sneeze so big it knocks the door down. Big Bird retrieves the tape and runs with it to the control room. The video of Kenny Loggins singing "One Small Voice" plays. Now that Jon, Prairie, and the human crew are free, Prairie declares that everyone gets to sing during the grand finale. Jon, David, Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar, Cookie Monster, the adults, and many other Muppets sing a medley of Sesame Street songs. During the credits, the entire cast of characters and guest stars sing the Sesame Street Theme.

Songs

* "Just Happy to Be Me" -

The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* "Mambo I, I, I" - Gloria Estefan * "The Zig Zag Dance" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones * "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" -

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

and

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

* "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" -

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

* "Nearly Missed" -

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

and

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

* "Caribbean Amphibian" - Jimmy Buffett and

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

* "One Small Voice" -

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

and

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

and couple of kids * Songs (medley) - Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier,

and the cast **"

Rubber Duckie "Rubber Duckie" is a song sung by the Muppet character Ernie (voiced by Jim Henson) on ''Sesame Street''. The song is named after Ernie's toy, a rubber ducky affectionately named Rubber Duckie. The song, written by Jeff Moss and arranged by Jo ...

" -

**"ABC-DEF-GHI" -

**"

I Love Trash "I Love Trash" is a song with music and lyrics by Jeff Moss. It was sung by the Muppet character Oscar the Grouch (performed by Caroll Spinney) on ''Sesame Street''. The song was first sung in the first season of the series and has been re-taped s ...

" - Oscar the Grouch **"

C Is For Cookie "C Is For Cookie", by Joe Raposo, is a song performed by Cookie Monster (Frank Oz), a Muppet character from the preschool television series ''Sesame Street''. It was first performed in Season 3, although it had been released on ''The Muppet Alpha ...

" -

Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue Muppet character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' In a song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid". He is best known for hi ...

**"The People in Your Neighborhood" - Lexine, Michael, Tarah, Bob, Gina, Gordon, Mr. Handford, Susan * " Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" (during end credits) - all performers and Muppets

Soundtrack

Cast

Humans

* Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly as Gina *

Ruth Buzzi Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 ...

as Ruthie * Emilio Delgado as Luis *

Loretta Long Loretta Mae Long ( Moore; born October 4, 1938) is an American actress. She played the character of Susan Robinson on ''Sesame Street'' from 1969 to 2017. Long is also a consultant and public speaker on issues of multiculturalism and educati ...

as Susan *

Sonia Manzano Sonia Manzano (born 1950) is an American actress, screenwriter, author, singer and songwriter. She is best known for playing Maria on ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2015. She received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016. Her mem ...

as Maria *

Bob McGrath Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the long-running educational television series ' ...

as Bob *

Roscoe Orman Roscoe Hunter Orman (born June 11, 1944) is an American actor, writer, artist and child advocate, best known for playing Gordon Robinson, one of the central human characters on ''Sesame Street''. Early life and career While a student at New Y ...

as Gordon *

David Smyrl David Langston Smyrl (September 13, 1935 – March 22, 2016), sometimes credited professionally as David L. Smyrl, was an American actor and television writer. He was best known for his role of Mr. Handford, the fictional retired firefighter who ...

as Mr. Handford *

Tarah Lynne Schaeffer Tarah Lynne Schaeffer (born July 4, 1984) is a former American child actress. She is known for her role as Tarah on ''Sesame Street''. Acting career In 1993, ''Sesame Street'' was casting for a child actor to play a character with disabiliti ...

as Tarah

Special guest appearances

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

- Herself *

Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (born August 4, 1944) is a retired American actor, stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/Sergeant, and DA Investigator John Munch, whom he has portrayed as a regular cas ...

- Himself *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

- Himself (archive footage) * The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Themselves *

- Herself *

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

- Herself * Gloria Estefan - Herself *

- Themselves * David Alan Grier - Himself *

- Himself * Madonna - Herself (archive footage) * Conan O'Brien - Himself *

- Herself * Chris Rock - Himself *

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' name ...

- Herself (archive footage) *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

- Himself (archive footage) * Jon Stewart - Himself *

- Themselves * Jimmy Buffett - Himself * Lamb Chop (archive footage) *

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

- Himself (archive footage) *

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night'' and ' ...

- Himself * Martin Short - Himself *

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Murray Goldberg, patriarch of the eponymous family in the ABC sitcom '' The Goldbergs'', and Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your ...

- Himself

Sesame Street Muppet Performers

Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1984 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', ''Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and various ...

Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. ...

and Oscar the Grouch *

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on ''The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Ernie and Kerm ...

and

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

, and

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originall ...

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

Count von Count Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premie ...

, Biff,

Two-Headed Monster The Two-Headed Monster is a comical, light purple Muppet monster on the television show ''Sesame Street'', first appearing in season 9, 1978. History The Two-Headed Monster, as the name implies, is an example of bicephaly. The right-hand hea ...

(Left Head), and Announcer *

David Rudman David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and ''Sesame Street''. Career David Rudman has been a ''Sesame Street'' Muppet performer since ...

as Baby Bear, Sparky the Stuntman, Penguin, and

(Right Head) *

Fran Brill Fran Brill (born September 30, 1946) is an American retired actress and puppeteer, best known for her roles on ''Sesame Street'', as well as playing Sally Hayes in the Hal Ashby film '' Being There'' (1979), Dana Mardukas in the Martin Brest fi ...

as Zoe and

Prairie Dawn The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson, many for the purpose of appearing on the children's television program ''Sesame Street''. Some of the best known Muppets on ''Sesame Street'' include Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, ...

Joey Mazzarino Joseph Mazzarino (; born June 4, 1968) is an American actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles on ''Sesame Street'' as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets, and being Head Writer and Director on ' ...

as Horatio the Elephant *

Carmen Osbahr Carmen Osbahr-Vertiz (born April 21, 1962) is a Mexican-born American puppeteer, singer and voice actress who has performed Rosita in the popular hit children's series ''Sesame Street'', since 1991. Osbahr has also performed Kiki Flores in '' T ...

as Rosita *

Alice Dinnean Alice Catherine Dinnean (born May 23, 1969) is an American puppeteer, voice actress and creative writer who works at The Jim Henson Company. Dinnean has performed on many children's television shows such as '' The Puzzle Place'', ''Sesame Street ...

as Penguin * Martin P. Robinson as Mr. Snuffleupagus, Slimey the Worm, and

Telly Monster The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson, many for the purpose of appearing on the children's television program ''Sesame Street''. Some of the best known Muppets on ''Sesame Street'' include Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch ...

Bryant Young Bryant Colby Young (born January 27, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). A first-round draft pick out of University of Notre Dam ...

as Rear End of Mr. Snuffleupagus Additional Muppets performed by Brad Abrell, Pam Arciero,

Julianne Buescher Julianne Buescher (born February 4, 1965) is an American actress, writer, and puppeteer who performs in film, television, radio, and on stage. As a voice actress, she is known for many roles including Anko Mitarashi on ''Naruto''. She hails fro ...

Lisa Buckley This list of ''Sesame Street'' puppeteers includes all who have worked on the show, as a regular, backup, guest puppeteer, etc., and by no means should be taken as complete, as many Muppeteers only have done one skit on the show, and thus aren't c ...

Kevin Carlson Kevin D. Carlson (born April 12, 1962) is an American puppeteer, best known for his role of Mr. Potato Head in ''The Mr. Potato Head Show'' and the title character in ''The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth''. Early life Kevin D. Carlson was born a ...

Stephanie D'Abruzzo Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo (; born December 7, 1971) is an American actress, puppeteer and singer. She has performed various Muppets in the TV program ''Sesame Street''. She held starring roles on '' Oobi'' and ''The Book of Pooh''. She was one of ...

Eric Jacobson Eric Jacobson is an American puppeteer. He is best known for performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle for The Muppets Studio, as well as ''Sesame Street'' characters Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and Guy Smiley—all role ...

, John Kennedy,

Peter Linz Peter Linz (born June 28, 1967) is an American puppeteer. His most prominent role is being the performer for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film ''The Muppets''. Since 1991, Linz has performed on ''Sesame Street'', ...

Rick Lyon Richard Lyon (born February 25, 1958) is an American puppeteer, actor, and puppet designer and builder. He has worked for The Jim Henson Company as one of the operators of Big Bird. He appeared on Broadway originating the roles of Trekkie Monste ...

Noel MacNeal Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Noel McNeal or Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director and writer of children's television who has performed since the early 1980s. He was the voice and puppetee ...

, Jim Martin,

Drew Massey Drew Massey (born April 4, 1972) is an American voice actor, puppeteer and director for Nickelodeon and the Jim Henson Company. He has worked extensively with the Muppets and has performed in many films, television series, and commercials. He h ...

, Don Reardon, Joe Selph,

John Tartaglia John Nicholas Tartaglia (; born February 16, 1978) is an American actor, singer, and puppeteer. Early life Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in 19 ...

and Matt Vogel.

Merchandise

The CD and cassette was released on March 3, 1998. The special was released on VHS and DVD on April 14, 1998.

External links

* * {{Sesame Street Sesame Street features 1990s American television specials 1998 television specials