News Journal

MANSFIELD — Don’t be alarmed if you happen to spot large, furry figures milling about the Renaissance Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The familiar characters from the Children’s Television Workshop will make the Renaissance their temporary home for three performances of “Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Coloring Book.”
  
All the longtime favorites will be present for the show: Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and several other “Sesame Street” characters families have grown up watching on TV.

There will be some new faces, namely a narrator named Professor Art and his assistants, The Palettes.

“He makes the connection between the audience and what happens on stage,” actor Matthew Furtado, who portrays Professor Art, said while on the road to Danbury, Conn. “He’s a combination of Renaissance man, artist and inventor.”

And as he helps guide the audience along the events of the show, he notes how children and their parents react when the first of “Sesame Street’s” recognizable characters appear for the first time.

“I remember a particular show in the Bahamas,” he said. “Much of the audience came to the theater expecting little more than a longer version of the TV show. We surprised almost everyone in attendance with the songs and the fact the characters were right in front of them. By the end of the night, we couldn’t hear ourselves think. They were that loud with their applause.”

He said seeing both parents and children enjoying the show is endearing for him and shows the longevity of “Sesame Street’s” characters and lessons.

“The TV show has been on for 37 years and the tour has been on the road in one form or another for 27 years,” he said. “There are parents who are happy to see the characters they grew up watching and now can share with their own children.

“Elmo is a child’s equivalent to a rock star at the shows and everyone gets a kick out of Oscar The Grouch appearing on stage.”

As for his personal favorite character? Furtado’s response shows he’s one of the old guard.

“Well, I grew up watching Big Bird and he became my favorite. So it’s something really neat to say I share a stage with him.”

Norm Narvaja