Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration

Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration is a 2019 American musical television special to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street. Hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the special aired on November 9, 2019 on HBO, followed by a November 17th airing on PBS. Many of the retired cast members and characters reunited on the street for the first time in years since their last appearances. This is the final Sesame Street special to feature long-time Muppet performer Caroll Spinney, who performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for 50 years before his death on December 8, 2019.[1][2][3]

Plot

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has arrived on Sesame Street for a big party and really wants to take a picture under the famous street sign but the trouble is it's gone missing. It's up to Elmo, Abby, Rosita and Super Grover to find it in time for the big photo while stopping Joseph from finding out. Meanwhile, Gonger is flying away on a balloon and Cookie Monster needs to get him back down for the party. Classic Sesame Street characters return for the celebration including Kermit the Frog who sings "Bein' Green" with Elvis Costello. Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LaBelle, Sterling K. Brown, Itzhak Perlman, Fran Brill, Caroll Spinney and Debra Spinney all arrive to celebrate while there are musical performances from Norah Jones, singing "Welcome (to the Party)", Nile Rodgers, singing "The People in Your Neighborhood" with Ernie and Grover, Solange Knowles, singing "I Remember" with Elmo, Abby, Grover and Zoe, and Meghan Trainor, singing "Count Me In" with Elmo and Abby. The special ends with a performance of "Sing" by the whole cast, led by Patti LaBelle.

Cast

Human cast

Special guest stars

Sesame Street Muppet Performers

Voices

Songs

Critical reception

Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration has received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children. Nardine Saad of Los Angeles Times wrote, "A party-themed event hosted by Sesame Street fanboy Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It features the beloved colorful muppets and plenty of former cast members for the Count to count and cookies for Cookie Monster to devour. Several celebrities were also — briefly — on hand to talk shop or sing a song. Or seven."[4] Sandra Gonzalez of CNN wrote, "Honors the moments that taught generations of children the building blocks of learning through song, stories and silliness."[2] Mark Kennedy of Associated Press wrote, "Fifty years ago, beloved entertainer Carol Burnett appeared on the very first broadcast of a quirky TV program that featured a bunch of furry puppets."[5] Lauren Messman of The New York Times wrote, "Now Sesame Street will take a trip down memory lane with a special anniversary celebration, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The show will recreate iconic musical numbers, like "People in Your Neighborhood" and "It's Not Easy Being Green" with Kermit the Frog. Over the years, musicians like Johnny Cash and Destiny’s Child have stopped by to sing on Sesame Street, and the anniversary will be no different, welcoming stars like Meghan Trainor, Patti LaBelle, Elvis Costello and Nile Rodgers to join the beloved characters for special segments and songs."[6]

gollark: Key 1, obviously.
gollark: Speaking of which, look at my cool new SPUDNET feature.
gollark: PotatOS does that, or used to.
gollark: Just open in binary mode.
gollark: Yes, CC can do that too.

References
  1. Sesame Street 50th Anniversary Celebration. PBS.org. Accessed November 22, 2019.
  2. Gonzalez, Sandra (November 9, 2019). "Count on feeling nostalgic as 'Sesame Street' turns 50". CNN. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  3. 'Sesame Street' turns 50: How Big Bird, Elmo and friends broke new ground for children's TV. USA Today. Accessed November 22, 2019.
  4. Saad, Nardine (November 10, 2019). "Who is the 'Sesame Street' 50th anniversary special actually for?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  5. Kennedy, Mark (2019-11-06). "'Goodness and humor' celebrated as 'Sesame Street' turns 50". Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  6. Messman, Lauren (November 9, 2019). "What's on TV Saturday: 'Sesame Street' and 'Let It Snow'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
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