Super Grover! Young Sesame Street Fans Crowd Dodge Arena for Look at Blue Hero
By Miriam Ramirez, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas
Mar. 26–HIDALGO — Ismael Quintana is a bit shaky on his little legs.
He can’t quite form a complete sentence yet, much less understand what’s happening around him.
But when it comes to Sesame Street, the 18-month-old toddler is a pro.
At home, he is known to sit in front of the tube waiting to hear, "Sunny days, sweeping the clouds awayyy”¦" the show’s recognizable theme song, his grandmother Mary Quintana says.
The uber-friendly Alamo boy recognizes all of the Sesame Street characters and can point to them in any sketch.
His heart particularly belongs to Elmo, something his wardrobe Saturday declared — down to his navy blue button-down shirt, which read "Fuzzy red monster at work."
As Ismael bounced up and down in his seat inside Dodge Arena — appearing unsure of why he was there, but enjoying himself all the same — the lights suddenly dimmed and a voice boomed over.
His eyes lit up. And for good reason, because by golly, it sounded just like Big Bird.
"Hey everybody it’s almost time for the show," echoed the big yellow muppet as he announced the start of the Sesame Street Live troupe’s performance, Super Grover!: Ready for Action.
Grover, Elmo and all of the Sesame Street gang danced into town this weekend for a three-day show, with seven performances drawing a near sold-out crowd of nearly 3,000 people each.
Tiny tots with parents in tow flooded the arena for a stellar theater extravaganza, not only with colorful kiddie entertainment, but a message too.
Count Dracula, Telly Monster, Bert and Ernie wanted to teach kids about eating right, staying fit and practicing good hygiene. Dancing, audience participation and catchy tunes were bonus.
"The children grasp more with these types of shows," said Edinburg resident Amanda Garza, who brought her 5-year-old son, Jalen cq, to the show. "They grasp more versus us as parents telling them ‘brush your teeth, smell good’ and everything else."
Although Jalen would most likely walk away from the show with a few lessons learned, for the time being he was excited to see Elmo and pals.
"I watch it on TV," said the wide-eyed youngster waving a miniature Elmo toy. "I like Cookie Monster too."
It might’ve seemed impossible to keep hundreds of young children seated or even moderately attentive. But from the show’s start and in between each curtain call, all eyes were on center stage.
Maybe it had something to do with the largely illuminated skyline that served as the backdrop for several performances, or the lovely "Kay" who led the troupe in a clever "Old Macdonald" rendition.
Although Super Grover lost his "superness" at one point and needed his furry friends to lift his spirit, baby Ismael still found reason to "shake his groove thang," as Ernie put it, and enjoy the show. cq "thang."
"There was no way I couldn’t have brought him," Quintana said. "(Sesame Street) is his favorite."
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Miriam Ramirez covers eastern Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4441.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas
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