Disclosure: Olympia Entertainment provided me with tickets to Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend in exchange for promotion. All opinions in this Sesame Street Live Review are my own.
I loved Sesame Street as a child. I remember attending Sesame Street Live with my little sister when I was about my daughter’s age (11). This morning I took my sister and her almost 2 year old (and my mom) to see Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend at Detroit’s Fox Theatre. The show runs through February 12, 2017.
Sesame Street Live Review
My niece loved the show. Since yesterday, she’s been saying that we were going to see Elmo. She sat in my lap or my sister’s lap and was mesmerized by the action on stage. From an adult standpoint, there were a few jokes for the adults – Grover talking about Fuzz Book, the monster social media site, or going to MOMA – the Museum of Monster Art. There were also a few things I remember from Sesame Street – Ernie’s Rubber Ducky, and Super Grover.
The show started right on time at 11a and was 90 minutes long – it ended at 12:30p. The show included a 15 minute intermission around 11:40.
5 Tips for Attending Sesame Street Live
After attending today’s shows I have 5 tips to share with you to make your show better.
1 – Leave Plenty of Time
I suggest planning to arrive no later than 30 minutes before your showtime. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get to Fox Theatre. Before the show you will want time to park, visit the souvenir stand, and use the restroom. You also need to account for traffic. With snow showers this morning, there was a lot of traffic from the airport into downtown Detroit.
The bathroom line gets quite long at Fox Theatre. I suggest using it as soon as you arrive. We tried to use the restroom before the show. Fifteen minutes before the show, the line went from the basement bathroom, across the basement, up the stairs, and partway through the lobby. After about 10 minutes we were close enough to leave the line and use the changing table. But my sister and I gave up on the restroom. We also skipped it at intermission, but were able to use it after the show with no line.
2- Bring Your Camera
You can take photographs during Sesame Street Live. We were fortunate to be in the fifth row and I got some great photos of both the show and my niece’s reactions.
3 – Souvenir Budget
Have a souvenir budget ready. The merchandise stands have t-shirts, light spinners, stuffed animals, and more.
My mom bought my niece an Elmo spinner. It’s the same one that she bought my daughter when we went 8 years ago. The light spinners were $17. The stuffed animals ranged from $15-$30. Elmo was only available in a large size for $30.
Elmo/Cookie Monster balloons are sold at intermission on the main floor. If you buy one for your child, they will be asked to put it under their seat until the show is over so that it doesn’t interfere with other’s seeing the show.
4 – Bring or Buy Food
Since my niece is only 23 months and the show started at 11a, she was ready for food. We bought popcorn and water and my sister had snacks for her.
5 – Potential Scares
While Sesame Street Live is geared for children ages 1-6, there are some parts of the show that may scare some children. After intermission there were a couple of loud pops releasing confetti into the crowd. The noise may scare some kids. The show also concludes with large beach balls tossed into first 15-20 rows of the audience. Kids loved hitting them around, but sometimes got hit from behind. (Also, these stay behind, they are not souvenirs).
We were in the 5th row and some of the characters will come about 7 rows into the audience. My niece was not happy when Zoe came near our seats.
About Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend
The Press Release Below has more details on the show.
SESAME STREET LIVE “MAKE A NEW FRIEND” RETURNS TO
THE FOX THEATRE STAGE JANUARY 26 – FEBRUARY 12
Friends Old & New Meet on Sesame Street for Detroit’s Family Favorite Tradition
No matter where you’re from or where you’ve been, everyone is special – so join in! Elmo, Grover, Abby Cadabby, and their Sesame Street friends welcome Chamki, Grover’s friend from India, to Sesame Street. Together, they explore the universal fun of friendship and celebrate cultural similarities, from singing and dancing, to sharing cookies! Making its annual return, Sesame Street Live will visit the Fox Theatre from Thursday, January 26 through Sunday, February 12 with “Make A New Friend”.
Tickets ($17, $25, $35 Gold Circle and $70 Sunny Seats***) are on sale now and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, the Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Groups of 10 or more receive a discount on select performances by calling 313-471-3099. For additional information, call 313-471-6611.
Chamki is from far away and she’s visiting Sesame Street for just one day! Grover has a long to-do list for his friend, from kayaking to hot yoga, but Chamki is busy enjoying cookies with Cookie Monster, singing with Abby Cadabby, and doing ‘The Elmo Slide.’ Will an appearance from Super Grover get Chamki’s attention? Join the fun and create memories with your friends and family!
Sesame Street Live “Make a New Friend” offers a fun-filled, interactive learning experience, including up-close and furry interactions on the audience floor! Like television’s Sesame Street, each Sesame Street Live production features timeless tunes and lessons for all ages. The universal appeal of each Broadway-quality musical production continues long after preschool. Adults will appreciate the high-tech stagecraft, cleverly written script, and music they’ll recognize and enjoy sharing with children, such as “Count Me In,” and fun new parodies of “Hot and Cold,” and “Moves Like Jagger.”
For more information, please visit www.sesamestreetlive.com. Become a fan of Sesame Street Live on Facebook.
Performance Schedule:
*Family Night (7 p.m. performances), all seats (excluding Gold Circle and Sunny Seats) are $10. A facility fee is included within all ticket prices. Additional fees and special offers may apply.
**Detroit Public Television’s Benefit Performance: Saturday, January 28 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, please call 800-859-9887 or visit DPTV.org.
***The Sunny Seats package features premium show seating and a pre-show Meet & Greet with two Sesame Street Live friends, including Elmo!
