Published: February 22, 2008 03:49 pm            

FAMILY: Sesame Street pals visiting Buffalo

If one thing is certain, the performers in “Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music” know when they’re having a good night.

“Kids are typically very honest, so if they like the show, they’re going to be up out of their seats singing along,” Elizabeth Osborn, one of the traveling show’s stars, said in a recent phone interview. “We get to see how excited the kids are, and that gets us going.”

The live action show will stop in Buffalo for a series of shows next week. “Elmo Makes Music” follows its rose-hued namesake and his friends as they help Jenny, a music teacher new to town who lost her instruments while moving. In a sort of preschool homage to “Stomp,” the characters use rubber duckies, cookie jars and anything else they can find to make music and save the day.

Osborn, who plays Jenny, will have a homecoming of sorts when the show comes to Western New York. The Rochester native graduated with a dance degree in 2005 from the University at Buffalo. After trying out with “Sesame Street Live” producers Vee Corp. her senior year, she was offered a job and hit the road right after graduation. She worked with Vee’s productions of “Care Bears Live” and “My Little Pony Live” before assuming this lead role.

Having been on the road for at least 10 months out of the year since graduation, this will be her first return trip to the area.

“I am so excited. I haven’t spent any amount time in either Buffalo or Rochester,” she said. “I would like to go down to UB and walk around and reminisce.”

Osborn gives a lot of credit for her success to Bill Thomas, an associate dance professor at UB who she said pushed her to be a better dancer. Thomas said his former student didn’t need much motivation from him.

“Liz was a hard-working student who wanted to perform and was determined to find her voice as an artist,” he said in an e-mail.

That hard work has paid off for Osborn, who gives the tour credit for allowing her to see places she’d never otherwise visit. She doesn’t know when she’ll give up touring, but wants to get a master’s degree in dance at some point and study dance history a bit more.

As for the history of the tour, it stays true to the long-running TV show, Osborn said. For example, fans should hear plenty of favorites, including “C is for Cookie.”

With both the old and new songs, Osborn said to expect a good time for the whole family.

“Parents can take their kids,” she said, “and they know they’re getting a Broadway-quality production ... that teaches a valuable lesson.”

Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.

        

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