Puppets of NYC on Display!

Last Thursday, the Museum of New York graciously invited me to the opening of their "Puppets of NYC" exhibit. 

I decided to not only check out their exhibit, but see what other Muppets of NYC I could find on my way there, as well.

My first stop was FAO Schwarz were I heard rumor that they still had "Elmo's Monster Maker", Sesame Street's answer to the "Muppet What Not Workshop" FAO had for many years at their former location.  

I was delighted to discover that the "experience" was still available even though there is no mention of it on FAO's website. 

The main difference between "Elmo's Monster Maker" and "The Muppet What Not Workshop" is that the pieces are velcroed on and not permanently hot glued in place. They may also give you a few extra parts so you can transform your monster again and again once you get home.

The monsters come in three body colors and styles Red, pink, Green, and Blue. 

After you pick your body, an FAO cast member will show all the styles of party they have and put them directly onto your monster to see how they look. (Opposed to the colorform type vinyl stickers that were used to help the "Muppet What Not Workshop" make your puppet. 

Each nose is not only a different color and shape, but also has different sound elements as well. 

Below you can see my monster all complete...and it's a puppet too!

Not far from FAO's current location in 30 Rock is the NBC studios store where I found a signed copy of "NBC and 30 Rock." Inside there's a whole page dedicated to the Muppet Pipes. 

I also stopped at the Met to see Alex Da Corte's Big Big installation on the roof, 

though sadly it was closed due to inclement weather (it was over 90 degrees). 

Although, I didn't get to see the Big Bird statue in person, I was able to grab a copy of the small book they had in the gift shop explaining the exhibit and it's homages. 

My last stop was the Museum of New York where they invited puppeteers to kick off the opening with a puppet parade / red carpet event hosted by Shari Lewis' daughter Mallory and Lambchop.

Rick Lyon gets ready for an interview 

A few famous puppets including those from Shining Time Station as well as people dressed up as puppets made up the parade. Friend of the blog John Papovitch and his puppet Milo were there as well. 

The exhibit itself is broken down into 3 categories: The Set, The Stage and The Street.

The Set features probably the most famous puppet on display including those from Pinwheel, Lamb Chop's Play-Along, Being John Malcovich, and a couple Muppets as well.

Puppets from Pinwheel

Lamb Chop's Play-Along

We were informed by puppeteer Rick Nylon that the Oscar on display is the one Carrol Spinney used for most of the 50 years he worked on Sesame Street. 

If you go to see the exhibit be sure to look at the back side of Oscar where you can see the hole in the can Carroll Spinney used to operate our favorite grouch. 

It was an unexpected surprise to see both Queen Peuta from The Muppets' The Land of Gorch sketches on Saturday Night Live, and Mahna Mahna and two Snowths - who made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show before performing the classic on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

The set area also features a bird puppet from Tau Bennet and Howdy Doody.

The stage area features famous puppets used in NYC stage productions including The Lion King, Duke Ellington, and Trekkie Monster from Avenue Q. 

Finally the street segment is dedicated to puppets features in parades an other NYC street activities.

As you exit the exhibit there are photos of Jim Henson, Heather Henson, and a behind the scenes look at the Sesame Street performers, as well as a shadow box to perform your own show.

We found a few Sesame Street related items in the gift shop: 

Thanks again to the Museum of NYC for invite. 

The Museums of NYC's Puppets of NYC exhibit will run through April 3, 2022.