‘Street’ of Dreams

Cosmic conundrums:

Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? Why must you cash in your stock portfolio to raid the hotel minibar? What was nature's purpose in creating belly-button lint?

To these brain-drainers we add: Why does Cookie Monster have five fingers on each hand, while Big Bird has three and the other Muppets have four? Someone over-chlorinate the puppet gene pool?

"My left arm is his left arm and my right arm is his head," says Las Vegan Norma Wood in a description that suggests an unfortunate act of evolutionary mutation but is, in fact, merely the logistics of inhabiting the lime-green costume of curmudgeonly Oscar the Grouch. "He's not quite a full body."

He's also short a schnozz, surely a genetic blessing when the post office delivers your mail to a trash can.

The frisky furballs of "Sesame Street" -- misplaced heads, missing digits and nonexistent noses notwithstanding -- have been gently guiding children toward adulthood and nostalgically reminding adults of childhood for nearly 40 years, the iconic television series supplemented by stage shows offering loads of live-action Muppet love.

"They're like rock stars to the children," says Clara Rusch, director of production for "Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up," frolicking at the Cox Pavilion -- or cavorting or making merry or spreading gaiety, because we're talking Muppets here -- today through Sunday.

"It's their heros standing right in front of them," Rusch says, "and we try to get the characters out in the audience a lot for handshakes and high-fiving."

Such interaction, however, is denied the trash can-bound Oscar, who's probably too grumpy to party-hearty with the kiddies anyway. "I really can't, but the other characters go in all the time," says Wood. "They get the kids to sing along and clap their hands and stomp their feet and march at their seats."

In the show's laugh-and-learn tradition, "When Elmo Grows Up" imparts life lessons, this edition focusing on the timeless what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up? theme, the sweet "Street" creatures staging a pageant to explore all their options. "We see many of the different characters trying out, pretending, imagining, singing and dancing about various occupations they might want to try," Rusch says.

"Bert wants to be a forest ranger, Cookie Monster wants to be a firefighter, Elmo keeps changing his mind and wants to try absolutely everything and anything, while Big Bird can't decide what he wants to do and thinks he won't be able to participate in the pageant, but of course it's all reconciled at the end."

All of which adds up to the moral: "There are a couple of different lessons here," Rusch says. "One is that you can be anything you want to be, try anything you want to try, it's a very optimistic message. At the same time, it says you don't have to make up your mind. As a child, this is the perfect time for you to be pretending and exploring and discovering what you like and don't like."

Wood didn't fantasize about growing up to be Oscar the Grouch. (Even if she did, hey, different strokes, ya know?) But the UNLV graduate and former Strip showgirl and was happy to trade feather boas for Muppet fur.

"I've done shows where you have to put on a lot of makeup and lashes," says Wood, a former cast member of "Jubilee!" at Bally's and "Tournament of Kings" at Excalibur. "Here, I don't have to do that, just put on the costume and go. It's kind of nice to do a family-oriented show and neat to be somebody else, like Oscar, and I also play Mr. Noodle."

Wood also portrays a cactus and a fire hydrant. We declined to ask whether she employs The Method to locate the characters' motivation, but finding the core of Oscar is an easier acting task.

"I like that Oscar gets to be rude and mean and nasty -- and I'm encouraged to be mean, so that's great," says Wood, who also croons "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and "I Love Trash," Oscar's signature tune, in a production whose 20-song score stretches from riffs on pop hits (Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" is referenced) to sunny "Sesame" perennials.

And among the all-star creature cast including Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Zoe, Telly, Baby Bear and Cookie Monster, welcome the latest "Street" urchin to the stage crew -- yes, this one reaches the red zone on the adorability meter -- Muppet newbie Abby Cadabby. Near the end of Act I, listen for a bouncy ditty called "Abby Cadabby, Fairy-in-Training."

For that to pass unironically, be grateful Elmo and the gang haven't grown up that much.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.