Your Thoughts: Jim Henson's Musical World at Carnegie Hall

[beaker]

Me too! When I first heard of this (in a separate thread here on MC), I thought it was just The Pops playing a bunch of Muppety music, which, don't get me wrong, is awesome! It just wasn't something I'd fly out there for (I'm lucky to live in a small town where the local city and high school bands have always and still regularly play Muppet/any John Williams scores and songs... and they're actually GOOD!), unless it was going to be something extra special (like this turned out to be!). If only they'd said something like "full of live performances by so-and-so and their-respective-character", or something, ha ha.

Maybe it's something they did on purpose to avoid giant stampeding crowds full of foaming-at-the-mouth crazed Muppet fans who can never have enough? Lol. Man, they coulda hiked the ticket prices and sold out a weeks worth of shows if they really wanted to. I can say in all honesty, that if I knew what this show was actually going to be, I would be raving about my own experience in this thread too! BUT, I'm insanely happy for all you who were able to attend such a beautiful event!!

Well yeah I mean, that's what it simply was billed as. An "evening of the pops paying instrumental tribute to the magic of Jim Henson" or something. I mean, hey, cool...but fly 3000+ miles for cool? Not really. Even if it was another Kermit with Elmo and Zoe or Gonzo ribbon cutting a library thing, I couldnt justify flying that far out.

Truth be told I had no clue Fraggle Rock would be there. I mean I was guessing Red might make a cameo. But for Fraggles to have a big part of the show blew me away. Its definitely been over two decades since we saw all three Henson worlds on stage or in the same room for something.

The truth is there, I noticed a number of empty seats. Now, I know the site claims some seats are "obstructed", but I feel every seat shoulda been filled. If muppet fans knew how awesome itd be way ahead of time, I think more woulda made the trek out there for it

It seems this could have been an honorary second "Muppet Show Live", but with exclusive focus on the music, less characters, and more representation of Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.

I agree. I don't know why they didnt announce this as having actual performers/muppets til the last minute, but Im glad I was able to nab a $240 plane ticket from California. Muppet live show/muppetfest weekend was amazing, but it definitely(except elmo) lacked Sesame Street and any hint of Fraggleness. So to me this was a whole other enchilada. The fact they incorporated a storyline was magnificent. I love how Statler and Waldorf were in the balcony with people. It was shocking(in a good way) to see Wembley and Matt..and of course the Emmet Otter crew.

Ah, beaker's here at last!

But yes, I think some of us did write this thing off a bit early but when people found out about this, they found out. I'm quite content with the amount of people I met, fan-wise and Henson-wise, it would have been worth you guys sticking around even sitting at the stage door for an hour but oh well.

Hey! There ya are. Ok forgot your handle. Here's the pix of you btw
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40463086/bobpix.rar

So lucky ya got to go to the second show, I heard they resolved some of the sound issues and some performers came out afterward

 

[beaker]

Hopefully it was filmed. We'll just have to wait and see. But the clips people have already posted are just wonderful.

Yeah there was no official filming, and the staff were very strict with telling people to stop filming. But, the entire thing does seem to have been filmed overall by a few people(tho not all of it closeup) I could barely see anything (bad eye sight/very top nose bleed balcony) so its like seeing it all for the first time! People in the front area=lucky!

 

[beaker]

I won't complain much because I did get to meet and take a picture with Frank Oz in Oct. ( a dream). But i won't stop until I meet Jerry and the rest of the original cast of SS ( Susan, Bob and Maria).

I got from your original post that your instinct was saying none of them would show up.
I just assumed the best way to meet some of the performers/crew would be outside Carnegie itself post 3:30 show. I had to leave by 3, so wasnt able to stick around but cool to see some of us here got to meet people. Im sad Spinney wasnt there, he and his wife are so insanely nice. Also wish Marty coulda been there, but still shocked how many of the Muppet/Sesame crew were able to make it

 

[beaker]

Oh god I miss Jim so...;(

The part where Williams spoke so fondly of Jim, and seeing those quotes...and then the whole rainbow connection part...really made me tear up. Im so glad Im old enough to have enjoyed every moment of his work in the 80's, but I feel this world sure could use Jim today more than ever and Im glad his work continues on.

According to John Tartaglia, the Hensons were rebuilding Wembley for their own usage.

....eeeeenteresting ^____^;;

 

[Avilos]

While obviously they been planning a Fraggle Rock movie for years. It easy to imagine that the overall resurgence of the Muppets would benefit the Henson Company's own projects. Like "Stuffed and Unstrung" on Celebrity Apprentice. Or this tribute at Carnegie Hall. (I wish I could have been there) The timing of it post new movie can't be a coincidence.

While legally all the branches of Jim's creative family tree are now separate. They are still linked in the minds of the public. But also there are still strong connections with shared performers as this event shows.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

Hey! There ya are. Ok forgot your handle. Here's the pix of you btw
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40463086/bobpix.rar

So lucky ya got to go to the second show, I heard they resolved some of the sound issues and some performers came out afterward

Much appreciated.

And yeah, I still can't believe I got into the second show free. And yes, for the most part the sound issues were resolved. It was still difficult to understand what Elmo was saying when he wasn't singing but still, you can't beat an experience like this. We were there for a good hour and a half after the show out back just hanging out, it was great.

Oh, and some nice video on YouTube has been found, really just bits of the show, but still looks great.

There's more on this guy's channel if you look around.

 

[capman]

I got from your original post that your instinct was saying none of them would show up.
I just assumed the best way to meet some of the performers/crew would be outside Carnegie itself post 3:30 show. I had to leave by 3, so wasnt able to stick around but cool to see some of us here got to meet people. Im sad Spinney wasnt there, he and his wife are so insanely nice. Also wish Marty coulda been there, but still shocked how many of the Muppet/Sesame crew were able to make it

Hey, that is correct, nobody from the show came to the "Afterparty" Luckly, i got refunded the $125 after stating my case.

I really should have sought them out as they were walkign around on the 2nd floor doors just hanging out in between shows. Spinney should be at the chiller convnetion in Nj in Oct. as he has gone the pst three October's there. Super nice guy.

 

[Vic Romano]

Do you have the full filmed Fraggle Part??? Im trying so hard to find someone who actually has it!

Not really, and what I filmed came out so bad, so I won't post it, but believe me, it's a bad recording.

Just wish I coulda met more fans!

That was you?! Obviously I took notice of the hat, but I saw you there and overheard you talking and thought, "This guy HAS to be from some site because he knows his stuff." I would have said hello if I knew!

I personally did not even know there would even be any special guests let alone actual Muppets until the day before. I just bought the tickets back in November because I thought it would be a fun concert. Having said that and having talked to a bunch of people, I got the impression that because of how busy all the performers were, nothing was set in stone, hence why Steve Whitmire's name appears nowhere on the poster.

 

[wembleyfraggle]

Not really, and what I filmed came out so bad, so I won't post it, but believe me, it's a bad recording.

Bad as in Video or sound? I want to hear it. I can put a picture up and not watch the video. I want to hear the songs and hear the Fraggles voices!

 

[beaker]

Not really, and what I filmed came out so bad, so I won't post it, but believe me, it's a bad recording.


That was you?! Obviously I took notice of the hat, but I saw you there and overheard you talking and thought, "This guy HAS to be from some site because he knows his stuff." I would have said hello if I knew!

I personally did not even know there would even be any special guests let alone actual Muppets until the day before. I just bought the tickets back in November because I thought it would be a fun concert. Having said that and having talked to a bunch of people, I got the impression that because of how busy all the performers were, nothing was set in stone, hence why Steve Whitmire's name appears nowhere on the poster.

Oh man ya shoulda said hey. What do you look like? Im sure others were there I didnt recognize or were too shy.

Yeah the show (as in THE show) was either last minute or kept under wraps. Im just grateful flights were so cheap pre summer.

Yeah I shook my friends with my wikipedia like zeal for the Muffins...I mean Muppets. Most dont get it, and I rarely meet Muppet fans (as in more than just a passing "Oh I like Fonzie" sort)