Sesame Street - Monsterpiece Theater "Waiting for Elmo"

[SASoperative]

THIS WAS BRILLIANT!

I read and watched the play 'Waiting for Godot' and when my teacher showed us this I was laughing so hard i almost cried.

[CrazyForKate]

That deep, deep stuff.

[CrazyForKate]

Every child needs this.

[ariharveykinkle]

sesame street was so adult! waiting for godot... what the hell?

[Scray1]

ummmm num num....

[nanstube]

Best Elmo Sketch Ever.

[screamorox]

very Chekovian

[GCrizzle]

I feel so bad saying this, but it can't feel Chekovian because Chekov wrote in a style of Uber-realism. Where at Beckett wrote Absurdist pieces. You probably already knew this but I just wanted it to be correct.

[Kimberleg]

THAT IS FAB!!! Completely bizarre but what an ending!!! lmao

[Schnorbs]

And even a little snatch of "People Will Say We're In Love". Brilliant!

[butcherboy2008]

I would like to see Big Bird and Oscar do "Endgame."

[54KIB]

Mine stops after 1 minute - i wish it worked.

[sukiyaki113]

I love how it's been years since I last watched Sesame Street, but I can still laugh my butt off at it. A+++, Cookie Monster!

[rozymisty]

hahaha monsterpiece theatre!!! CLASSIC!!!

[Finniej]

genius

[BubblegumQueen1]

They're just waiting for Elmo how does that not make sense?

[TXT429]

U have to watch Wating for Godot, that is what they are refering to.

[PandaMishima]

I once saw a parody of an "action packed" comic book where the two main characters are arguing over whether they're waiting next to a tree or bush. Needless to say, the "action" was entirely cerebral, and just as dead on.

[Enirehtaks]

Haha, I love how Grover is such a ham!

[mealypeggy]

ahahahahahahhaahaaaaaaa!

i'm just about to do this for my final theatre assesment for uni and this has taken some of the seriousness out of it! I LOVE IT!

thank you for posting it!

[finnishminnow]

What a nice sketch!

[playmates101]

this is way too weird even for my tastes in hilarious sketches!

[LadyDionysusOnion]

Absolutely EPIC!!!!!

[54KIB]

For some stupid reason, the video won't load past 1:01. >:\

[Cassycichan]

"He's not here. He's NOT HERE!" Absolutely brilliant! love this...thanks so much for posting.

[ELMinthebreeze]

The English major in me is laughing my bum off. AHAHAHAHAHA!!! So great! If only I had been able to watch this piece in college... it would have been good therapy.

[ZNKChannel]

I think the ending should've gone like this:

Allistair Cookie: That deep, deep stuff. Oh, well. (Elmo comes in)

Elmo: Excuse, Elmo, have you seen Telly & Grover around here, Cookie?

Allistair Cookie: That Allistair Cookie, to you.

Telly: Elmo!

Grover: There you are!

Elmo: Oh, yay! C'mon! Let's go play! (all leave cheering)

Allistair Cookie: Oh, well. They together now, & that all that matter. (gives ending)

[Scorpion14]

God, Grover is such a terrible actor. Even Shatner hams it up less.

[happyholidaysmovie]

Brilliant comic timing.

[abydosianchulac2]

This is a terrible rendition of Waiting for Godot: this rendition makes sense! Loved it though, glad to see it make it online.

[jtomally9681]

I use to think Cookie Monster said 'Monsterpiece Dinner' when I was a kid.

[Thorien175]

Those lit classes were worth it afterall!

[perpitbla5]

Love it.

[kat0423]

This makes my life a better place.

[theladyhamlet]

Oh, my GOD, this is hilarious...

[flybybutterflies]

Awesome epic! =D Can't understand why we have to study a play like that in school.

[boycempakan]

hmm.. its not as absurd as the original play itself.

[Sampsody]

it's so true! Waiting for Godot makes absolutely no sense. take that Samuel Beckett!

[hotgluedaddy]

I'm with ficsci "Hah! Oklahoma!" I teach this schtick & I liked this more than Ian McKellen.

[PlasticPurpleDino]

I love the allusion to suicide in a children's show. Telly and Grover as Didi and Gogo. Brilliant! This just got favorited!

[tanzphangrl]

brilliant parody of waiting for godot.....

[mrsdengler]

Pascal's penseés re-enacted by two clowns

Pascal said in his work "penseés" that without a God in his life, his life would just consist in him inventing a series of obstacles to overcome to escape boredom.

that's how to watch waiting for Godot

[InuHunter]

WHAO......."Waiting for Godot" becomes "Waiting for Elmo"....good adaptation though...I wonder what Samuel Beckett would've said...XD

[sparkplugminuet]

I think the Cookie Monster started OM NOM NOM.

[thevinternet]

Lol - how have I missed this all these years? Awesome.

[Jamiethewookie]

Love these hahahaha

Cookie and Grover, two of my favourite SS characters

[DrewidDesktop]

A jewel. Thank you for posting this. Made my day. Drewid

[ficsci]

Hah! Oklahoma!

[mbleju]

"so modern, and so brilliant that absolutely makes no sense to anybody!"

i liked that so much:)

[SproingyLemming]

Alistair Cookie! Hilarious!

[missusdakey]

A play so modern and so brilliant, it makes absolutely NO SENSE to anybody! ROFLOLOMGBBQASAP

[cmxcmx]

hahahaha. this is fantastic!

[jbfgcu]

Nothing to be done.

[LadyNieske]

"a play so modern and so brilliant, it make absolutely no sense"

ah so very true and a very good interpretation :D

[vanceconkle]

this is just amazing.

[saranvd]

lol

that tree... is my favorite character EVER... it made my day!! :)

[engelani]

so great! I love the breakdown of modern theatre for children. perhaps they'll remember this when the study it later in life?

[meredumais]

I love the closing sentiment- a contrast between something so puzzling and arcane to young, pre-abstract minds and a cookie pig-out. It unifies the two polar opposite 'general' reactions to Beckett's plays in a playful, satirical skit, doesn't judge either one but subtly pokes fun at their 'shortcomings', making it hilarious and accessible to all - somehow pretty effortlessly. Oh, I miss watching SS with my boys when they were little ! They both love Beckett now, by the way, at 18 and 20...

[kwolf002]

I love this.... even though I LOVE Waiting For Godot...

[19meetmeinnewyork12]

i have to agree with Cookie Monster......cookies make much more sense =p

[anoooooj]

I don't like how sesame street brought up the play to trash it

[number154]

I thought it was more of a loving (though somewhat tongue-in-cheek) tribute...  Or maybe I'm just reading it too deeply.

[sidrad]

That's pretty much Beckett in a nutshell, alright.

[ScratStitch]

"Yeah, that deep, DEEP stuf..."

LMAO!

[ElfoBlanco]

How I HATED Godot in College!!! Why didn't I see this version before? HAHAHAHAHA.

[somerandomegirl]

Im in high school and i have to read that book!!!!!!

It's torture! I hate it so much! I makes no sense at all!

[tapsinger]

oh come on, it has, what, 80 pages? besides, it's brilliant.

[brianatleftyfilms]

It's existentialism.

[groovydancefairy]

I loved it. It has so much to unlock and discover! There are so many ways to interpret it.

...I love being a theater/literature nerd. n__n

[upsidedowni]

haha, well maybe if you understood that it was a play and not a book that would help

[quixotecroc]

It's okey, you'll be fine.

[iiimtf44]

ghe never eats those cokies all fall doen cracked to pieces

[brainjesus]

hahahahaha

[MannyOrtez]

AHH EPIC

[jbmadvids4401]

So if I follow this right Elmo is God because Beckett's play is about humanity waiting for a God to save them from their distress. A world where Elmo's is God please no! the red horror!

[MaddoxHammerman]

It's not actually about waiting for God , Godot is more of a figmented character to give their lives meaning in the Void. Either way, it is only Sesame Street :P

[RobertJamesAlexander]

godot does not represent god- common mis-conception

[kraigus]

it depends on your own interpritation

its so stripped down its open for it,

theresmany different ideas you could get from it.

god is a simple enough one to find.

[Skamski32]

It's not a misconception, it's an interpretation, noob! And a fairly well considered interpretation. Beckett has denied the relation between God and Godot before, but generally, people even interpret this denial as adding to the artistic value of his work. If he outwardly said that Godot = God, it would give the characters a background, beliefs and all that mumbo jumbo, and that crushes the existentialist view that he's trying to put across.

[STDrocker40]

that's what he said, but is it what he meant

it's an open discussion

[kealan8010]

Godot is actually the tree.

[olliethefisherman]

HAHAHAH epic

[Djangon]

LOL best version of Waiting for Godot EVER Seen!!! Becket would be so proud!

[meredumais]

Agreed, Djangon. Beckett would have adored this version !

I didn't realize how much I'd missed watching SS as a young kid- and then with MY young kids twentyish years later - until I just collided with this little gem. Brilliant.

[lexwitkowski]

this would be a great alternative ending for the real play

[musicaltrees]

"a play so modern and so brilliant it makes absolutely no sense to anybody" lol.

[Citroenvliegje]

that's such a briliant part! XD

[nevernevergrowup]

Proof that Sesame Street is smarter than us all.

[LondonWilson813]

Fully agreed.

[joezep37]

thats f-ing halerious! gota irish lit final in the morning, thats soo gona b in my head for the 2 hours!

[twshuman]

lolz

you can hella tell who vladimir and estragon are.

[rexfactor69]

This makes Waiting for Godot tolerable, I've had to do projects on that play several times and I've come to hate all things Beckett, I even acted this scene in theatre 12.

[phrozted]

Try being smarter.

[lunoco]

do you really think this has to do with being smart???

I do believe that a lot of people pretend to like Godot, because smart people understand and enjoy Godot, while dumb people don't. Well I believe its fair enough to say I don't like Godot, without being stupid. and taking in consideration how people push you to like it. it's brave to say I don't like godot.

[TheatreFracture]

May i ask why you dislike it? If it is purely because of the fact that you dont understand it, Beckett never intended people to fathom it, nor any of his plays. The wonderful thing about Beckett's work is that it is totaly open to interprtation. Read it, studdy it, once you build your own view of the play you will adore it and find your own relations and relevance to the play.

[mrsdengler]

I'm not sure whether Beckett never intended people to fathom his plays. It's true that some of the value of art in general lies in individual interpretation, but why would Beckett deliberately write plays that were completely indecipherable? If his plays defy interpretation to an extent, and I agree they do, then something is conveyed by that very fact. e.g. in Godot much of the speech is pointless because they're using speech against action, conveying the absurdity of their position

[jdthunder]

LMAO, I found this while researching stuff for a paper.

I honestly adore this play but I think this is freaking hilarious.

[techcrewrocks]

Waiting for Gudot!!!! This one makes more sense!

[xomishmish5ox]

HAHA this is awesome!

[Evonnewench]

omg, genius!

[joojiandmemo]

loooooooooool

that was so good

heheheheeeeeeeeeee

i shud show it to my instructer too

why do they teach us this stupid play

i really don't get it!!!

[neddx]

This is fantastic!

[Darkninja107]

WOW! You know you really suck when Sesame Street is making fun of your work. Take that Beckett!

[clayben87]

I'm so showing this to my professor when I have to write a paper on Godot

[54spiritedwill54]

I like that talking tree :D

[SaveTheWheat]

Oklahoma! Rep the 4-oh-5!

And I miss the brains in my old daily dose of Sesame Street...

[epuresoul]

XD that was so hilarious. I have a test on Waiting for Godot and I slightly agree with the tree DX though I do like the play ^^

[Caprile91]

Yes!! Teach our children the world's geniuses! keep it up!! this was awesome!

[drathmoor]

Better than Beckett's play

[JazzMan5000]

how weird is this? I just went to see my friend in Waiting for Godot last night. And she came to see me in Oklahoma last week, SPOOOOKY!!!!

[flowertrue]

Hahahahaha I never saw this! This is awesome! ROFL @ the tree singing Oklahoma as it walks away. Classic Sesame Street rocks my socks

[Darkraptor1000]

This captured the play perfectly.

[oliviaisgod]

lol "a play so modern and so brillant it makes no sense to anybody".

[jbmadvids4401]

that is why it's called Threatre of the Absurd Alistaire. Oh well if you ponder existentialism and get depressed....there's always cookies! lol

[nosgnisniuqaoJ]

XD that was hilarious I never thought Sesame Street was that funny!

[MetaMorphy]

"Waiting for Godot" makes sense. It is about the absurdity of Christian religous belief---waiting for God's spiritual fulfillment (and the second coming) and healing in a cruel world where the evidence of His existence is scant. It is about the absurdities of life.

[scrneverdies45]

you didn't read the play right then. you need to re-read what existentialism means.

[charlie13132]

waiting for godot is absurdism not existentialism,it may be a small difference but a difference non the less.

[jrjr6789]

well i agree with you...but is not the same theater of the absurd and existentialism...although a good point...

[JW211293]

dude, 1000 audiences, 1000 interpretations.

[ardiar2011]

I generally agree with you JW211293, but you have to admit that pinning any interpretation on an existentialist play is a bit silly.

[MrMcBlue]

Greatest. Response. Ever.

[cataclysm512]

MetaMorphy is 100% right actually.

it's pretty obvious if you read it with that kind of mindset.

luckily, in the Sesame Street version the two characters didn't talk about hanging themselves. haha

that would've been weird.

[gorbochevy]

to say that anyone is 100% right about what this play is about is completely arbitrary

[ElderlyMan369]

Beckett said that Godot wasn't God.

[RIKUD0U]

Can you tell me where you found that out? That would be extremely helpful if u have actual proof of that

[About2Crash]

He was quoted as saying, "If I wanted it to be God I would have called him God."

[littlepsyche]

The ultimate 'kids' show that didn't underestimate the intelligence of younguns while throwing in some amazing references for educated adults.

WHY ARE THERE NO SHOWS LIKE THIS ON TODAY FOR KIDS?

Somebody explain. Please.

[Johnno2389]

You wouldn't believe you were missing so much when you were young. I wouldn't have even known Waiting for Godot when i saw this

[LawandOrderfan13]

It makes about as much sense as Waiting for Godot, that's for darn sure...

[mtigers1981]

Amen, brother.  Amen.

[richragsdale]

hahahahaha!!!

[dabarrister]

Brillant! Thank you, Sesame Street.

[Sandbag209]

oh god this is deep

[KikiG1rl]

That's a parody of Masterpiece Theatre!

[delvelove]

AMAZING. I'm so glad I grew up watching this.

[rybackis07]

hahaha, we just discussed this play in my intro to theatre class and everyone talked about how meaningful and deep it was and i felt like the tree. im going to oklahoma, i understand oklahoma. beckett was pretty smart theres no debate there, but sesame street, damn thats art.

[1337vashfan]

OK. Talking tree, expected. Tree getting up and LEAVING, I admit was unexpected!

[jayms74]

"Why can't they do Oklahoma? I underSTAND Oklahoma!"

loves it.

[DecemberParis]

Genius.

[mdumas43073]

I think my favorite part is "Alistair" at the very end.

"Oh, yeah. Four stars."

[Zelli52]

The best Monsterpiece Theater. Ever.

[mp3atsea]

the first time i saw this on tv was in college after having to study this play. this is just brilliant, down to the monster chosen to be vidi and gogo... BRILLIANT!!

[suffering44]

he never eats any of those cookies

[RubyStevens]

I laughed until I choked the first time the tree ranted about how this made no sense and stalked off.

[bert0nijs]

they should've kept put after they said they'd follow the tree xD

[jdthunder]

oh god this is the best comment ever.

[grotelottefan]

I like that talking tree :D

[moninblue]

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA LoVEd it

[BambinaInNero89]

OMFG it's beautiful!!! :D :D :D

[kezza712]

LOL!

"That is deep, deep stuff"

[dgulf]

Me can't go on.

Me go on.

[fluffyqueer]

this. is. AMAZING. Yes, it is so brilliant and so modern, it makes NO SENSE. :) oh, Godot.

[dgulf]

Me go on ... Me can't go on

[dgulf]

Beckett tree get up and leave. Me have stinky fur and me have bad shoes. What me do today? Did me wait with my furry friend and speak of cookies. Wait ... me have more to say ...

[dgulf]

Beckett make like tree and leave.

Me must sit for a while. Me must adjust pants. Shoes hurt. What me say of this day? That I ate cookie? That I wait for Elmo? Me tired. Wait ... wait ... me have more to say ...

dgulf

[lovemeg5186]

Why Couldnt they do Oklahoma!I UNDERSTAND OKLAHOMA!

[mdumas43073]

That tree's a philistine.

[FranklyMisterShankly]

"A play so modern, and so brilliant, it make no sense to ANYBODY!" Haha! I adore Beckett!

[gfarkwort]

LOVE it!-----Cookie says Exactly what I think each time I think about this play. Funny...Thanks for posting!

[1Mudkip88]

anyone notice how the tree sounds alot like the blue man with a moustache at Charlie's Resturant (where grover is a waiter)

[MortalAnonymous]

This' got to be my favorite Monsterpiece Theater. So silly,I love it,ah,ah,ah!

[TheOdderOne]

: ( They make fun of Godot....this makes me...SAD

[ElectricShark]

This skit scared me because of the lone silent atmosphere with that creepy tree as a kid.

[galaxycat3]

thats so weird - cuz when i was younger that tree totally freaked me out

[Marbles471]

I've never seen "Waiting For Godot". I have, however, seen a "Doonesbury" spoof from 1988 called "Waiting For Mario" --as in waiting in vain for New York governor Mario Cuomo to decide to run for President. Like Telly and Grover here, the characters in question were waiting by a lonely, desolate tree. I can only assume there's a tree of some significance in the real McCoy. :)

[rocketstevo]

Seems like this is the only Monsterpiece skit with Telly Monster in it.

[Marbles471]

Come to think of it, can anyone think of any other time when Grover and Telly interacted?

[jonnytbirdzback]

Room At The Top.

[jonnytbirdzback]

Never thought that the theme would play longer during the green curtain intro.

[urbangypsy770]

"so modern and brilliant, that it makes absolutely no sense to anybody" wise words! :)