Monsterpiece Theater Video Showcase
Monsterpiece Theater from Sesame Street
Parody is one of the sincerest forms of flattery and one of the funniest forms of comedy. Sesame Street took it to an "art" form on several levels with Monsterpiece Theater. Designed as a play on the PBS classic Masterpiece Theater, it was hosted by Alistair Cookie, his poor grammar and jiggling eyes belying the purported serious elegance. The sketches played off classic works of literature as well as more modern television and movie favorites. And, as always with Sesame Street, there was danger of learning something about numbers, spatial relations and social concepts all while laughing your head off. (Which can make it difficult to store your new knowledge!)
Monsterpiece Theater: My Pick
This is probably my favorite Monsterpiece Theater sketch, not only because it has a fairly young sexy Mel Gibson, but also because it emphasizes the importance of reading. How much do I like it? Enough for it to be my favorite despite featuring Elmo!
Cookie Monster..........Alistair Cookie, host
Grover.............Various roles
Herry.............Various roles
Occasional Cast
Elmo - Hamlet
Telly - Waiting for Elmo
Merry Monster - The Sun Also Rises
Random other monsters
Non-monster "guest" stars
Prairie Dawn - Little House
Mel Gibson - Hamlet
Kermit - Gone With the Wind
Monsterpiece Theater: More on the cast members
Squidoo lensmasters have developed some great in-depth lenses on the various members of the cast. Learn more about these talented characters here!
Monsterpiece Theater: One Last Clip
Monsterpiece Theater: Other Sketches
There are a few more sketches from Monsterpiece Theater that aired over the years, but unfortunately, I couldn't find them. Let me know in the guestbook if you ever run across one of these.
"Conservations with My Father"
"Dances with Wolves"
"Fiddler on the Roof"
"Lethal Weapon 3"
"Monster in a Box"
"Munch Ado About Nothing"
"The Sun Also Rises"
"Upstairs, Downstairs"
