Meet Super Grover

One of my favorite Sesame Street characters is Grover, the blue furry muppet that my kids adored growing up and now, my grandkids have followed suit. He is of course a lovable “monster” that over the years has taught many children positive things about life ( along with the other Sesame characters). The new Sesame Street Live show is in Chicago this weekend and moves to Indiana next and so I had the good fortune of speaking with the young dancer performer who brings this lovable character to the stage, first at The Akoo ( formerly Rosemont Theatre) and then off to Merriville..

One of the restrictions in speaking to a famous character is that we cannot discuss his actual role and the charcater himself, but I was very interested in meeting Carlos Martinez- as it turns out a “local boy”. Carlos was born in El Salvador but moved to our area at a young age. His family lived in the suburbs and Carlos graduated from Bartlett High School. Upon his graduation, he moved into the city to attend classes with Lou Conti Studios, and to this day dancing is his real love.

When I asked Carlos, who has been a part of The Sesame Street Live family for 6 seasons, what it was like to perform as a character that is loved by children of all ethnic backgrounds, his answer was a simple- wonderful! “To make children happy while at the same time teach them how to eat healthy, be good to your friends and to help others, is a wonderful place to be”. The show is about just that as Super Grover has lost his powers and needs to work with his other friends ( led by Elmo , of course) to get them back. As Carlos called it.”Helping Muppets in need”!With the aid of his friends and eating healthy, and of course the good vibes from the kids ( young and old) in the audience, we all know that Grover will get his powers back.

Six years on the road! These performers travels from place to place, arriving on a Monday, settling in and having a chance to spend some tie in that city until Wednesday, when they take to the stage so they get a feeling for it and make any changes in the “blocking” to accomodate the size of the stage, then Thursday,Friday,Saturday and Sunday performances and then pack it up and do it again. This is the life that these performers choose to have so that they can bring joy to the children of our cities. The tour goes from  July of one year until June of the next, then a breather and if they desire to stay on, or try a different Sesame Street Live! show, they can do it again. Carlos is now in his 6th season, and I am pretty sure, he will be back next year.

When I asked him the question about what happens when he can no longer dance ( a question that is asked of the dancers in “A Chorus Line”) his answer was simple and to the point. “When I can no longer do the dance, I am hopeful that I can become a Choreographer” to create the dance! I for one wish Carlos all the luck in the world and I look forward to seeing him for many years to come!

More info, check out www.sesamestreetlive.com

TM/© 2012 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of VEE Corporation.