‘Elmo’s TV Time’ takes the stage at Pantages Hollywood Theater, Universal Studios Singapore

What kind of television (TV) programme would you like to be on? Come imagine with Elmo and friends from Sesame Street, as they ponder this question in Elmo’s TV Time, a brand new 21-minute live show playing at Universal Studios Singapore’s Pantages Hollywood Theater from 17 January 2018.

Designed for audiences of all ages, Elmo’s TV Time mixes dance, song, wit and comedy, guaranteeing that kids will move along and adults will have a good laugh as well.

The Plot

With the help of Mr. Imagination and an imaginary TV, Elmo and friends take turns to imagine what TV programmes they’d like to be on.

The curtains open with Abby standing in front of an unknown object saying, “It’s imagination playtime – you’re going to guess what it is!”

Oscar (clearly not playing along) pointedly asks, “Am I the only one who sees a cardboard box?”

Soon Elmo emerges from the box, telling everyone that it is a television. He then asks,

If you imagine yourself to be on TV, what kind of show would it be?

Before they can answer Elmo’s question, the group meets Mr. Imagination who assures them, “When you imagine together, you can go anywhere and do anything!”

Bert and Ernie imagine being on a comedy show that will make people laugh.

Grover imagines himself as a superhero that goes by the name of Super Grover.

The others then imagine themselves in a series of Reality TV shows like ‘The Trash Factor’ (an allusion to The X-Factor), ‘Keeping Up with the Counts’ (Keeping Up with the Kardashians), ‘Dancing with the Mon-stars’ (Dancing with the Stars) and ‘Sesame Street’s Got Talent’ (America’s Got Talent) – and they have a blast as they sing and dance along to one another’s performances

At the end of it all, Mr. Imagination tells Elmo,

Elmo, this isn’t the end. Your imagination is never-ending.

In an intentionally anti-climactic moment, Grover throws in the final punch-line, “Wow Mr. Imagination, that was deep!” Indeed it is, as audiences are encouraged to continue on their imagination journey even after the show has ended.

Review

One of the highlights of Elmo’s TV Time is its incorporation of contemporary songs. Ed Sheeren’s Shape of You, for instance, has been reworded into an instructional song with which the cast encourages the audience to draw different shapes together with them.

While my initial reaction as an adult (and Ed Sheeran fan) was to laugh because I found the play on the word ‘shape’ adorable, I soon realised how ingenuous it is to have elements of learning, audience interaction and humour all wrapped up in a seemingly simple song.

I also caught myself sub-consciously tapping my toes along to other musical covers like Cookie Monster’s upbeat rendition of Carl Douglas’s Kung Fu Fighting and Oscar’s trashy (pun intended) rendition of Sir Mixalot’s Baby Got Back.

Because of the characters’ larger-than-life expressions and aforementioned pop culture (Reality TV) references, Elmo’s TV Time brings a currency to Sesame Street’s brand of humour that both children and adults can easily appreciate.

All in all, Elmo’s TV Time is in my personal opinion one of the funniest shows ever put up at Pantages Hollywood Theater – a show that should not be missed if you’re at Universal Studios Singapore.