In just a few days, the way to get to Sesame Street will be spelled S-U-N-D-O-M-E.

Elmo, Cookie Monster and more than a dozen of their neighborhood friends are scheduled to rock the Yakima Valley SunDome during three Broadway-caliber performances Dec. 9-10.

To the preschool set, this show ranks more phenomenal than U2's legendary concert at Red Rocks. It's Sesame Street Live: "Elmo Makes Music."

Hey, where else are you going to see the unibrowed Bert set dignity aside and do The Hustle? (Perhaps no dance number has been so highly anticipated since "Napoleon Dynamite" busted out with his sweet moves.)

Produced by the Minneapolis-based VEE Corporation, Sesame Street Live debuted in 1980 and now claims fame as the longest running touring show for children in history.

However, it's been 10 years since any Sesame Street friends have visited our neighborhood, which adds up to at least a couple lifetimes for the production's target audience of 2- to 5-year-olds.

Having never seen the show ourselves, we asked VEE Corporation what kids and parents should expect.

"One of the things we do extremely well is bring the characters from the TV show to life," says Clara Rusch, VEE's director of production. The stage show features 16 favorite Muppet characters -- including the Count von Count and Oscar the Grouch -- as well as Jenny, a new music teacher.

Jenny will be the only human in the show. The other characters feature performers hidden inside familiar monster suits. (Hint: Kids can wear their costumes, too.)

"We work very, very closely with Sesame Workshop to make sure our characters look exactly like what you see on TV," Rusch says.

The towering 8'2" Big Bird is made from 4,000 custom-dyed turkey feathers, each individually sewn to a piece of yellow organdy fabric before being attached to the costume.

The characters' voices are prerecorded by the same actors who do the television program. Inside their meticulous costumes, the show's performers have the challenge of operating the characters' mouths while also dancing.

"It's a little bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at two different beats," Rusch says. "It's tricky. I admire them very much."

Sesame Street Live has four shows touring this season, each with different educational themes. "Elmo Makes Music" will be coming to Yakima.

" 'Elmo Makes Music' is one of my favorites," Rusch says. "It's about finding music wherever you are and with whatever you have around you."

From rubber duckies to garbage can lids, the Sesame Street gang will use whatever they can to make a band when their new music teacher's instruments don't arrive.

The audience can sing along to their favorite Sesame Street tunes, including "The Alphabet Song" and "C is for Cookie," as well as grown-up classics including "Rockin' Robin."

And, of course, look forward to Bert's disco.

If you go
WHAT: Sesame Street Live: “Elmo Makes Music.”
WHEN: 7 p.m. Dec. 9; 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 10.
WHERE: Yakima Valley SunDome, 1301 S. Fair Ave., Yakima.
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $12 to $25; babies under 1 year are free. Purchase tickets at the SunDome box office, or online at ticketswest.com. Parking is $6. Concessions will be available and souvenirs are $5 to $25.

Win free tickets!
Playdate Magazine is giving away 40 free tickets to “Elmo Makes Music.”
For a chance to win four tickets to any performance, pick up a copy of the latest Playdate and enter the coloring contest inside. But hurry — the deadline to enter is Wednesday.
Playdate is a free magazine for families, published six time a year by the Yakima Herald-Republic. For more information, visit playdateyakima.com.