Website: Sesame Street Live
Location: Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates
Phone: 847-649-2270
Show times:
Saturday, April 18 at 10:30 am, 2:00 pm, and 5:30 pm
Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 pm and 4:30 pm
Sesame Street live will also be showing in Joliet on April 21, and in Merrillville, Indiana, April 23 through 26.
Admission: $18-$75
For more information, call 847-649-2270. To charge tickets by phone, please call the Sears Centre Arena Box Office at 1-888-SEARSTIX (1-888-732-7784). Tickets may also be purchased online at www.searscentre.com.
Use discount code ERNIE for $3 off select seats. (Can be used when buying tickets online or at the Sears Centre Arena Box Office. Offer excludes Gold Circle and Sunny Seats. Cannot be combined with other offers or used on previously purchased tickets.)
Parking: There is a large attached lot. Parking is $10 (cash only!).
Bathrooms: The bathrooms are large and had changing tables.
Nursing area: There is no designated nursing area.
Handicapped/stroller accessibility: I would not recommend bringing a stroller. The show is accessible to the handicapped.
Other amenities: There were a variety of Sesame Street products available for purchase. Prices were high – $5 for a snowcone; $10 for a mylar Elmo balloon.
Food: Snack foods were available in the lobby; beverages, popcorn, cotton candy, etc.
We paid: We received complimentary tickets to the show, but paid $10 for parking. Our tickets probably would have been approximately $40 each.
Our experience:
Sesame Street Live: Let’s Dance isn’t just a show but an interactive dance party. Two live performers host the show, which includes Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, Grover, and other Sesame Street characters.
The show is made up of bits of dialogue, telling a story about Bert feeling like he can’t dance and the other characters teaching them that dancing is about bring yourself, and lots of songs. The songs are all original and catchy, but several of them have familiar themes and lines that kids will recognize, like the ABCs and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.
The characters came out into the floor level of the audience several times throughout the show, rotating who appeared in each spot, and the kids had a chance to go up and dance with them or give them hugs. My kids were a little hesitant to leave their seats to approach them, but loved seeing them close up, and finally got brave enough to give Baby Bear a hug.
From the beginning of the show, the characters invited the audience to get up and dance. It was fun and the kids loved it, but by the end of the show the kids were not just standing and dancing, but in the aisles, up near the stage, and being chased by parents. A little chaotic, but lots of fun.
