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"Muppets, Music and Magic" comes to Ragtag

The tour's stop in Columbia includes events through April 24.

By Emily Willroth

Published April 9, 2010

Millions of children learned their ABCs by tuning into his kooky blue muppet with an unwieldy cookie addiction declare "The Letter of the Day." Millions more kept in touch with the hit singles of the times by singing along with the characters of "Sam and Friends." His three-decade career produced dozens of television series and several feature films. Now, 20 years after his death, Jim Henson's work continues to surface in the international tour, "Muppets, Music and Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy."

The tour will be making a stop at Ragtag Cinema over the next three weeks, with showings of rare television programs, experimental works and a few muppet favorites. The series began yesterday with "Muppets History 101," hosted by David Rudman, the puppeteer behind Cookie Monster, Baby Bear and more muppet favorites. It will continue on select dates through April 24. The series is designed to be suitable for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

"(Henson's work) features such a wide range of characters and personalities," Rudman said. "Kids and parents and grandparents and lawyers and musicians can all get something out of it."

Jim Henson began his work as a puppeteer in the late '50s with the five-minute puppet show "Sam and Friends." His career blossomed when he joined the "Sesame Street" team, creating Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie and Big Bird. His subsequent work includes "Fraggle Rock," "The Muppet Show" and Yoda from the "Star Wars” films.

"There was an extraordinary body of work to choose from for the series," tour Executive Director Arthur Novell said. "Even today there is a lot of work that hasn't been made public."

The series takes audiences through Henson's career, making stops at highlights, such as "Labyrinth," as well as experimental works that failed to make a splash upon their original release.

"The series is a chance to see how it all started and evolved from the early days and how much passion Jim had for the work he did and hopefully inspire somebody to follow their passion," Rudman said.

Puppeteering is Rudman's passion. He fell in love with puppet making as a young child, and the summer before his freshman year of college, he landed a job as a puppet builder for Henson's company. Before he left for college, he created an audition tape for Henson, and a few months later, he received the call that would change his life. Henson wanted to bring him on board.

After graduating college, Rudman joined Henson and "Sesame Street" full-time as a puppeteer, where he eventually took on the role of Cookie Monster.

"Puppeteering was everything I loved: sculptures, art, television," Rudman said. "Then one day I realized it was something you could actually do for a living."

Today, Rudman continues his work as a puppeteer, working on shows such as "Jack's Big Music Show" and "Bunnytown." He plans to continue working with the rest of the "Henson Legacy" crew to expand the tour and expose new fans to Henson's work.

"We didn't think it would go beyond four or five years, but we're still here," Novell said. "It's a great way to honor (Henson) posthumously."

Novell hopes audiences walk away with the same message Henson built his career on 55 years ago.

"The message of the muppets is a positive one about the human condition and making the world a better place," Novell said. "(Henson) was very candid about that."