MFY: And there was a recent piece in the New Yorker, by Sarah Larson, in which she suggested that she and other members of her generation feel that as Sesame Street changes to appeal to today’s children, it is losing its heart and getting away from what made it so special in the first place. But now I’ve seen that, because of all the public outcry, they’re going to have some new negotiations. MOLLY FORAN YURCHAK: I don’t know if you saw the news last week, with Bob McGrath. We discussed a range of issues-children, learning, politics, entertainment- as well as her transition to a writing life, through her several children’s books and her lyrical and captivating memoir of her Nuyorican Bronx childhood, Becoming Maria. Sonia was as warm, frank, thoughtful, and intriguing as I could have hoped, and it was a distinct pleasure to get to know the real person behind the icon of my childhood. I ultimately decided to take the assignment, because I knew I’d never forgive myself if I passed it up-and I’m so glad I did.
And, the week before I interviewed Sonia, news broke that three longtime cast members, Bob McGrath (“Bob”), Emilio Delgado (“Luis”), and Roscoe Orman (“Gordon”), had been cut from the show.
Additionally, the formerly hour-long episodes now run only 30 minutes. After 46 years on public television, its new episodes are now broadcast on HBO and made available on public television 9 months after their first airdate. Recently, Sesame Street has gone through some changes. When the editors of Montessori Life asked if I would interview Sonia Manzano, who, for 44 years (1971–2015), played the role of Maria, I actually didn’t even say yes right away, because I thought, I don’t know if I can talk to her. Born in the early ’70s, I grew up watching Sesame Street.
0 kommentar(er)
