( ) - Amanda Pogany works as the director of a in Brooklyn. But recently, she added another bullet point to her resume: consultant for “Sesame Street.” Pogany weighed in on three new episodes of the educational children’s TV show, all of which feature human characters explaining Jewish traditions to the show’s iconic puppets.
(Two aired this spring, while a third will air next year.) In one, Elmo and Big Bird learn to make challah for Shabbat. In another, a child writes a musical showcasing her fathers’ Cuban and Jewish traditions.
“The goal of this is representation, which is also why it’s so powerful,” Pogany told the . “The Jewish community is very diverse. The biggest challenge, I think, for them and for me, was: Who are we authentically representing?” Since the show’s inception in 1969, the set, cast, and music of “Sesame Street” was grounded in Harlem-based African American culture, and the was designed to help preschool-age children who came from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for school.
In the decades since, the show has tackled thorny subjects including racism, disability, religion, international conflict (including the ,) HIV/AIDS, 9/11, military deployment and incarceration. “Sesame Street” has long included Jewish characters and themes. In a 1974 sketch, original cast member Will Lee, playing greengrocer Mr.
Hooper, answers the phone in his busy store, where shoppers are speaking English, Spanish, and American Sign Language, and h.