- The Sesame Street Critic
Taye Diggs Sesame Street Performance - Self
The ride with Elmo starts off a little slow, but Taye Diggs does a good job of picking up the pace as he goes driving in an automobile with Elmo. Find out how Diggs version of this classic Sesame Street song compares to the original.
Grade: B+
Character: Self
Sesame Street Characters: Elmo
Episode: #4502
Original Air Date: September 16, 2014
Taye Diggs had a challenge other performers don't typically have - he was part of a skit that's been done before. The "Let's Go Driving in an Automobile" song is a classic that has been performed on Sesame Street a number of times over the years, starting in 1982. The original was strictly a song on a Sesame Street album, but it was soon performed on the show the following year.
Taye Diggs Sesame Street performance is a blend of a few different "Let's Go Driving in an Automobile" skits. In the first live version Maria, Luis and Telly pretend to drive in a car. Another version is performed completely by muppets, and yet another version is completely animated. In this version Taye Diggs and Elmo imagine up an animated automobile in a cartoon environment.
Overall the performance is good. He does a great job interacting with Elmo, and he holds his own in the automobile green screen environment. Acting against a green screen can be difficult because you have to imagine that the offensive lime around you is, well something. It's a good thing that they were using their imaginations in the skit since Diggs needed to tap into it for his performance.
Diggs does a great job singing the song and he does have a good approach with it by playing it straight since they're doing some serious imagining. Unfortunately, at points he seemed to play it a little too straight and it lost the enthusiasm.
Taye Diggs' didn't really sell his rendition of "Let's Go Driving in an Automobile" in the beginning. It felt a little sluggish and the energy level could have been bumped up a bit. He didn't seem too enthusiastic about driving an imaginary automobile with Elmo, which made it harder to get into the skit.
Once the song began, Diggs perked up a bit and the performance picked up as well. If the whole thing had been at that energy level it would have been an A performance. However, it is worth mentioning that Taye Diggs' "Let's Go Driving in an Automobile" performance is the most entertaining version of the song that this critic has seen so far.
What Do You Think About Taye Diggs' Sesame Street Performance With Elmo?
Did he have the right amount of energy for powering an automobile with his imagination? Or was their not enough gas in the tank to make it an A performance? You be the critic!