The 21st Show

Copy of Abby Cadabby’s puppeteer is married to a guy from Normal, Illinois. Here’s how they got to Sesame Street.

 
a woman in a white shirt with heart-shaped polka dots holds a pink puppet with a blue dress talking to a young girl wearing a beige t-shirt; a man in a navy windblazer with the University of Illinois orange block-I logo sits in front of double green doors on an urban stoop next to a pink puppet wearing a teal dress

Left: Puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph performs "Abby Cadabby" for a child during a production break in New York in 2019. Right: Paul Rudolph with Abby Caddaby on the set of "Sesame Street." Leslie Carrara-Rudolph by Bebeto Matthews/AP • Paul Rudolph courtesy himself

He's a Normal, Illinois native who went to U. of I. and ended up writing music for Sesame Street.

She's the puppeteer behind Abby Cadabby — and she just won an Emmy for it.

They also happen to be married.

Composer Paul Rudolph and puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph joined The 21st Show to talk about what makes Abby special, how to write music for Muppets, making instruments from found objects, and how puppetry can reach children who've been through tough times.

Discussed

Guests

Paul Rudolph
Composer, music director & vocal arranger, Sesame Street
Founder, GLANK

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Puppeteer & performer, “Abby Cadabby,” Sesame Street
Creater & performer, “Lolly Lardpop”

 

Paul Rudolph, left, and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph in Studio C at Illinois Public Media in Urbana, Illinois. Jose Zepeda/IPM