Names and faces

Not too long ago, Broadway star Ben Platt was interviewed by a monster. A perfectly nice monster, of course. It was Elmo. Elmo asked Platt what was his favorite music to sing. Cookie Monster interrupted to ask what was Platt’s favorite cookie. “Oatmeal chocolate chip,” Platt said. “Good answer,” Cookie Monster said. “But, then again, there’s no such thing as bad cookie.” After a stellar group rendition of the song “C Is for Cookie,” Elmo presented his guest with a placemat. This meeting of furry monsters and human singer is part of a new Sesame Workshop family-friendly talk show on HBO Max called The Not Too Late Show With Elmo that will begin streaming May 27 for a 13-week initial run. The show is the brainchild of Elmo — don’t tell him differently — and employs his Muppet friends: Cookie Monster is the sidekick, Rosita is the stage manager, Abby Cadabby is the writer and various monsters are the directors. “Obviously, the whole thing is meant to be playful and a fun family experience so rather than spend a lot of time talking, we spend more time playing games like Hot Potato or Tic-Tac-Toe,” said Ben Lehmann, executive producer of Sesame Street and The Not-Too-Late Show. The show’s emphasis on children’s nighttime routines comes exactly at a time when parents are looking for stable schedules during the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s an important time to be there for families and kids, so we’re trying to do our part as best we can,” Lehmann said.

When Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay was published a decade ago, Books of Wonder owner Peter Glassman put on a late-night celebration at his Manhattan store, with jugglers, costumes, a trivia wheel, cupcakes with the Mockingjay logo and a rare public reading from the author herself. For Collins’ new Hunger Games book, the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the debut at Books of Wonder and other stores will mostly be online. Collins’ new novel, which comes out next week, is the most high-profile release since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most of the country’s bookstores in March. Promotion now is mostly limited to the internet or to booksellers who at best can only have a handful of customers in their stores at a given time. While many publishers have been postponing book releases, Scholastic executive vice president Ellie Berger said they stayed with Tuesday’s scheduled release date. To promote The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Scholastic has posted video trailers, released an excerpt from the book and prepared a “Virtual Party” kit that includes a glossary, discussion guide, games and trivia, and a link to a 12-hour countdown leading up to the official release. The first three Hunger Games books — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay — have sold more than 100 million copies.

Collins

Elmo