Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration is a television special which was first broadcast on PBS on March 6, 1994 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the educational television series Sesame Street. Its home-video version, Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years was released on October 29, 1993. Caroll Spinney plays Big Bird (around whom the story revolves), reading the title card in a voiceover. Celebrity guests and the Muppets sing songs together.
The show opens with the characters enjoying a day in Central Park as a calypso version of the Sesame Street theme plays. Big Bird, Prairie Dawn, and Telly Monster watch as the others make music and dance. Big Bird remembers his Granny Bird saying, "The whole world is a stage." Prairie decides to put on a show, assuring the others that it will be an adventure.
Telly and Prairie search for dancers and musicians, and Big Bird looks for singers who can sing "la-la". Telly and Prairie find Jamal, Angela, Celina, Carlo, the kids, and the other Muppets singing an a cappella version of "Do-Op Hop." Big Bird forms a "la-la line" to audition "la-la-ers." After Humphrey and Natasha unsuccessfully audition, the Count steps up to count those in line and Big Bird cues another song.
Big Bird's next audition is with a duck belonging to the Amazing Mumford, who says that knows a spell that will make everyone sing "la-la". However, the spell makes everyone quack.
Telly and Prairie tell Big Bird that they have found singers, but Big Bird says that he is having trouble finding "la-laers." Telly wonders if it is as hard as finding a letter O. Big Bird, glad that Telly found his letter, wonders when he will find his "la-la-ers."
Mumford returns and tries his spell again, but it makes people "baa" like sheep instead. Telly and Prairie find a jam session and think they have the musicians they need. Elmo, playing the drums, says that playing them is almost as easy as saying his name. He announces a break, previewing highlights of the special's second half.
Telly and Prairie ask Big Bird if he can help them find dancers, but he is busy with his line. The next auditions do not go well, and Big Bird says that he will "go bananas"; at the mention of bananas, Joey and Davey Monkey appear. Prairie and Telly see Jason and Savion while they are looking for dancers, and Savion tells them that there are dancers everywhere in the park. Prairie exclaims at all the people dancing; "... and pigs, too," Telly adds, pointing to the pigs nearby.
Big Bird shows Telly and Prairie the Martians, the "la-laers" he has chosen. When he tells them that they are going to become stars, they take him literally and vanish into space. The next "la-laer" in line is a man who plays the accordion while a chicken clucks and Big Bird begins to lose hope.
His line is gone. Mumford tries his spell again, but no one is around to be amazed by it. Discouraged, Big Bird sits down on a bench and begins singing "Sing" to himself. Ladysmith Black Mambazo answers with a chorus of "la-la"s, which was exactly what Big Bird had been looking for. Mumford tries his spell again and summons all of Big Bird's friends to sing along with him.
