Stephanie D’Abruzzo (Prairie Dawn, Mae)
Stephanie D’Abruzzo joined Sesame Street in Season 25. Since then, she has performed Elizabeth, Lulu, and Curly Bear, as well as hundreds of other characters on the Street.
Stephanie D’Abruzzo joined Sesame Street in Season 25. Since then, she has played hundreds of characters on the Street, including Cookie Monster’s mom and niece, and Grover’s mommy.
In 2015, she added Prairie Dawn and Elmo’s mom, Mae, to that roster after the retirement of the great Fran Brill. Her vocal performance in R.E.M.’s “Furry Happy Monsters” remains a career highlight. She has worked on dozens of Sesame Street home videos and specials, and played Grizzy in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. She also stars in Helpsters, a Sesame Workshop production with Apple TV+, playing Cody, the leader of a sweet and silly group of helpful monsters. D’Abruzzo also performed Cody for the Emmy-nominated Helpsters Help You, a series of short videos shot in her apartment during the COVID-19 quarantine. Other major puppetry projects include Muppets Mayhem, Donkey Hodie, Julie’s Greenroom, Scooby Doo Adventures: The Mystery Map, Oobi, Jack’s Big Music Show, and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. She played Jan S. Port in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and also performed in multiple episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as various puppets, mascots, and even a Sesame Street penguin. D’Abruzzo guest-starred in the musical episode of NBC’s Scrubs and returned twice during its ABC run, in a cameo in “My Finale,” and as a Sesame Street Muppet patient in “My ABC’s.” She has lent her voice to Nature Cat, Bug Diaries, Welcome to the Wayne, Wallykazam!, The Wonder Pets!, Sheep in the Big City, and The Book of Pooh, as well as a variety of commercials, promos, video games, interactive products, demos, industrials, and audiobooks. She has also written several episodes of Nature Cat and Donkey Hodie, as well as an episode of Helpsters. D’Abruzzo received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations – as well as a Theater World Award and a special Outer Critics Circle Ensemble Award – for originating her roles in Avenue Q. She has graced the New York stage in scores of productions, benefits, readings, and concerts, and has sung at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Her roles in I Love You Because and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical were also preserved in original cast recordings.
