The String Quartet

The String Quartet is a Muppet routine first performed on The Today Show on March 30, 1962. Kermit tries to conduct a string quartet, consisting of himself on cello, Harry the Hipster on piano and Theodore on drums. Unfortunately, the violinist is missing. When Kermit calls for violins, it rains violets courtesy of a woman offstage named Mildred who starts to sing. Harry and Theodore then perform different songs simultaneously, and Kermit futilely tries to restore order, rambling "What happened to Mozart? What happened to sanity!"
A modified version of this sketch was performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 17, 1971. The string quartet here includes Twill and Harrison on violins, and Grump on cello. They proceed to play Beethoven's "Minuet in G Major," even though their other violinist Beegalman hasn't arrived. His replacement comes in the form of Mahna Mahna (referred to as "Harry" in the script, sharing his name with another hip Harry), who plays the drums and answers Twill's objections with wisecracks and musical puns. Eventually, Twill and the others give in to Mahna Mahna's wild drumming and join him in a medley consisting of "The Hut-Sut Song," "Flat Foot Floogie," "Want Some Seafood Mama," "With a Little Help from My Friends," and "My Dog Has Fleas."
Performers in the Ed Sullivan version included Jim Henson as Mahna Mahna, Frank Oz as Grump, Jerry Nelson as Twill, and Richard Hunt as Harrison.
==See also==
*String Quartet (Muppet Show characters)
==External links==
*Jim Henson's Red Book entry, curated historical information and scripts
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Category:Repeated Sketches
Category:Variety Show Sketches