Stephanie D'Abruzzoย (b. December 7, 1971) has been aย Sesame Streetย puppeteer since 1993. In that time she has performed a myriad of background characters, and recorded vocals for a number of songs, including "Sing"ย (EKA:ย Episode 3981)ย and "Brothers and Sisters"ย (EKA:ย Episode 4056). Her major characters of note have includedย Elizabeth, a loud but cheerful little girl;ย Lulu, a curious monster (whom D'Abruzzo helped to develop[1]); and most recently inย Season 34,ย Baby Bear's little sister,ย Curly Bear. D'Abruzzo first made contact with the Muppets throughย David Rudman. Rudman informed D'Abruzzo thatย The Jim Henson Companyย was having a huge casting call for female performers. She went toย New Yorkย to auditioned, made all the cuts, but was only place in a talent pool that would not necessarily guarantee her future work. A few months later, she went back to participate in a month-long workshop in New York and slowly started becoming a Muppet Performer onย Sesame Street. Her first day of performing was November 3, 1993 inย episode 3162ย where she played Monster #3.[2] D'Abruzzo has performed and voiced nearly 200 characters for various projects includingย Oobiย (playing Uma and Inka),ย Bear in the Big Blue House,Donna's Day,ย The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,ย Binyah Binyah!,ย The Puzzle Place,ย Rory's Placeย (for which she co-wrote a pair of episodes with husbandย Craig Shemin),ย Sheep in the Big Cityย andย The Book of Poohย (playing the inquisitive bird Kessie). Despite her extensive work withย the Muppets, D'Abruzzo first gained greater recognition as an original cast member of the puppet musicalย Avenue Qwhere she originated the characters of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut. Her performance garnered her a 2004 Tony nomination, a Theatre World Award, a special Outer Critics Circle Award (for Outstanding Ensemble and Puppet Artistry), as well as a 2003 Drama Desk nomination for the show's Off-Broadway run. In December 2005, D'Abruzzo ended her run with the project after more than two and a half years to pursue roles inย I Love You Because, and worked withย Bobby Lopezย again on the studio album for theย Walt Disney Worldย stage showย Finding Nemo: the Musicalย (as Sheldon and Deb). Her previous stage credits includeย Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004ย at Carnegie Hall,ย Carnivalย andย Chess. D'Abruzzo's television credits outside of her work as a puppeteer include an appearance on the musical episode ofย Scrubsย and as a commentator onย I Love the 70s: Volume 2. As a voice actress, she was heard in theย Mo Willemsย animated seriesย Sheep in the Big Cityย (as Lady Richington, Swanky, and Lisa Rental). In 2013, she performed in the direct-to-DVD releaseย Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Mapย (as puppeteer and voice of Velma and Shirley).
