Sally Williams: Mr. Rogers Neighborhood's Lady Aberlin Commented on Jonathan Coulton's Song About Her

Monday, January 3, 2011

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood's Lady Aberlin Commented on Jonathan Coulton's Song About Her

Here is a thing I just found out from one of those late-night Wikipedia rabbit hole sessions: Nerd troubador Jonathan Coulton wrote a song two years ago about Lady Aberlin's Muumuu - Lady Aberlin being a recurring human character played by Betty Aberlin for several decades within Mr. Rogers Neighborhood's "Neighborhood of Make Believe" segment. The song (mp3 link) was about how her shapeless, modest fashion sense did not keep him from crushing on her as a kid.

He posted the song to his blog and Betty Aberlin (apparently) left a comment. What a world, right?

Here's the quote, typos and all:

"Dear Jonathan - I can't imagine a more wonderful surprise - and it is a lovely song, with discerning lyrics, on many levels. One of the reasons for the mumu (I know the one you mean - from Afghanistan, I think) aside from the no-budget-for-wardrobe, was the Lady A, was not supposed to be "alluring", but a Big Sister creature - Fred was very clear on this. Hence the shapless empire dresses, which are worn over and over, ovrr the years. This Friday one of the "operas" airs: Windstorm in Bubbleland. I came to Pgh. and found my eay into the Neighborhood because I followed a very funny parody of "Girl From Ipanima" I wanted to sing. It was in THE MAD SHOW (a revue based on Mad Magazine), and unbeknownst to be, it had been written under a false name (Esteban Ria Nido) by Stephen Sondheim. It was called "Boy From". This is more than you wanted to know, but the "softer side" might lie within the pages of a book of poems just published (The White Page Poems), and I do have a bit of back-up cred, having been t=in the original company of Getting My Act Together. There's a funny bit on utube under Alice at the Palace, about halfway through The Lobster Quadrille....but I'm wandering. No one has ever seen fit to honor my character with a song - since Fred. Women continually approached Lady Aberlin's mu mu and asked whether she was pregnant over the years. Daniel Striped Tiger was perhaps my only child. I will ber the wonderful heaven & earth 'round my shoulders from now on, and listen to this lovely song again and again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will run and tell King Tuesday immediately! with love, Betty Aberlin"

Cooooool.