Episode 0045

Air Date: April 19, 1968
Previous Episode: 0044
Next Episode: 0046
Purchase/Stream: Amazon

Mister Rogers arrives with a top hat, cape, and opera glasses which he puts on in preparation for the Neighorhood of Make-Believe opera. As he demonstrates the glasses, Lady Aberlin arrives wrapped in a feather boa which she will wear in the opera. Together they practice a song that Lady Aberlin will perform in her role as the mother.

In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Reardon is making final preparations for the opera and asks Lady Aberlin to rehearse her song. King Friday is growing impatient for the opera to begin and learns that Sara Saturday is unable to attend due to a babysitting committment. Sara does, however, send a photo of herself to King Friday with her fondest regards.

The opera opens with a mother (Lady Aberlin) going out and leaving her son (Donkey Hodie) with a babysitter. As the son objects to being left by his mother, the babysitter (Henrietta Pussycat) arrives and sings I'm Taking Care of You. The grandfather (Reardon) arrives as well and continues singing. After the mother sings It's Hard to Say Goodbye as she departs, the son expresses his own feelings by singing I'm Missing Someone Badly.

The grandfather and the babysitter comfort the son before playing peek-a-boo with him. Finally, the son's bedtime arrives and he is rocked to sleep as the grandfather sings Tree Tree Tree. The is sleeping soundly as his mother returns and assures viewers that "mothers can go out but they come back."

King Friday is quite touched by the opera's message of missing someone as he sits next to his picture of Sara Saturday. He and the cast retire to the castle's Compliments Room where he will give them all his royal compliments.

Back at the house, Mister Rogers sings I'm Taking Care of You.

Appearing In This Episode

• Donkey Hodie
• Edgar Cooke
• Henrietta Pussycat
• King Friday XIII
• Lady Aberlin
• Mister Rogers
• Reardon
• X the Owl

Songs

• I'm Missing Someone Badly
• I'm Taking Care of You
• It's Hard to Say Goodbye
• Tomorrow
• Tree, Tree, Tree
• Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Images

Episode Credits

Produced by WQED - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for National Educational Television
Neighbors: Betty Aberlin, John Reardon
Producer: Fred Rogers
Director: David Fu-Ying Chen
Psychological Consultants: Margaret McFarland Ph.D., Albert V. Corrado M.D.
Lighting Director: Richard Weiss
Musical Director: Johnny Costa
Assistant Producer: Diana Dean
Technical Supervisor: Jerry Jones
Video: Ken Anderson
Videotape Editor: Tom Knight
Production Assistant: David Newell
Art Director: Joan Thomas
Set Decorator: Bill Law
Executive Producer: Paul K. Taff

Production funds for this series were provided by a grant from The Sears-Roebuck Foundation and a children's program fund established by N.E.T. affiliated stations.

© 1968 National Educational Television and Radio Center