Avenue Q

Background

Avenue Q's unique presentation requires substantially more suspension of disbelief by audience members than normal. The cast consists of three human characters and eleven puppet characters who interact as if human, Sesame Street-style. The puppets are animated and voiced by actor/puppeteers who are present, unconcealed, onstage, but remain "invisible" relative to the storyline. That is, the puppets and human characters completely ignore the puppeteers, and the audience is expected to do so as well. This can be a challenge, as puppeteering mechanics are at times complex: The same puppet may be operated by different puppeteers in different scenes, and the actor voicing the puppet may not be the one animating it. (To assist in the illusion the puppeteers wear plain gray clothing, in contrast to the human characters' colorful costumes.) One puppeteer sometimes voices two or more puppets simultaneously. Conversely, the so-called "live-hands" puppets (see Puppets) require two puppeteers — again, in full view of the audience.

The show draws considerable inspiration from Sesame Street and substantially imitates its format. Marx interned at the program early in his career, and all four of the original cast's principal puppeteers—John Tartaglia, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Jennifer Barnhart and Rick Lyon—were Sesame Street performers. (D'Abruzzo returned to Sesame Street after leaving Avenue Q). Three of the puppet characters are direct, recognizable parodies of classic Sesame Street puppets: Roommates Rod and Nicky are a riff on Bert and Ernie, while Trekkie Monster bears the distinctive voice and disposition of Cookie Monster, though not his obsession with baked goods. (The production officially disclaims any connection with either Sesame Workshop or The Jim Henson Company.)

All of the characters, puppet and human, represent "amalgamations of things and feelings [Marx and Lopez had been] going through personally." The characters are young adults, searching for their "purpose" in life, and facing real-world adult problems with uncertain outcomes, as opposed to the simplistic problems and invariably happy resolutions faced by characters on children's television programming. Much of the show's ironic humor arises from its contrasts with Sesame Street, a metaphor of the contrasts between childhood and adulthood, and between the children's TV world and the real world. The story line presupposes the existence of "monsters" and talking animals; and human actors sing, dance, and interact with puppets, both human and non-human, as if they were sentient beings, in a light-hearted, quasi-fantasy environment. (No attempt is made to explain why seven of the human characters are played by puppets, while the other three are played by actual humans.) However, the characters face real-world problems; they use abundant profanity in dialogue and musical lyrics; there are episodes of "full puppet nudity" (and puppet sex); and many songs and sub-plots address decidedly adult themes, such as racism, pornography, homosexuality, and schadenfreude.

The show also employs a highly unusual plot device: a real-life celebrity inserted as a fictional character within the story. Gary Coleman, the juvenile actor who played Arnold Jackson in the 1980s American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and later famously sued his parents and business advisers over misappropriation of his assets, is portrayed (by a woman in most productions) as an adult, forced to accept a job as a building superintendent in the run-down Avenue Q neighborhood due to his dire financial situation. The show's creators have explained this trope as an illustration of "one of the most important themes in Avenue Q...that life isn't as easy as we've been led to believe...and who better to symbolize the oh-so-special-as-a-kid/but-not-so-special-as-an-adult thing we all faced than Gary Coleman? He's practically the poster child."

Marx and Lopez have also said that they originally intended to offer the Gary Coleman role to Coleman himself, and he expressed interest in accepting it; but he never showed up for a meeting scheduled to discuss it. Coleman later threatened repeatedly to sue Avenue Q producers for their depiction of him, but ultimately did not.

When Coleman died on May 28, 2010, casts of both the Off-Broadway production in New York City and the second national tour in Dallas dedicated that evening's performances to his memory. The Coleman character remains in the show with modified dialogue.

Plot

Setting: a fictional street in an "outer-outer borough" of New York City.

Act 1

Princeton, a recent college graduate, is anxious to discover his purpose in life; but first, he must find an apartment and a job, with no work experience and an English degree. ("What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?") Beginning his search on Avenue A, he finally finds an affordable apartment on Avenue Q. His new neighbors are Kate Monster, a kindergarten teaching assistant; Rod, an anal-retentive Republican banker; Nicky, Rod's slacker roommate; Brian, an aspiring comedian recently laid off from his day job; Christmas Eve, Brian's Japanese fiancée and a therapist with no clients; Trekkie Monster, a surly recluse who surfs the Internet all day in search of porn; and Gary Coleman, the building superintendent. Arguments ensue over whose life sucks the most. ("It Sucks to Be Me")

Nicky, who is straight, suspects that Rod is gay, and assures Rod it is okay with him if he is; but Rod insists he is not. ("If You Were Gay") Princeton finds a lucky penny and longs to discover his purpose in life. ("Purpose") Kate dreams of starting a "Monstersori" school for young "people of fur". Princeton innocently asks Kate if she and Trekkie are related, since they are both monsters, but Kate angrily pronounces his assumption racist. Princeton, taken aback, counters that Kate's Monstersori School would discriminate against non-monsters. They and the neighbors agree that racism is an adult reality. ("Everyone's a Little Bit Racist")

Princeton receives money from his parents, and the Bad Idea Bears, two charming troublemakers, convince him to spend it on beer. Kate's boss, Mrs. Thistletwat, assigns Kate to teach the next morning's kindergarten class, her first solo teaching opportunity. She decides that her lesson will be about the Internet and all its educational attributes, but Trekkie Monster and the male neighbors explain another reality of adulthood: Lots of adults—even "normal people"—use it to find pornography. ("The Internet is for Porn")

Princeton gives Kate a mixtape. His song selections are puzzling, making her wonder what message he is trying to send, but eventually she decides that he must like her. ("Mixtape") Sure enough, he invites her on a date to the Around the Clock Café. Brian, the café's MC, does his raunchy standup act. ("I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today") He then introduces Lucy the Slut, a skanky chanteuse who wows the guys, especially Princeton, with a seductive cabaret number. ("Special") The Bad Idea Bears suggest that Kate and Princeton order some "harmless" Long Island Iced Teas, and once Kate is totally inebriated, that Princeton take her home to bed.

Kate and Princeton have enthusiastic, high-decibel sex. Gary fields angry calls from other tenants but refuses to intercede. ("You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want When You're Makin' Love") Meanwhile, Rod hears Nicky say, "I love you, Rod," in his sleep, and is jubilant—but eventually realizes it was he who was dreaming. Kate and Princeton profess their mutual love, and Princeton gives Kate his lucky penny. ("Fantasies Come True")

The next morning, a hung-over Kate oversleeps and misses her teaching assignment. Mrs. Thistletwat berates her, and Kate angrily quits her job before she can be fired. Christmas Eve decides unilaterally that it is time she and Brian were married. At the wedding Nicky blurts out his suspicion that Rod is gay. Rod, furious, insists he has a girlfriend named Alberta in Vancouver ("My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada") and tells Nicky he is no longer welcome in their apartment.

When Kate catches Christmas Eve's wedding bouquet, Princeton panics, confesses a fear of commitment, and asks Kate if they can just be friends. Kate retorts that she already has plenty of friends, and breaks off their relationship. ("There's a Fine, Fine Line")

Act 2

A despondent Princeton has been holed up in his apartment after breaking up with Kate, but is coaxed out by the neighbors. ("There is Life Outside Your Apartment") Lucy is looking for a place to crash and seduces the rebounding Princeton. Kate is angry, but Christmas Eve explains that she would not be angry if she were not in love with him. ("The More You Ruv Someone") Kate writes a note to Princeton suggesting that they rendezvous at the Empire State Building and leaves it with Lucy, who promptly destroys it. A homeless Nicky laments his fate to Gary, who confesses that he is deriving pleasure from Nicky's misfortune. ("Schadenfreude")

On the Empire State Building's viewing platform, Kate, thinking that Princeton has stood her up, throws his lucky penny away. A hundred stories below, Lucy, walking by on Fifth Avenue, is knocked unconscious by the penny. Kate and Princeton unsuccessfully attempt to work out their problems over Lucy's comatose body. Rod is too proud to accept Nicky's repeated apologies, despite clearly missing him, and tearfully consults Christmas Eve. Princeton, Kate, and Nicky dream of returning to happier times. ("I Wish I Could Go Back to College")

Princeton gives a still-homeless, panhandling Nicky a quarter, and marvels at how fantastic he feels. Since thinking only about himself has gotten him nowhere, he decides to raise money to build Kate's Monstersori School. He solicits everyone, even breaking the fourth wall to shake down the audience, ("The Money Song") with disappointing results; but Trekkie Monster, recalling his own traumatic school experience, donates ten million dollars—explaining to the astonished cast, "In volatile market, only stable investment is porn!" ("School for Monsters/The Money Song (Reprise)")

Kate joyfully opens her new school. Brian lands a consulting job and Christmas Eve finally has a paying client (Rod), so the newlyweds move to a better neighborhood. Rod finally comes out, to no one's particular surprise, and takes Nicky back in. Nicky finds Rod a boyfriend—Ricky, a muscle-bound hunk who otherwise looks and sounds exactly like Nicky. The Bad Idea Bears discover Scientology. Lucy, recovered from her head injury, becomes a born-again Christian and takes a vow of chastity. Kate and Princeton agree to give their relationship another go. ("There's a Fine, Fine Line (Reprise)")

A new college graduate inquires about the vacancy in the building, ("What Do You Do with a BA in English (Reprise)") and Princeton has an epiphany: maybe his purpose is to put everything he learned into a Broadway musical. Everybody, especially the new guy, immediately ridicules him. The cast reminds Princeton that in the real world many people never find their purpose; but life goes on, and everything—both good and bad—is "only for now." ("For Now")

Musical numbers

‡ = "It Sucks to Be Me (Reprise)" was not part of the original show or original cast recording. It was added to the Las Vegas production, and subsequently became part of the current off-Broadway show.

Instrumentation

The musical is scored for bass (acoustic and electric), drums/percussion (drum kit, bell tree, bongos, china cymbal, cowbell, egg shaker, finger cymbals, ice bell, mark tree, ratchet, siren whistle, slide whistle, tambourine, temple blocks, triangle, vibraslap, and wood block), guitars (acoustic, electric, and banjo), reeds (Bb clarinet, alto sax, and flute), and two electronic keyboards.

Other Avenue Q songs

Eight additional songs were written for Avenue Q or associated promotions, but are not part of the show itself.

Puppets

The Avenue Q puppets, which cost up to $10,000 each, and require up to 120 hours of hand fabrication per character, were designed and built by original cast member Rick Lyon. Lyon's company, Lyon Puppets, continues to build and maintain the puppets used in all North American productions, and several of the international productions, including those from the UK, Australia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, while supervising the construction of those from the Finnish and Swedish productions. Their unusually sturdy construction, with double-stitching, reinforced seams, steel boning, and custom fake fur and feathers, is necessitated by the rigors of an eight-shows-per-week performance schedule.

Two distinct types of puppets are used in the show:

Rod puppets

Single Rod: Princeton, Kate Monster, Newcomer
Double Rod: Rod, Lucy, The Bad Idea Bears
Rod puppets consist of a head and a torso with two arms, at least one of which is movable for gestures. "Single rod" puppets have one moveable arm controlled by one rod, with the other arm "posed" in a permanent gesture or attached to the puppet's torso; both arms are moveable on "double rod" puppets, each controlled by a separate rod. The puppeteer controls the puppet's head and mouth with his or her dominant hand, and holds one or both rods in the other hand.

Live-hands puppets

Nicky, Trekkie Monster, Mrs. Thistletwat, Ricky
Live-hands puppets require two puppeteers, each of whom contributes one hand and arm dressed with a long sleeve and glove matching the puppet's costume, which become the arms and hands of the puppet. The speaking puppeteer controls the puppet's left hand, head, and mouth, while the second, silent operator controls the right hand. (Sides are sometimes reversed if the speaking puppeteer is left-handed.) During the show, one puppeteer will sometimes leave to take over another puppet, leaving the live-hands puppet with a single operator and only one functioning hand. In a variation, one or both of the puppet's hands can be attached to its torso to permit operation by a single puppeteer.

2003 Off-Broadway

Avenue Q ran Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre for 72 performances from March 19 through May 4, 2003. The musical won the 2003 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical and Outstanding Sound Design (Brett Jarvis). It was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director (Jason Moore), Outstanding Choreographer (Ken Roberson) and Outstanding Scenic Design (Anna Louizos). It won the 2003–2004 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Puppet Artistry and the 2004 GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and Off-Broadway

2003 Broadway

Avenue Q opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre on July 31, 2003, following previews from July 10. The production was directed by Jason Moore and choreographed by Ken Roberson, with set design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, musical direction by Gary Adler, and puppet design by Rick Lyon. It was produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller. The show was nominated for six Tony Awards and won three, in the categories of Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Original Book.

After 22 previews and 2,534 regular performances, it closed on September 13, 2009. As of June 21, 2009, the production had grossed over $117 million and had returned profits of $23.5 million to its investors. (All of the money collected from the audience during "The Money Song" is donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.)

2005 Las Vegas

In September 2005, Avenue Q opened at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas under a production contract that precluded Avenue Q tours in North America during the Las Vegas run. A new 1,200 seat theater was built especially for the show. Variations from the Broadway production included a new reprise of "It Sucks to Be Me" for Princeton at the top of Act Two, some new orchestrations, a trimmed "The Money Song," and a new rock arrangement of "There Is Life Outside Your Apartment," as well as a few jokes written specifically for Las Vegas audiences.

Attendance was well below anticipated levels, due at least in part to the constant turnover of tourists in Las Vegas, which rendered the cultivation of word-of-mouth publicity virtually impossible. In mid-January 2006 the show was cut to 90 minutes and the intermission was removed. Hotel owner Steve Wynn promoted the show heavily, at one point decorating 20 city cabs in orange fuzz and large white "Q" letters. All such efforts were unsuccessful, and the show closed on May 28, 2006 after a nine-month run, terminating the exclusivity agreement and opening the way for national tours.

2006 West End

A Cameron Mackintosh-produced version of Avenue Q premiered in 2006 in the West End at the Noël Coward Theatre (formerly the Albery Theatre). Several adaptive changes were made for British audiences, including portrayal of the Gary Coleman character by a male actor. The production ran 1,179 performances through March 2009, then reopened in June 2009 at the Gielgud Theatre. After a further 327 performances, the show moved in March 2010 to the Wyndham's Theatre, where it closed on October 30, 2010 after a five-year run.

2007 US and Canada tour

The first national tour began at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego, California on June 30, 2007.Broadway director and choreographer Jason Moore and Ken Roberson returned in those roles, as did most other Broadway creative team members. The tour played a total of 721 performances in 22 cities, and closed at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin on May 10, 2009.

2009 Off-Broadway

After the show closed on Broadway, it reopened in New York at the New World Stages complex on October 9, 2009, where it is still running today.

2009 US tour

A second national tour opened in Clemson, South Carolina in September 2009 under direction of the same creative team, and closed in Huntsville, Alabama on April 23, 2011.

2009 Australian and New Zealand productions

An Australian production opened in June 2009 at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria, directed by Jonathan Biggins and featuring a local cast, including Michala Banas as Kate/Lucy. The production visited Sydney in August, before touring Canberra (Australian Capital Territory), Perth (Western Australia), Adelaide (South Australia), Brisbane (Queensland), and Auckland in New Zealand, and closed in June 2010. The show won a number of Helpmann Awards, including Best Direction, Best Actress and Best Actor.

2011 and 2012 UK and Ireland tours

The first UK national tour began at the Theatre Royal Bath in February, 2011 and closed at Northampton's Derngate in July.

A second UK tour began in January, 2012 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, with additional performances in Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Bath, Wolverhampton, Rhyl, Stoke, Swindon, Dublin, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cambridge, Oxford, Leicester, Salford, Glasgow, Coventry, Brighton, Liverpool, Southend, Nottingham, Hull, Southampton, Leeds, Newcastle and Dunstable.

In Ireland, Avenue Q ran from 3–7 April 2012 at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (formerly known as the Grand Canal Theatre)

2014–2016 UK and Hong Kong tour

Sell A Door Theatre Company launched a British revival of the show in April 2014, which ran for 3 weeks at Greenwich Theatre, followed by a 12-week UK tour. The tour differed from the West End production in that Gary Coleman, as in the Broadway production, was portrayed by a female actress.

In November 2014 the tour transferred to Hong Kong.

Sell A Door presents a UK tour in 2015–2016, starting in April 2015 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. and running for 16 months.

2015 Sydney Australia

Avenue Q ran for 15 shows at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia beginning in July 2015.

2016 Melbourne Australia

Avenue Q had a limited season at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne in August 2016 produced by Prince Moo Productions and directed by Peter J Snee.

Casting

Principal original casts of major productions of Avenue Q:

Avenue Q: School Edition

Avenue Q: School Edition, a collaboration of the creators of Avenue Q and Music Theatre International, was created to facilitate production of the musical by high school drama departments. Most of the profanity and sexual themes are removed from the script and score, and two songs ("My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada" and "You Can Be As Loud as the Hell You Want") are removed. "The Internet is For Porn" is replaced with "My Social Life is Online," and Trekkie's obsession with pornography is replaced by an obsession with social networking sites. The characters Mrs. Thistletwat and Lucy the Slut are renamed Mrs. Butz and Lucy, respectively. The scenes involving the Bad Idea Bears are altered to put less emphasis on alcohol. MTI states that these alterations make the musical easier for high schools to perform, while at the same time, maintaining the original intent and integrity of the piece.

Avenue Q promotional events

On September 30, 2004, the day of the first Bush–Kerry presidential debate, on a stage set up in Times Square, the cast of Avenue Q presented their version of the debate, called Avenue Q&A, with portrait puppets of Bush and Kerry created by Rick Lyon. Eighteen television networks covered the event. Lyon operated the Bush puppet, while Jennifer Barnhart operated the Kerry puppet. Each puppet sang responses to questions from Avenue Q's concerned residents, and the whole cast sang "Vote Your Heart" (see Other Songs above) to the rain-drenched crowd.

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa puppets created by Lyon hosted the first few minutes of an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly. In addition, Rod and John Tartaglia did "man on the street"-style interviews on the 2005 NBC broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Rod and John also appeared alongside other Broadway stars in a World AIDS Day benefit concert of Pippin held at the Manhattan Center on November 29, 2004; Rod played "The Head."

In another World AIDS Day benefit in 2005, the original cast of Avenue Q and the cast of the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof presented a 10-minute spoof of both musicals called "Avenue Jew." As a brief prologue, Trekkie Monster poorly plays the Fiddler theme, pauses a moment, shrugs, and then eats the fiddle before running away. Tevye, his wife Golde, his two remaining daughters and the fiddler, having immigrated to the USA, arrive on Avenue Jew, an area inhabited by Jewish versions of the Avenue Q characters. Kate Monster welcomes them and the family express unbelieable the fact a puppet is talking to them; Tevye introduces himself and his family and finally realizes that the fiddler is with them, so he chasing him away. Later in the song "The Puppets/The Humans," the humans are fed up with the puppets upstaging them; Tevye and his family meet Brian and his wife "Hannuka Eve" when Jewish-American Princeton arrives asking "What do you do with a B.A. in Yiddish?" One of Tevye's daughter's, Shprintze, falls in love with Princeton, but Tevye forbids their union even when he likes him. Princeton only says "I know, I know. If I were a human...". Rod begs the Matchmaker to find him a mate, and the Matchmaker, played by Mrs. Thistletwat, sets Rod up with Lazar Wolf ("I'm a lonely man, Tevye"). Shprintze tells his father that she and Princeton wants to be married, and after a very brief interior monologue ("I'll be brief. On the other hand; on the other hand; tradition; ...sure, go ahead!") Tevye finally consents to Princeton and Shprintze's marriage; they leave the stage to prepare their wedding much for Kate's horror who insults Shprintze as she leaves. Rod and Lazar Wolf also wish to be wed, and ask permission from the Tsar puppet, who forbids a gay marriage. Ben Brantley interrupts, asking who the real Jewish people in the cast are, and the company concludes that "everyone's a little bit Jewish" and "in theatre you can be whatever you want to be" as they celebrate Princeton and Shprintze's wedding.

In November 2005, the Avenue Q website held a "One Night Stand" contest for amateur puppeteers and their puppets. Andrew MacDonald Smith and his puppet Maurice Tipo won, and on March 10, 2006, appeared in the evening performance in the opening song, the café scene, and the curtain call.

In July 2006, several members of Avenue Q performed for the opening ceremonies of the Gay Games in Chicago. In October 2006, Jonathan Root and Princeton presented the award for Best Young Adult Novel at the Quill Awards. In November 2006, the London cast appeared on the BBC program Children in Need and performed "It Sucks To Be Me." In December 2006, the London cast performed on the Royal Variety Performance and performed "It Sucks To Be Me," "For Now," and "Special," in which Lucy The Slut suggested through lyrics and dialogue she was making a pass at Charles, Prince of Wales.

The cast and puppets appeared briefly in the 2007 "This Is New York" tourist ad campaign.

The cast and puppets took to the stage at Trafalgar Square on 4 July 2009 as part of the "London Pride 2009" celebration, performing "If You Were Gay", "Special" and "For Now" with 'Lucy The Slut' assuring all the ladies in the audience that she is bisexual.

Cast members appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on August 13, 2009 to promote the last month of shows, performing "The Internet is for Porn" for the first time on national television.

As a response to the Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody video, Avenue Q created a video called We Will Rock Q. Released on YouTube on May 4, 2010, it features the Off-Broadway cast performing covers of the Queen songs "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".

Original Broadway cast recording

The original cast recording was made on August 10, 2003, at Right Track Studio A in New York City, produced by Grammy Award winner Jay David Saks for RCA Victor. The album contains almost all of the music from the show, with the original Broadway cast and orchestra. Released on October 6, 2003, it has been in the top ten of the Billboard Top Cast Album Chart since the chart's launch on January 12, 2006. It was nominated for the Musical Show Album category in the 2004 Grammy Awards. According to Playbill, it was likely the first cast recording to use a Parental Advisory label.

An Original Madrid Cast Album was recorded live at Teatro Nuevo Apolo on October 9, 2010 and released on November, 2010.

A German cast album was released on April 21, 2013.

Critical reception

Avenue Q received generally favorable reviews, both nationally and internationally.

New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley called it a "...savvy, sassy and eminently likable...breakthrough musical", and compared its potential long-term influence to West Side Story and The King and I. The New Yorker described it as "...an ingenious combination of 'The Real World' and Sesame Street". The Times described it as "...how Friends might be if it had Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy arguing about their one-night stand, but with more angst, expletives and full-on puppet sex."

Avenue Q made Entertainment Weekly's 2010 end-of-the-decade "best-of" list: "This 2003 smash musical is Sesame Street for grown-ups, with filthy-minded puppets who teach useful lessons like 'The Internet Is for Porn.' Somewhere, Big Bird is molting."