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Avenue Q, is the 2004 Tony Award musical winner for Best Musical. It opened off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in March 2003, and has been on Broadway at the Golden Theatre since July 31, 2003. It has risque songs about racism, Internet porn, and the difficulties of life, and all but 3 characters are portrayed by puppets.
The show is largely a parody of PBS's Sesame Street, with several characters that are recognizably parodies of classic Muppet characters. For example, the roommates Rod and Nicky are clearly adult versions of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie. Likewise, many of Avenue Q's musical numbers are in a style associated with classic Sesame Street songs.
The music and lyrics are by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. The book is by Jeff Whitty. The original production was directed by Jason Moore and choreographed by Ken Roberson. The puppets were designed by original cast member Rick Lyon.
Plot Details
The main character is Princeton (puppeteered by John Tartaglia), who has just graduated from college with a B.A. in English. He moves into the only apartment complex he can afford, Avenue Q, where his superintendent is Gary Coleman (Natalie Venetia Belcon, one of the three non-puppets). There, he and his neighbors cope with the struggles of real life, and learn that you can't count on things turning out as you'd like.
List of Main Characters
(all cast-members are of the original Broadway cast)
- Princeton, a recently graduated English major; puppeteered by John Tartaglia
- Kate Monster, a lovelorn kindergarten teacher who wishes to create a school for monsters; puppeteered by Stephanie D'Abbruzo
- Rod, a Republican investment banker who is secretly gay; also puppeteered by John Tartaglia
- Nicky, Rod's roommate, a messy slacker; puppeteered by Rick Lyon
- Trekkie Monster, who spends most of his time on the Internet looking at porn; also puppeteered by Rick Lyon
- Lucy the Slut, a nightclub singer who is as slutty as her name suggests; also puppeteered by Stephanie D'Abbruzo
- Gary Coleman, the former star of Diff'rent Strokes, is the superintendent of Avenue Q; a non-puppet character, he is played by Natalie Venetia Belcon
- Brian, a down-on-his-luck 32-year old who has trouble keeping steady employment and dreams of being a stand-up comedian; a non-puppet character, he is played by Jordan Gelber
- Christmas Eve, a Japanese immigrant, she is a therapist who has no clients; a non-puppet character, she is played by Ann Harada
List of Songs
- The Avenue Q Theme - Company
- What Do You Do with a B.A. in English? - Princeton
- It Sucks to be Me - Brian, Kate Monster, Rod, Nicky, Christmas Eve, Princeton, Gary Coleman
- If You Were Gay - Rod, Nicky
- Purpose - Princeton
- Everyone's a Little Bit Racist - Princeton, Kate Monster, Gary Coleman, Brian, Christmas Eve
- The Internet Is for Porn - Kate Monster, Trekkie Monster, Brian, Gary Coleman, Rod, Princeton
- Mix Tape - Kate Monster, Princeton
- I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today - Brian
- Special - Lucy the Slut
- You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love) - Princeton, Kate Monster, Gary Coleman, Christmas Eve, Brian, Trekkie Monster
- Fantasies Come True - Rod, Nicky, Kate Monster, Princeton
- My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada - Rod
- There's a Fine, Fine, Line - Kate Monster
- There Is Life Outside Your Apartment - Brian, Princeton, Christmas Eve, Trekkie Monster, Lucy the Slut
- The More You Ruv Someone - Christmas Eve, Kate Monster
- Schadenfreude - Gary Coleman, Nicky
- I Wish I Could Go Back to College - Kate Monster, Nicky, Princeton
- The Money Song - Nicky, Princeton, Gary Coleman, Christmas Eve, Brian
- School for Monsters - Trekkie Monster
- The Money Song (Reprise) - Nicky, Princeton, Gary Coleman, Christmas Eve, Brian
- There's a Fine, Fine, Line (Reprise) - Kate Monster, Christmas Eve, Princeton
- What Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Reprise) - Newcomer, Gary Coleman, Princeton, Brian
- For Now - Company
Special Events
On September 30, 2004, the day of the first Bush-Kerry presidential debate, the cast of Avenue Q presented their version, called Avenue Q&A. Rick Lyon puppeteered George W. Bush while Jennifer Barnhart manipulated John Kerry. Each puppet sang to the other in response to questions from the musical's puppets, and then the whole cast sung to the rain-drenched crowds to "Vote your heart!"
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Avenue Q
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