Avenue Q is a Tony
award-winning musical that was
conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and
lyrics. The book is by Jeff Whitty. The show was produced by and
opened at the Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre
in March 2003. The show was directed by Jason
Moore. The production then transferred to Broadway in July
2003 and won several Tony Awards, including the award for Best
Musical. It is still running on Broadway and currently holds the
position of 30th longest running musical in Broadway history. The
show has spawned a 2005 Las Vegas production, a 2006 West End
production and various international productions. A U.S. national
tour began in July 2007.
The show is largely inspired by (and is in the style of)
Sesame Street: Most of the characters in the show are
puppets (operated by actors onstage), the set
depicts several tenements on a rundown street in an "outer borough"
of New York City, both the live characters and puppet characters
sing, and short animated video clips are played as part of the
story. Also, several characters are recognizably parodies of
classic Sesame Street characters: for example, the roommates Rod
and Nicky are versions of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie, and
Trekkie Monster is based on Cookie Monster. However, the characters
are in their twenties and thirties and face adult problems instead
of those faced by pre-schoolers. The characters use profanity, and
the songs concern adult themes. A recurring theme is the central
character's search for a "purpose."
The show is explicitly a homage to the PBS
children's television program Sesame Street. Both Marx and
puppet designer/original cast member, Rick Lyon, have worked for
Sesame Street, as have the other puppeteers in the
original cast. Unlike Sesame Street, Avenue Q
openly addresses adult topics such as racism, pornography, and
homosexuality; in fact, because of its adult language and content
and "full puppet nudity" (including simulated sex between puppets),
the show specifically disclaims any connection to either Sesame
Workshop (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop) or
The Jim Henson Company. In an interview with Britain's The
Times, addressing the question of potential conflicts with
Henson, Marx claimed, “During early previews in the States we
invited Jim Henson's widow and children and they could see that
what we were doing was an homage and love letter to 'Sesame
Street.'”[1]
The characters who are not puppets relate to the puppets, rather
than to the actors holding them. The puppets also speak directly to
each other and never to the actors operating them. During the
course of the show, a puppet character may be operated by more than
one of the actor-operators, although the same actor creates the
voice for a particular puppet even if he or she is not holding the
puppet at the time. The puppeteers wear nondescript black/gray
clothing while the three human characters are dressed in bright
colors, as are the puppets.
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