Avenue Q

SYNOPSIS

Avenue Q

Avenue Q moves to a new home after a very successful run at the Noel Coward theatre. Described by some as a street-cred adult version of the popular American children's TV show Sesame Street, Avenue Q uses a broadly similar style of presentation to that of the children's show. Sesame Street style puppets are found in abundance, several of them being parodies of characters in Jim Henson's original production. Like Sesame Street, Avenue Q also uses a mix of live actors and puppet operators to carry the story.

Avenue Q is a musical with an adult theme. There may be puppets on stage, but you won't find them dealing with the concerns and issues of pre-schoolers! Far from it! The Avenue Q puppets are portrayed as a group of twenty and thirty-somethings living in the crumbling back alleys of New York. Their facial features are less welcoming, etched with their experiences of life - and their conversation topics follow suit. On the agenda are attitudes towards racism, pornography and homosexuality. The language is colourful and the jokes crude. Avenue Q is most definitely not for those who are easily offended!

The creation of Avenue Q

Avenue Q was conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with a book by Jeff Whitty. The show's world premiere was on Broadway in 2003, where it met with much acclaim. It won several Tony Awards including award for Best Musical. Today the show continues to run on Broadway and has spun-off several touring and international versions, including the West End production of Avenue Q.

In London's West End Avenue Q debuted at the Noel Coward Theatre in June 2006. It was the first show to be staged at the theatre following its name change from the Albery Theatre at the time of its refurbishment.

Paying homage to Sesame Street

Avenue Q pays homage to Sesame Street and its creator, Jim Henson. Other than the content there are however several distinctions that separate the two productions, making them unique. For example the live actors on stage in Avenue Q are the only humans to relate directly to the puppets. The puppet controllers do not communicate with the puppets. In fact the puppeteers wear dark / black clothing as a way to divert attention from themselves, each one of them responsible for a specific puppet's voice, even if they are not holding that puppet at the time of dialogue.

A more noticeable crossover between Sesame Street and Avenue Q is the use of similarly styled characters in the production. Trekkie Monster is a parody of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster. But instead of suffering an addiction to cookies Trekkie Monster is addicted to Internet porn. The characters of Rod ( a gay Republican investment banker) and Nicky (rod's jobless roommate) -  are also drawn directly from Sesame Street, resembling the puppets of Bert and Ernie.

Theatre tickets for Avenue Q at the Gielgud Theatre are currently available through to Sept, 2009.

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