Avenue Q

Avenue Q

Avenue Q

It is a notorious show that has won widespread acclaim and plenty of suspicious glances, whilst also managing to attract some big name stars to witness the spectacle. It features outrageous puppet characters engaging in depraved acts and characters whose dreams are squashed. It can only be “Avenue Q”, a show that some have described as a mix between “Sesame Street” and “South Park”, whilst others have refused to define it. However you describe it, “Avenue Q” has been a monumental success, making stars of its performers and leaving people eager for more.

But what is “Avenue Q” all about? In it, we meet Princeton, a dreaming youngster who has just graduated from College and has high hopes for the future. What he does not expect is to move into a Manhattan street and experience a world of depravity beyond his comfort zone, but that is exactly what happens when he moves into Avenue Q! This sordid street is going to offer him plenty of sexual distractions and colourful characters, subverting the puppetry we have been familiar with from children’s television shows over the decades. Amongst the inhabitants are a Rod, a gay Republican; Nicky, a jobless layabout; Trekkie Monster, a parody of the Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” who is addicted to internet porn; Lucy the Slut and Kate Monster. But it’s not just puppets that appear onstage, there are some human performers there as well, with the actors behind the scenes hidden away so as not to spoil the illusion.

If that isn’t enough to convince you that this is no normal puppet show, then perhaps the songs will be sufficient, with titles such as “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist”, “The Internet Is For Porn”, “It Sucks To Be Me” and “If You Were Gay”.

It would be an understatement to call “Avenue Q” a puppet musical with an adult theme and the show deals with some contentious topics, from racism to homosexuality with references to addiction and pornography along the way. The story is littered with colourful language and crude gags, whilst still managing to display skilled writing and execution that has led to an array of Awards landing at its doorsteps.

Having originated on Broadway in 2003, the brainchild of Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, “Avenue Q” has won many Tony Awards (Best Original Score, Best New Musical and Best Book of a Musical) and spawned countless international productions, allowing audiences around the globe the opportunity to witness the proceedings. Amongst them is the West End version, which originally opened its doors at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2006, but has since found a new home in the form of the Gielgud Theatre.

The show’s producer Cameron Mackintosh is amongst those who have been surprised of the success, citing the climate when the show opened in 2006 as a time when the critics ‘didn’t get it’ and subsequently predicted it would “only last three months”. Instead, it has gone from strength to strength, whilst attracting names such as Julie Atherton, Joanna Ampil, Daniel Boys, Edward Baruwa, Christopher Fry and Mark Goldthorp to the stage.

“Avenue Q” continues at its home of the Gielgud Theatre, where it is now booking until March 2010 and it will then move to its new home at Wyndham's Theatre.

Venue Information and Directions

Wyndham's Theatre
Charing Cross Rd
London
WC2H 0DA

Seating Plan

Directions

Directions
Take the Piccadilly or Northern line to Leicester Square station. The theatre is outside the station.