| Avenue Q | |
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 Avenue Q logo | |
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| Book | Jeff Whitty |
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Avenue Q is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics byRobert Lopez andJeff Marx and a book byJeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody ofSesame Street, but its content involves adult-oriented themes. It has been praised for its approach to themes of racism, homosexuality and internet pornography.
The musical premieredoff-Broadway in 2003 at theVineyard Theatre, co-produced by the Vineyard Theatre andThe New Group. In July of that same year, the show moved to theJohn Golden Theatre on Broadway, where it ran until 2009, playing for over 2,500 performances.[1] It transferred to the off-BroadwayNew World Stages within weeks of ending its Broadway run, where it played until 2019; together, the two productions played 6,569 performances.[2] Major productions have been staged in Las Vegas and theWest End, and the musical has been staged and toured in several countries around the world. A school-friendly script has been produced.
The principal cast includes four puppeteers and three human actors. The puppet characters, Princeton, Kate, Nicky, and others, are played by the unconcealed puppeteers as the costumed human actors interact with the puppets.
Avenue Q's cast consists of three human characters who interact with eleven puppet characters. The puppets are animated and voiced by puppeteers who appear on stage, unconcealed. The puppet and human characters ignore the puppeteers, creating the illusion that the puppets are alive. To assist with the illusion, the puppeteers wear plain gray clothing in contrast to the human and puppet characters' colorful costumes. The same puppet may be operated by different puppeteers in different scenes, and the actor voicing the puppet may be, at times, not the one animating it. One puppeteer sometimes voices two or more puppets simultaneously. Conversely, the so-called "live-hands" puppets require two puppeteers – again, in full view of the audience.
The show draws inspiration from and imitates the format of children's educational television showSesame Street. 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 andRick Lyon – wereSesame Street performers (D'Abruzzo returned toSesame Street after leavingAvenue Q[3]). Three of the puppet characters are direct recognizable parodies ofSesame Street puppets: Roommates Rod and Nicky are a riff onBert and Ernie,[4] while Trekkie Monster bears the distinctive voice and disposition ofCookie Monster, though not his obsession with baked goods. (The production officially disclaims any connection with eitherSesame Workshop orThe Jim Henson Company.)[5]
All of the characters (puppet and human) are young adults who face real-world problems with uncertain solutions, as opposed to the simplistic problems and invariably happy resolutions encountered by characters on children's television programming. Much of the show's ironic humor emerges from its contrasts withSesame Street, including the differences between innocent childhood experiences and complex adulthood. The storyline 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. However, the characters use a considerable amount of profanity, and puppet nudity and sex are portrayed. The show addresses adult themes, such as racism, pornography,coming out, andschadenfreude.
Three of the human characters are portrayed by human actors, while the other characters intended to be perceived as humans are puppets.[6] One character played by a human actor is a fictionalized version of the real-life celebrityGary Coleman, the juvenile actor who playedArnold Jackson in the 1980s American sitcomDiff'rent Strokes and later famously sued his parents and business advisers for stealing his earnings.[7] Coleman is portrayed (by a woman in most productions) as an adult, who happens to be the building superintendent in the run-down Avenue Q neighborhood due to his dire financial situation. Marx and Lopez said that they originally intended to offer the Gary Coleman role to Coleman himself, and he expressed interest in accepting it, but did not show up for a meeting scheduled to discuss it. They stated that the character illustrates "one of the most important themes inAvenue Q ... that life isn't as easy as we've been led to believe".[8] Coleman threatened to sueAvenue Q producers for their depiction of him, but ultimately he did not.[9]
When Coleman died on May 28, 2010, casts of both theoff-Broadway production in New York City and the second national tour in Dallas dedicated that evening's performances to his memory.[10][11] The Coleman character remains in the show with modified dialogue.[12]
The show is set on a fictional street in an "outer-outer borough" of New York City.
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, akindergarten assistant teacher who longs for a boyfriend; Rod, anobsessively neatRepublican investment banker; Nicky, Rod'sslacker roommate; Brian, an aspiring comedian recently laid off from his catering job; Christmas Eve, Brian's Japanese fiancée and atherapist with no clients; Trekkie Monster, a surly recluse who surfs the Internet all day in search of pornography; andGary Coleman, the former child actor who now serves as the apartment superintendent. Debates ensue over whose life is worst, and they conclude that it is Coleman's ("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 otherwise ("If You Were Gay"). While moving into his apartment, Princeton learns that he has beenlaid off from the job he had lined up. He finds a penny minted in his birth year, declaring it a sign that he will soon find his purpose in life ("Purpose"). Kate Monster 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. Gary, Brian, and Christmas Eve join them in agreeing that racism, while problematic, is an adult reality ("Everyone's a Little Bit Racist").
Princeton receives money from his parents. The Bad Idea Bears, two charming troublemakers, convince him to spend it on beer. Kindergarten teacher 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 neighbors explain another reality of adulthood: many adults, even "normal people", use it to find pornography ("The Internet is for Porn").
Princeton gives Kate amixtape. His puzzling song selections make her question his intended message, but eventually, she decides that he must like her after he invites her on a date to the Around the Clock Café ("Mixtape"). Brian opens the show with his lame stand-up act ("I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today"), before introducing skanky chanteuse Lucy the Slut, 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, Princeton takes her home to bed, where they 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 he eventually realizes he was dreaming. Kate and Princeton profess their mutual love, and he gives her 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 none of them have ever met ("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 his fear of commitment, and asks Kate if they can just be friends. Kate retorts that she already has many friends, and ends their relationship ("There's a Fine, Fine Line").
A despondent Princeton has been holed up in his apartment after breaking up with Kate ("It Sucks to Be Me" (reprise)), but the neighbors coax him outside, where he once again runs into Lucy, who seduces the rebounding Princeton ("There is Life Outside Your Apartment"). Kate is angry, but Christmas Eve explains that it means she is in love with him ("The More You Ruv Someone"). Kate writes a note to Princeton suggesting that they rendezvous at theEmpire State Building and leaves it with Lucy, who promptly destroys it. Nicky, having been kicked off of all his friends' couches, laments his fate to Gary who confesses that he is deriving pleasure from Nicky's misfortune; they agree that this, while morally wrong, is yet another reality ("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, who had just dumped Princeton for lacking a job, plans or money, is knocked unconscious by the penny. At the hospital, Kate figures out that Lucy sabotaged the meeting, while Kate and Princeton unsuccessfully try 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 thefourth wall to shake down the audience, but the results are disappointing ("The Money Song"). Then Trekkie Monster, recalling his own traumatic school experiences, donates ten million dollars and explains to the astonished cast that "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 finallycomes out, unsurprisingly, 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 discoverScientology. Lucy, having recovered from her head injury, becomes aborn-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 B.A. in English" (reprise)), and Princeton has an epiphany: he concludes that his purpose may be to put everything he has learned into a Broadway musical. Everybody, especially the newcomer, 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").
Note: These descriptions come from the Characters section in the script.
Principal original casts of major productions ofAvenue Q:
| Character | Original Broadway Cast | Original London Cast | First National Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton/Rod | John Tartaglia | Jon Robyns | Rob McClure |
| Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut | Stephanie D'Abruzzo | Julie Atherton | Kelli Sawyer |
| Nicky/Trekkie Monster/Bear | Rick Lyon | Simon Lipkin | Christian Anderson |
| Gary Coleman | Natalie Venetia Belcon | Giles Terera | Carla Renata |
| Christmas Eve | Ann Harada | Angela Ai | |
| Brian | Jordan Gelber | Sion Lloyd | Cole Porter |
| Mrs. T/Bear | Jennifer Barnhart | Clare Foster | Minglie Chen |
Source:[17]
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The rental version of 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 woodblock), guitars (acoustic, electric, and banjo), reeds (B♭ clarinet, alto sax, flute), and two electronic keyboards.[18]
Nine additional songs were written forAvenue Q or associated promotions, but are not part of the original Broadway production itself.
TheAvenue Q puppets, which cost up to $10,000 each, and require up to 120 hours of hand fabrication per character,[28] were designed and built by original cast member Rick Lyon.[29] Lyon's company, The Lyon Puppets, built and maintained the puppets used in all North American productions, and several of the international productions, while supervising the construction of those from other productions.[citation needed]
Three distinct types of puppets are used in the show:
Single Rod: Princeton, Kate Monster
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 movable arm controlled by one rod, with the other arm "posed" in a permanent gesture or attached to the puppet's torso; both arms are movable 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.[30]
Nicky, Trekkie Monster, Mrs. Thistletwat
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 exit 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.
Mechanized puppets are not directly controlled by the puppeteer's hand. Instead, they are controlled by a concealed trigger that when pulled causes the mouth to open. The motion is similar to a toy grabber. Princeton's cardboard boxes, also used in "Purpose", are examples of such puppets. Free hand puppets do not have rods, mechanisms, or live-hands for their arms. While their head controls are the same as a rod puppet, the hands are moved by physically picking them up and moving them. In the show Ricky is the only puppet with this design because it is intended for use by a left handed puppeteer.[citation needed]
Jeff Marx metRobert Lopez at a songwriting class at theBMI Workshop.[31] As part of the workshop, the two decided to write songs for a speculative Muppet movie based onHamlet calledKermit, Prince of Denmark. Encouraged by the class response to their songs, they decided to have someone actually performing a puppet present a song, since they were writing them for puppets. Through mutual friends, they contacted Rick Lyon, who agreed to performKermit singing a song in their class. He performed a Kermit replica puppet while sitting on a stool in full view of the audience. This visible puppeteer approach became a key component ofAvenue Q.Kermit, Prince of Denmark was pitched to, but was ultimately turned down by, theHenson family.[32] The duo then decided to create a new show, with original puppet characters, which was a parody ofSesame Street. Lyon created the puppets.[33]Avenue Q was originally conceived as a show for television, but following a public reading presented for potential producers/investors in 2000, Broadway producers Robyn Goodman and Jeffrey Seller expressed interest in developing it into a theatrical property.[27]
Avenue Q ran off-Broadway at theVineyard Theatre for 72 performances from March 20 through May 4, 2003, with previews from February 19. The musical won the 2003Lucille 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).[34] It won the 2003–2004Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Puppet Artistry and the 2004 GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and off-Broadway[35]
The musical opened on Broadway at theJohn Golden Theatre on July 31, 2003, following previews from July 10, again directed by Moore and choreographed by Roberson, with set design by Louizos,[36] costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design byHowell Binkley, musical supervision byStephen Oremus, musical direction by Gary Adler, and puppet design and execution by cast member Rick Lyon.[28] It was produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, andJeffrey Seller.[37] The show was nominated for six Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.[38]
After 22 previews and 2,534 regular performances, it closed on September 13, 2009.[39] As of June 21, 2009, the production had grossed over $117 million and had returned profits of $23.5 million to its investors.[39]
After the show closed on Broadway, it reopened off-Broadway at theNew World Stages complex on October 9, 2009.[40] The production played there for a decade until its final performance on May 26, 2019, with many former cast members, and the show's creators in the audience.[41]
In September 2005,Avenue Q opened at theWynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas under a production contract that precludedAvenue 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.[citation needed]
Attendance was well below anticipated levels, and in January 2006 the show was cut to 90 minutes with the intermission 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,[42] terminating the exclusivity agreement and opening the way for national tours.[citation needed]
ACameron Mackintosh-produced version ofAvenue Q opened in 2006 in theWest End at theNoël Coward Theatre (formerly theAlbery 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 theGielgud Theatre. After a further 327 performances, the show moved in March 2010 to theWyndham's Theatre,[43][44] where it closed on October 30, 2010, after a five-year run.[45] A single concert of the show was performed on 10 November 2024 at theSondheim Theatre to celebrate the production's 18th anniversary; the original West End cast reprised their roles.[citation needed]
The first national tour began at the Spreckels Theatre inSan 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 theFox Cities Performing Arts Center inAppleton, Wisconsin on May 10, 2009.[46] A second national tour opened inClemson, South Carolina in September 2009 under direction of the same creative team, and closed inHuntsville, Alabama on April 23, 2011.[citation needed]
The first UK tour began at theTheatre Royal Bath in February 2011 and closed atNorthampton'sDerngate in July.[47] A second UK and Ireland tour began in January 2012 at theTheatre Royal, Plymouth,[48]Sell A Door Theatre Company launched a British revival of the show in April 2014, which ran for 3 weeks atGreenwich 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.[49] The production toured the UK again in 2015–16; another touring production started in 2019.[50]
An Australian production opened in June 2009 at the Comedy Theatre,Melbourne, directed by Jonathan Biggins and featuring a local cast, includingMichala Banas as Kate/Lucy. The production visitedSydney in August, before touringCanberra (Australian Capital Territory),Perth (Western Australia),Adelaide (South Australia),Brisbane (Queensland), andAuckland in New Zealand, and closed in June 2010. The show won a number ofHelpmann Awards, including Best Direction, Best Actress and Best Actor.[51]
Avenue Q has had additional international productions in Australia,[52][53][54] Brazil,[55] Denmark,[56][57] France,[58] Germany,[59] Hong Kong,[60] Mexico,[61] Portugal,[62] South Africa[63] and Spain,[64] among others.
AWest End revival at theShaftesbury Theatre is planned to play from 20 March to 29 August 2026, reuniting members of the original creative team.[65]
Avenue Q andMusic Theatre International collaborated on theAvenue Q: School Edition 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 deemphasize alcohol.[66][67]
On September 30, 2004, the day ofthe first Bush–Kerry presidential debate at theUniversity of Miami, on a stage set up inTimes Square, the cast ofAvenue Q presented their version of the debate, calledAvenue 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" (seeOther Songs above) to the rain-drenched crowd.[68] Rod (played by Tartaglia) moderated the mock-debate.[69] Also in 2004, Rod and Tartaglia appeared on the syndicated game showHollywood Squares.[70]
Regis Philbin andKelly Ripa puppets created by Lyon hosted the first few minutes of an episode ofLive with Regis and Kelly.[71] In addition, Rod and John Tartaglia did "man on the street"-style interviews on the 2005NBC broadcast of theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.[72] Rod and John also appeared alongside other Broadway stars in aWorld AIDS Day benefit concert ofPippin held at theManhattan Center on November 29, 2004; Rod played "The Head."[citation needed]
In anotherBroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit in 2005, the original cast ofAvenue Q and the cast of the Broadway revival ofFiddler on the Roof presented a 10-minute spoof of both musicals called "Avenue Jew."[73] Trekkie Monster poorly plays theFiddler theme, pauses, and eats the fiddle. Tevye, his wife Golde and two of their daughters, having immigrated to the US, arrive on Avenue Jew, an area inhabited by Jewish versions of theAvenue Q characters. The human cast expresses frustration at being upstaged by the puppets in the song "The Puppets/The Humans." Jewish-American Princeton asks "What do you do with a B.A. inYiddish?" Tevye's daughter Shprintze falls in love with Princeton; Tevye forbids her union to a puppet but later relents. Princeton laments, "If I were a human". Rod sings "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" begging the matchmaker (played by Mrs. Thistletwat) to find him a Jewish husband. She sets Rod up with Lazar Wolf; the two ask permission to be married fromthe Tsar puppet, who forbids agay marriage, only to be interrupted by theater criticBen Brantley, who objects to casting non-Jewish actors inFiddler. The company concludes "everyone's a little bit Jewish". Princeton and Shprintze return in wedding attire, and the cast raises achuppah adorned with a furry orangeAvenue Q logo.
In November 2005, theAvenue 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 thecurtain call.[citation needed] In October 2006, Jonathan Root and Princeton presented the award for Best Young Adult Novel at theQuill Awards.[citation needed] In November 2006, the London cast appeared on theBBC programChildren in Need and performed "It Sucks to Be Me".[74] In December 2006, the London cast performed on theRoyal Variety Performance and performed "It Sucks to Be Me", "For Now", and "Special", in which Lucy the Slut suggested through lyrics and dialogue that she was making a pass at (then)Prince Charles.[citation needed]
The cast and puppets took to the stage at Trafalgar Square on July 4, 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 isbisexual.[citation needed] Cast members appeared onLate 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.[citation needed] As a response to theMuppets' Bohemian Rhapsody video,Avenue Q created a video calledWe Will Rock Q. Released on YouTube on May 4, 2010, it features the off-Broadway cast performing covers of theQueen songs "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".[75]
The cast appeared on theToday Show in 2018 to promote the show's 15th year.[citation needed]
The original cast recording was made on August 10, 2003, at Right Track Studio A in New York City, produced byJay David Saks forRCA 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 theBillboard Top Cast Album Chart since the chart's launch on January 12, 2006.[76] It was nominated in the Musical Show Album category for a 2004 Grammy Award.[77] According toPlaybill, it was likely the first cast recording to use aParental Advisory label.[78]
Avenue Q received nearly unanimous favorable reviews, both nationally and internationally.
The New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley called it a "...savvy, sassy and eminently likable...breakthrough musical", and compared its potential long-term influence toWest Side Story andThe King and I.[79]The New Yorker described it as "...an ingenious combination of 'The Real World' andSesame Street".[80]The Times described it as "...howFriends 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."[81]
Avenue Q madeEntertainment Weekly's 2010 end-of-the-decade "best-of" list: "This 2003 smash musical isSesame Street for grown-ups, with filthy-minded puppets who teach useful lessons like 'The Internet Is for Porn.' Somewhere, Big Bird is molting."[82]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Drama Desk Award[83] | Outstanding Musical | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Book of a Musical | Jeff Whitty | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Stephanie D'Abruzzo | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Lyrics | Robert Lopez andJeff Marx | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Music | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Tony Award[38] | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Book of a Musical | Jeff Whitty | Won | ||
| Best Original Score | Robert Lopez andJeff Marx | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | John Tartaglia | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Stephanie D'Abruzzo | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Jason Moore | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Stephanie D'Abruzzo | Won | ||
| John Tartaglia | Won | |||
| 2005 | Grammy Award[84] | Best Musical Show Album | Nominated | |
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Laurence Olivier Award[85] | Best New Musical | Nominated |
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 toSesame Street.Johns, Ian (May 29, 2006)."These toys are really us".The Times. London. RetrievedApril 15, 2007.
