Avenue Q

The original cast

The original Trekkie Monster was designed as a parody of Cookie Monster. He was later redesigned to avoid too close of a similarity, and the emphasis on Star Trek fandom was diminished except for the name.

Avenue Q is a 2003 Broadway musical that mixes the likes of puppeteering and acting together on stage. It bases itself on a street where puppets and humans alike live together. It included in its original cast several veteran Muppeteers, including John Tartaglia, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Rick Lyon and Jennifer Barnhart. It is a post-modern and Generation X-themed takeoff on Sesame Street.

It won three Tony Awards in 2004 including the Tony Award for "Best Musical", and received a Grammy award nomination for Best Musical Show Album.

Ed Christie, the manager at The Muppet Workshop in New York at the time, commented:

“After the workshop (pre-Broadway) performances of Avenue Q, the Henson company held a meeting with Jeff Marx and Bobby Lopez and Rick Lyon. The Henson reps tried to get a handle on the intentions of the show and tried to discourage the Avenue Q team from using their "Muppety" designs - so close to the copyrighted designs that they (Henson) had developed over the past 35 years (and Mr. Lyon was exposed to, as he was one of their puppeteers). The Avenue Q group refused to back down - claiming that they were protected under the parody laws (like Saturday Night Live is). Lopez, Marx and Lyon explained that the show would not be successful if the characters did not resemble the characters they were spoofing. Lawyers for Henson and Sesame Workshop were able to come to an agreement with the Avenue Q group. Rick Lyon built the characters as he wished and Avenue Q made it to Broadway.”

Muppet Mentions

• One of the musical's songs is called "Mix Tape". In this song, Princeton (originally played by John Tartaglia) gives Kate Monster (originally played by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) a mix tape, on which one of the songs is "Movin' Right Along".

• An early song developed when the show was planned as a television series was a blatant parody of "The People in Your Neighborhood" titled "How Much Do the People in Your Neighborhood Make?"

• In the WB11 Morning News interview with Rick Lyon (with Nicky) and John Tartaglia (with Rod), Emily Frances told Nicky and Rod that they're an homage to Ernie and Bert. Although, as they were mentioned, Rod told Emily that they're friends with them, and they played poker. (YouTube)

• On May 4, 2010, the then-current cast created a video performing Queen's "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" in a response to the hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" viral video, and includes a brief audio snippet from the Muppets' version. (YouTube)

References

Sesame Place poster

• In the book Before You Leap, Kermit talks about his early days with the Muppets in New York City, describing their first place together as "RENT meets Friends meets Seinfeld with a dash of Avenue Q."

• A poster in the waiting queue for Oscar's Wacky Taxi at Sesame Place features Oscar the Grouch spoofing the show as "Avenue P.U."

Connections

• Jennifer Barnhart played Mrs. Thistletwat/Bear and understudied Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in the original Broadway cast to the show's closure (and occasionally returned to the Off-Broadway cast)
• Michael Croiter played drums in the original Broadway orchestra.
• Leo Daignault was a replacement as ensemble puppeteer and understudy for Nicky/Trekkie/Bear and Brian during the Broadway run.
• Ben Durocher played Princeton/Rod in the off-Broadway production (2015-2018).
• Stephanie D'Abruzzo played Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in the original Broadway cast.
• Jodi Eichelberger was an ensemble puppeteer and understudy for Princeton/Rod and Nicky/Trekkie/Bear in the original Broadway cast.
• Aymee Garcia understudied Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut and Mrs. Thistletwat/Bear in the original Broadway cast and was later a swing and understudy for Christmas Eve.
• Deborah Glassberg was a puppet builder and repairer for the original Broadway production and subsequent tours through 2012.
• Rick Lyon played Nicky/Trekkie Monster/Bear in the original Broadway cast. He also built the original Avenue Q puppets and continues to build the puppets for almost every Avenue Q production.
• Peter Linz was an ensemble puppeteer and an understudy for Princeton/Rod, Nicky/Trekkie/Bear, and Brian in the original Broadway cast.
• Alan Muraoka directed the 2009 off-Broadway production at New World Stages.
• Peter Nørgaard played Nicky in the Danish adaptation.
• Anders Öjebo played Brian in the Swedish adaptation.
• Hazel Anne Raymundo served as an understudy and swing for Christmas Eve.
• Christy Carlson Romano was a replacement for Kate Monster/Lucy in 2008.
• John Tartaglia played Princeton/Rod in the original Broadway cast.
• Linus Wahlgren played Nicky in the 2008 tour in Sweden.

External links

• Official Avenue Q site
• Puppet Wikia: Avenue Q
• Official London Avenue Q site
• "Official Myspace site"
• Official Italian Avenue Q site
• Avenue Q London