Avenue Q Poster Too Racy For Colorado Springs

Lucy T. Slut, that troublemaker of a puppet in the musical Avenue Q, has been causing problems in Colorado Springs as well. Not wishing to create a fuzz, er, fuss, Lamar Advertising rejected promotional posters showing her likeness (and, more to the point, her cleavage) for the Avenue Q tour that will be visiting the town March 16-17. Instead, the denizens of Colorado Springs will be seeing the face of another less seductive Avenue Q puppet on bus shelter posters advertising the show. A Lamar exec said the reason for the change was that Colorado City is rather conservative, so it made sense to adjust the advertising accordingly. Whether or not locals enjoy the production itself remains to be seen next month.

South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone To Bring New Musical To NYC

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have teamed up with Avenue Q co-composer/co-lyricist Bobby Lopez to create a new musical, which it has been announced will be presented at the New York Theatre Workshop in downtown New York City this summer. The details given by NYTW were scant, but it appears that the show (presumably a comedy) will play in August and September. Parker and Stone are not new to the musical genre, having created the South Park movie musical and the cult film Cannibal the Musical (which has subsequently had several stage productions).

The 39 Steps To Re-Open Off-Broadway in March

What was only speculated a couple months ago is now final: The 39 Steps, which recently enjoyed a two-year run on Broadway before closing at the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 10, will re-open Off-Broadway at New World Stages. The new production, which has yet to be cast, will start performances on March 25. In making this move, The 39 Steps has copied the route recently taken by Avenue Q, the popular musical that had a long Broadway run and then, very shortly after closing its Broadway production, moved to New World Stages Off-Broadway. The theory is that shows like these, which have relatively low production costs (because of small casts and simple sets) and still have some selling power (just not enough to fill an entire Broadway theater), can prolong their New York life by transferring to a smaller Off-Broadway theater where running costs are lower. When Avenue Q made the move, it appeared to be a fluke. But now that The 39 Steps is attempting the same strategy, Broadway wags think it could be a trend.

The 39 Steps Pulls An Avenue Q

The Alfred Hitchcockian comedy The 39 Steps, scheduled to conclude its lengthy Broadway run in January, appears to have its eye on Off-Broadway. Earlier this year, Avenue Q raised eyebrows when, immediately following its Broadway closing at the John Golden Theatre, it announced that the production would be re-opening at New World Stages for another Off-Broadway run. It looks like the producers of The 39 Steps were inspired to try the same strategy, as they are now posting casting notices for a new Off-Broadway production of the show. Like Avenue Q, The 39 Steps is a small show (it only has a four-person cast) that could work quite well Off-Broadway. The fact that it survived two years on Broadway - a major feat for a play - indicates that there is a good audience for the show, so Off-Broadway may be the perfect place for it. There will not be pressure to sell as many tickets to a smaller theater, and the running costs will be lower.

Avenue Q Returns To Off-Broadway

After a mere month-long hiatus, the popular musical Avenue Q re-opens in New York City today, this time at Off-Broadway's New World Stages in Times Square. The amazing thing about this opening is that it marks the extremely rare event of a show beginning life Off-Broadway (at the Vineyard Theatre), transferring successfully to Broadway (at the John Golden Theatre), enjoying a healthy multi-year Broadway run, closing, and then almost instantaneously transferring back to Off-Broadway. Rare though this approach is, it seems logical since the "puppet musical", which is still known and loved by audiences, will be cheaper to produce Off-Broadway and will not have to fill as many seats. This "new" Avenue Q is essentially the same production as the one seen on Broadway, but it features brand new cast members.

Avenue Q To Return To Off-Broadway!

It appears that we may have eulogized Avenue Q too soon. At the closing performance at the John Golden Theatre on September 13, the show's producers announced that though the beloved puppet musical may be leaving Broadway, it won't be leaving New York City. The show will re-open on October 9 at the Off-Broadway theater complex New World Stages. So Avenue Q fans need only walk five blocks north to see their favorite Sesame Street-inspired satirical musical now. This kind of move, taking a show from Broadway to Off-Broadway, is highly unusual, but actually makes a lot of sense for this particular show. Avenue Q already proved that it can do well Off-Broadway with its pre-Broadway Vineyard Theatre run, and even the long-running Broadway production never completely ran out of steam - the show still has many fans and still draws a fair number of tourists. Moving Avenue Q to a smaller Off-Broadway space, which will be easier to fill and likely has far cheaper rent, could be a very smart, innovative move. It will be interesting to see if any other smaller Broadway shows might try the same strategy in the future. Casting for the Off-Broadway production has not been announced yet, but tickets are already on sale.

Avenue Q Ends Lengthy Broadway Run Today

The little show that could, Avenue Q, finally ran out of steam today, ending its six-year Broadway run at the John Golden Theatre today. Although the puppet musical eventually succumbed to the lowering ticket sales that inevitably bedevil most long-running shows, it remains a great Broadway success story. The modest one-set musical comedy began with a hit run at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre, surprising many when it made the move to Broadway in 2003. Naysayers didn't think that a hip and snarky little musical like Avenue Q, which is a kind of satirical post-college take on Sesame Street, would fit in on big-and-glittery Broadway. But the show won over audiences of all ages, who were too busy laughing at songs like "If You Were Gay" and "The Internet Is For Porn" to be concerned about the fact that it didn't have big sets or big stars. Empowered by its popularity, Avenue Q launched a major campaign to win the Best Musical Tony Award, and it ultimately nabbed the trophy, beating mega-musical Wicked. At its closing, Avenue Q played over 2,500 performances for Broadway audiences.

Turn On Your TV Tomorrow, Avenue Q Fans

As it goes into its final month on Broadway, the soon-to-be-closing musical comedy Avenue Q makes a few local appearances on New York City TV shows. The hilarious puppet musical will appear on the morning of August 13 on the Fox television program Good Day New York, with cast members Ann Harada and Jennifer Barnhart chatting with the hosts and performing "The More You Ruv Someone". Later that night, the Avenue Q cast will be on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon performing audience favorite "The Internet Is For Porn," marking the first time that the number has been done on national television. The long-running Avenue Q recently celebrated its sixth anniversary on Broadway, but unfortunately it will be ending its run at the John Golden Theatre on September 13, so get tickets to see it in person while you still can!

New Tales Of The City Musical Aiming For Broadway

Jason Moore and Jeff Whitty, the director and bookwriter behind the Tony-winning Broadway musical comedy Avenue Q, have announced that they're teaming up again for a new musical based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City books. Jason Sellards and John Garden of the rock band the Scissors Sisters will write the show's score. Avenue Q's producers are attached to the project, and hope to be bringing it to Broadway the season after next.

Happy Anniversary, Avenue Q!

Avenue Q celebrates its fourth year on Broadway today. The Sesame Street-inspired musical comedy about twentysomething angst began Off-Broadway, but after rave reviews and lots of buzz, the show moved to the John Golden Theatre on Broadway and subsequently won the Tony Award for Best Musical.