Avenue Q Tickets

Avenue Q is a warm and hilarious Tony Award-winning musical about an optimistic college graduate who comes to New York with big dreams, but only a little money. The bad news is that he can only afford to live on Avenue Q, but the good news is that his neighbors turn out to be an extremely funny bunch of characters.

Avenue Q is from the mold of Sesame Street, with most of the characters in the show being puppets that are operated by actors onstage. The set is made to show several tenements on a rundown street in an Outer Borough of New York City; both the live and puppet characters sing, and short animated video clips are also shown as part of the story.

Envision an adult version of Sesame Street, with satirical songs such as It Sucks To Be Me, and jokes taking the place of the educational preschool-level lessons normally taught on the show. While the actors remain visible the entire time, they are also mimicking the actions of their puppets, providing yet another level to the humor. Avenue Q is quick-paced and laugh-filled story, particularly for audiences willing to get their arms around the story's rebellious and politically incorrect spirit.

Several of the Avenue Q characters are obviously intended to be parodies of classic Sesame Street characters; such as roommates Rod and Nicky taking the place of Bert and Ernie, and Trekkie Monster being based on Cookie Monster. However, the resemblance ends there, as the Avenue Q characters are in their twenties or thirties and dealing with adult problems, thus making this show better geared for the adults who grew up with and even worked on the popular children's show. Four of the original Avenue Q cast members (John Tartaglia, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Jennifer Barnhart and Rick Lyon) have previously worked on Sesame Street as well.

Avenue Q is directed by Jason Moore, and conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics based on the book by Jeff Whitty. The show was produced by and opened at the Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre in March 2003, before being transferred to Broadway in July 2003 and winning several Tony Awards, including the Tony for Best Musical. The show has also spun off a 2005 Las Vegas production, a 2006 West End production, and various international productions, including an Australian national tour which began in June 2009 and set to run until June 2010.

In spite of the presence of the Jim Henson-like puppets, Avenue Q is in no way a children's musical Ð explicit language is common throughout, two of the puppets have sex onstage, one wrestles with his sexuality, and one dirty tune tells how the internet is good for porn. Older teens may enjoy the show because it addresses issues such as growing up and leaving home, but parents should use discretion when deciding whether their kids are mature enough for all of Avenue Q.

Whoever you decide to bring, get your tickets now and come to Stage Three of the New World Stages in New York to enjoy Avenue Q, one of the funniest and most creative musicals in quite some time.