Blog.Dominion Stage

Actors and puppets interacting on stage, hilariously dirty songs, puppet nudity?? What is Ave Q?!?

Avenue Q’s music and lyrics were created by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. The two young composers met in the late 90s while involved in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Together they have written songs for Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. However, they wanted to create a puppet-friendly show that was strictly for adults. With the help of playwright Jeff Whitty and director Jason Moore, Avenue Q was born – and has been a hit Broadway show since 2003.

Avenue Q could not exist without Sesame Street, the long running children’s show that teaches kids letters, numbers, and practical life-lessons. The premise of the musical is that adolescents grow up without learning the truth of adult life. Like the puppet protagonist Princeton, many new grown-ups experience anxiety and confusion when entering the “Real World.”

Why use puppets to deliver the message? Robert Lopez explained in a New York Times interview, “There’s something about our generation that resists actors bursting into song on the stage. But when puppets do it, we believe it.” Whether it’s Punch and Judy, Kermit the Frog, the cast of Avenue Q, puppets make us laugh. And while we are laughing, we usually wind up learning at the same time. If a regular human were on stage singing a preachy song, many folks would probably ignore the message. But when a muppet talks, people listen. The creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 once explained that, “You can say things as a puppet that you can’t get away with as a human.” That was true for MST3K. It was true for the Muppets. It was true for the bombastically cruel Punch, and it is eloquently true for the ever-insightful show Avenue Q.

Now Dominion Stage will be the first community theatre in Northern Virginia to bring Ave Q to life! The show opens January 11th and runs through the 26th! For more information and to purchase your tickets, see below!

Avenue Q

Directed by Christopher Thorn
Music Directed by John Michael d’Haviland
Choreographed by Amanda Cane
Puppet Mastered by Marianne Meyers

All Performances at Gunston Theatre One
2700 S. Lang Street, Arlington VA 22206

Performance Dates:
Friday, Jan 11@ 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan 12 @ 8 p.m.

Thursday, Jan 17 @ 8 p.m.
Friday, Jan 18 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan 19 @ 8 p.m.

Thursday, Jan 24 @ 8 p.m.
Friday, Jan 25 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan 26 @ 8 p.m

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

https://app.ticketturtle.com/index.php?theatre=dom

Music and Lyrics, Original Concept, Animation Design by ROBERT LOPEZ
Music and Lyrics, Original Concept by JEFF MARX
Book by JEFF WHITTY

Winner of the TONY® “TRIPLE CROWN” for BEST MUSICAL, BEST SCORE and BEST BOOK, AVENUE Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q is a laugh-out-loud musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named PRINCETON who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. There, he meets KATE (the girl next door), ROD (the Republican), TREKKIE (the internet sexpert), LUCY THE SLUT (need we say more?), and other colorful types who help PRINCETON finally discover his purpose in life!

More Info – www.DominionStage.org

Source: http://plays.about.com/od/plays/a/avenueQ_2.htm