Avenue Q, Austin Theatre Project, May 30 - June 16, 2013

By Brian Paul Scipione

Can You Show me How to Get to Avenue Q?

Long past are the days when musicals were solely the domain of prancing pirates and line dancing debutantes. The villains sang in baritone and the hero, a lilting tenor, as he won, lost and re-won the girl in different fantastical settings. There is the theme song, the hero’s lament, the song that exposes the girl’s conflicting feelings, the growling villain’s rant-song, and a choral effort by all the scrappy townsfolk who may help or hinder the hero. Oh yes, and a lot of love songs.

And though Avenue Q doesn’t stray too far from this formula it is part of the movement of modern musicals away from Disney-like, parentally approved, mores. Controversy and transgression has indubitably long been the territory of the dramatic arts, but singing about it joyfully has only come into the mainstream of Broadway during the last twenty years or so.

And Broadway loves it! Avenue Q won Tony Awards for best musical, best book, and best score in 2004. 2011’s Tony Award winning musical The Book of Mormon suggests that this isn’t going to change anytime too soon. Musicals have been tackling larger issues and using melody to express complex emotions since their inception. West Side Story is about gang warfare, murder, and racism. Yet it approaches these issues with kid gloves. The 1993 Tony Award winning musical Kiss of the Spider Woman was one of the first to include the grittiness and crudity that were attached to its themes on stage. In other words, it wasn’t afraid to try to make the audience cringe.

In the case of Avenue Q, this translates to onstage puppet sex. For this reason it is often billed as Sesame Street for adults. It isn’t out to change the world or hide its harsh realities from the audience. In the end it straddles the line between fun and message by introducing subjects like getting fired, being crushed by bills, and wanting companionship, and then dismissing them as things no one can do anything about.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Video: Rehearsing 'If You Were Gay,' Matt Burnett and Eric Meo for Avenue Q, Austin Theatre Project, May 30 - June 16, 2013

ATP's rehearsal for Avenue Q, a video shot May 7 with Matthew Charles Burnett, Eric Antonio Meo, Ashley Laverty and David Blackburn, using rehearsal puppets (not the final look!):

Tickets $15 - $30 plus service fee at

The Tony-winning musical AVENUE Q is the hilarious and heartfelt story of a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and little money. He can only afford to live on Avenue Q but (good news!) his neighbors turn out to be a remarkably funny bunch of characters. Imagine an adult version of "Sesame Street," with the preschool banter replaced with irreverent songs such as "It Sucks to Be Me," "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet Is For Porn," and "If You Were Gay." But don't let the light-hearted melodies and adorable puppets fool you... This is NOT your child's favorite street!

DIRECTED BY: Marco Bazan

STARRING: Michelle Alexander, Isaac Arrieta, Matthew Burnett, R. Michael Clinkscales, Marett Hanes, Rachel Hoovler, June Julian, Ashley Laverty, Eric Meo

MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR: David Blackburn

LIGHTING DESIGN: Taylor Whitmire

SOUND DESIGN: Sam Kokojko
SET DESIGN: David Blackburn

AVENUE Q, Austin Theatre Project at the Dougherty Arts Center, May 30 - June 16, 2013

[Austin Theatre Project, performing at the Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd. - click for map]

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Tickets $15 - $30 plus service fee at





 The Tony-winning musical AVENUE Q is the hilarious and heartfelt story of a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and little money. He can only afford to live on Avenue Q but (good news!) his neighbors turn out to be a remarkably funny bunch of characters.

Imagine an adult version of "Sesame Street," with the preschool banter replaced with irreverent songs such as "It Sucks to Be Me," "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet Is For Porn," and "If You Were Gay." But don't let the light-hearted melodies and adorable puppets fool you... This is NOT your child's favorite street!

STARRING: Michelle Alexander, Isaac Arrieta, Matthew Burnett, R. Michael Clinkscales, Marett Hanes, Rachel Hoovler, June Julian, Ashley Laverty, Eric Meo

DIRECTED BY: Marco Bazan
MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR: David Blackburn
LIGHTING DESIGN: Taylor Whitmire
SOUND DESIGN: Sam Kokojko
SET DESIGN: David Blackburn

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Event AVENUE Q The Tony-winning musical AVENUE Q is the hilarious and heartfelt story of a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and little money. He can only afford to live on Avenue Q but (good news!) his neighbors turn out to be a remarkably funny bunch of characters. Imagine an adult version of "Sesame Street," with the preschool banter replaced with irreverent songs such as "It Sucks to Be Me," "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet Is For Porn," and "If You Were Gay." But don't let the light-hearted melodies and adorable puppets fool you... This is NOT your child's favorite street! STARRING: Michelle Alexander Isaac Arrieta Matthew Burnett Rmichael Clinkscales Marett Hanes Rachel Hoovler June Julian Ashley Laverty Eric Meo DIRECTED BY: Marco Bazan MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR: David Blackburn LIGHTING DESIGN: Taylor Whitmire SOUND DESIGN: Sam Kokojko SET DESIGN: David Blackburn

(*) Today only: Half-Price Tickets to Avenue Q at the Cameo Theatre, via Groupon

Groupon Discount for Purchases Today only (Saturday, March 9) of 2 Tickets to Avenue Q by J. Pennington Productions at the Cameo Theatre in San Antonio: $36 instead of $72. Show runs March 16 - April 13.

Click to go to the Groupon page.

Musicals have always brought impossible dreams to life on stage, from cats that can talk to humans who can sing in public without feeling weird. Escape from reality with this GrouponLive deal to see Avenue Q: The Musical at the Cameo Theatre, presented by Jonathan Pennington Studios. For $36, you get two tickets for best-available seating (up to a $72 value, including fees). Choose a date and showtime between March 16 and April 14 from the dropdown menus above.

The long-running Broadway hit Avenue Q, winner of the Tony triple crown for Best Musical, Book, and Score in 2004, sheds its New York felt to engross San Antonio in a rollicking musical packed with irreverent wit and puppets that say the darndest things. The tale of a recent college grad discovering love and his life's purpose in a colorful neighborhood of fabricated, fuzzy neighbors, Avenue Q entertains and enlightens with bouncy songs, sassy dialogue, and topical issues such as politics and bedroom mores. The musical is intended for mature audiences only, or parents training their children for a life of detention.

Cameo Theatre

An Egyptian art-deco style anchors the Cameo Theatre, luring wandering eyes with polychrome accents, gilt columns, and a sphinx that permits entry only after guests solve a riddle. A surviving artifact of the 1940s, the theater first opened as a home for vaudeville acts and movies but has since filled its stage with a diverse roster of legendary performers from B.B. King to Metallica, and it now regularly hosts theatrical productions.

On-line auditions for puppets of Avenue Q, Austin Theatre Project, from March 11, 2013

THE FIRST ROUND OF AUDITIONS FOR "AVENUE Q" WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLINE.

You will be required to attach audio or video (preferred) files of your audition pieces. Video files recorded on your smartphone are perfectly acceptable. No need to hire a video crew! 

Online Auditions for AVENUE open March 11! You will be asked to audition with specific songs from the show using CHARACTER VOICES. We will be using the traditional Broadway casting scheme where several actors will play multiple characters. For example, if you plan to audition for the role of Kate Monster, you will also be asked to submit a song for Lucy T. Slut. 

Below you will find the link to the page with sheet music AND an accompaniment track. You may also choose to use a pianist. If you are not familiar with the characters and their voices, you should spend some time on YouTube and look at the videos from the Broadway Production.

Click to go to ATP auditions page for character descriptions and downloads

Auditions in San Antonio for 'Avenue Q,' J. Pennington Studios, January 21 - 27, 2013

via SATCO:


Auditions for Avenue Q, Jonathan Pennington Studios
 
January 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 7 - 10pm; January 26 , 5 - 8pm; January 27, 2 - 6pm
 

The Cameo Theatre with Jonathan Pennington Studios are holding AUDITIONS for one of the most hilarious musicals of all time, AVENUE Q. AUDITIONS ARE BEING SCHEDULED NOW - Want to be a part of this zany laugh-out-loud, adult-themed spoof on Sesame Street ? Schedule your audition time NOW !

Produced/Directed by Jonathan Pennington; Co-Directed by Jovi Lee Gonzales. Musical Direction by Natalia Skovorodina. Choreography by Danielle Martinez.

Dancers/Singers/Actors need to be in really good physical condition. Please note what we are looking for in the character breakdown below and more specific info will be given at the auditions.

Avenue Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There's Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fiance Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod - a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building's superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life. The show is largely inspired by (and in the style of) PBS's Sesame Street, with several characters that are recognizably parodies of classic Muppet characters. Because of its adult content and "full puppet nudity" (including graphic simulated sex between puppets), Avenue Q may be inappropriate for children 12 years of age and under.

SINGERS: Prepare a song of your choice the shows off your vocal style and range.

All types, ethnicities and sizes are encouraged to audition. TO SCHEDULE AN AUDITION, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR REQUEST TO: jonathan.productions@live.com - PLEASE include Your Name, Age, Email Address, Current Phone Number and role you're auditioning for. CALL-BACKS will be by invitation only.

The production runs March 13 - April 14, 2013. Performances will be at the Cameo Theater, San Antonio - Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm, although there will be a Thursday show on April 4. All rehearsals will be held at JP Studios location. Lead roles will receive a stipend at end of run.

Click for further information and a character list at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .