Only for now indeed: the long-running Avenue Q ends its run at Off-Broadway's New World Stages May 26. The musical had initially announced an April 28 closing in December before extending at the midtown venue.
The puppet-driven coming-of-age comedy opened at New World Stages in October 2009—just a few weeks after ending its Tony-winning, six-year Broadway run at the Golden Theatre. From its first Broadway preview to its final Off-Broadway performance, the musical will have played 6,569 performances.
The current Off-Broadway cast features Katie Boren, Grace Choi, Matt Dengler, Jamie Glickman, Imari Hardon, Jason Jacoby, Nicholas Kohn, Veronica Kuehn, Lacretta, Michael Liscio, Jr., and Jed Resnick.Featuring a Tony-winning score by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and a Tony-winning book by Jeff Whitty, Avenue Q follows Princeton, a recent college grad who arrives in New York with a B.A. in English and not much else. Living alongside a crew of neighbors including monsters, a Japanese immigrant, a closeted Republican, and Gary Coleman, he sets off to find his ever-elusive purpose, which doesn't get any easier in adulthood.
"We are incredibly proud of the fact that Avenue Q transformed the careers of so many people in our company throughout its run," Kevin McCollum and his fellow producers said in a statement. "The show gave audiences the opportunity to laugh, escape from the outside world for two hours, and have tons of fun. Avenue Q proved to be timeless, and we learned that sometimes it takes a puppet to make us realize how remarkable, complicated, and messy it is to be human."
The production, directed by Jason Moore, features puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, choreography by Ken Roberson, sets by Anna Louizos, costumes by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by Acme Sound Partners. Brian Hertz serves as music director; casting is by Cindy Tolan and Adam Caldwell.
