Avenue Q Celebrates 10 Years on Stage

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Milestone

On July 31, 2003, an entirely unique production opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre—a musical that would boldly combine the puppetry of “Sesame Street” with the adult drama of “Friends.” Ten years later, the raucously comedic “Avenue Q” is still in high demand in New York after over 4,100 performances since its debut.

Now occupying a home off-Broadway at New York’s New World Stages, “Avenue Q” celebrated its 10th anniversary last week. Even though the Broadway production closed in Sept. 2009, the off-Broadway production opened less than a month later, where it has remained through the present day. The original production earned six Tony nominations and ended up taking home three for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

Centered on a fresh college graduate named Princeton, “Avenue Q” explores the adult themes of racism, sex, and unemployment with the help of a mixed cast of real humans and puppets. When Princeton moves into a new apartment on Avenue Q, he makes a host of new acquaintances—like Kate, Lucy, Brian, and Christmas Eve—who eventually help Princeton find some idea of meaning in his new adult life.

“Avenue Q” got its start when Robert Lopez—also co-creator of another Tony Award-winning musical, “The Book of Mormon”—met Jeff Marx at a musical theater workshop. Through the workshop, the two eventually fleshed out much of the plot from their own real world experiences (Lopez, like Princeton, was an English major, but attended Yale University). The original Broadway run currently ranks in the top 25 as one of the longest running shows on Broadway with more than 2,500 performances.

At New World Stages, “Avenue Q” is currently scheduled through the end of April 2014, with performances Monday and Wednesday – Sunday in the evening, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Find “Avenue Q” tickets available now for upcoming shows in the Vivid Seats marketplace.