A shabby neighborhood of New York comes to life this weekend at the White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center. Instead of the friendly characters known in another famous New York neighborhood, the characters in Avenue Q are incredibly real and brutally honest even if they are made of felt. The racy Broadway hit is aimed at those who grew up on Electric Company and , says Mark Swezey, director.
“We grow up and we are told that people are special. However, to get the things we want and dream about, we have to work hard for them,” he says. “It can be a rough world out there. The main character struggles to find his purpose when he gets out of college.”
The cast has three human roles and the rest of the actors provide the voices and movements for the puppets. The puppets are often single-rod, double-rod and live-hands puppets that require two puppeteers. “It was initially very scary to have the puppets brought in. We did our research and there are some amazing tools on the Internet. We also had a master class to work with a professional puppeteer. We had thought about puppet construction. However, we were fortunate enough to rent the puppets, including a set of rehearsal puppets. Eventually we all saw the actors as an extension of the puppet.”
Main character Princeton meets Kate (the girl next door), Rod (the Republican), Trekkie (the Internet sexpert), Lucy the Slut (need any more descriptors), and other colorful types who help Princeton finally discover his purpose in life.
However, the puppets also posed a marketing concern. The first poster for the show featured puppets, but the concern was that people might see the show as a children’s show. “It’s not a kids’ show. It’s a show that contains adult themes,” Swezey says. “I’m hoping that our fans and those who are fans of the musical will give us a try. We have had Chicago and Rent on our stage in recent years. We didn’t cut a thing from Rent and our senior patrons enjoyed it.”
The chance to get this musical is big, Swezey says. “We are the Midwest premiere for a community theater to perform Avenue Q. We jumped right on the show when in became available last spring. I applied for the contract quickly after I got the folks out here convinced that we needed to do this show.” Music Theatre International serves as the licensing agent. “The ticket sales are good. Performing the show will pay off as an audience gets to see humanity, hope and heart amidst the crass humor and tricks. It’s a very topical show as we watch the current economic status. People should see themselves in the situations that are part of the play. The young creators of Avenue Q probably experienced many of these situations about finding their places in the world.”
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19. The matinee performances are at 2 p.m. Nov. 6, 13, and 20. For more details, visit http://www.jcckc.org/
