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Avenue Q Says Bye Bye
29-Jun-2009
Written by: John Winn
Closing its run after six years.
Oh no, say it isn't so.
According to Daily Variety, "Avenue Q," the tongue-in-cheek, sometimes raunchy Broadway puppet comedy, is bowing out after six years on the Great White Way.
The show's creators, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, claim that the decision is due to diminishing sales, with box office takings dipping to below the $200,000 mark. However, the production's low costs, and relative lack of human talent--besides Cherie Peck, who portrays a puppet Gary Coleman--has kept it abreast for some time, way longer than other minimalist productions.
According to Daily Variety, the show has been extended to Sept. 13--well past Labor Day, in the hopes of attracting stragglers during the waning tourist season.
During its brief run, "Avenue Q" has set several records and won numerous awards, including Best Musical at the 2004 Tony Awards--beating out the odds-on favorite "Wicked"--as well as Best Score and Best Screenplay. The Tony sweep was not without some controversy. Following "Avenue Q's" successful, aggressive marketing campaign, modeled after those of several Oscar contenders, the body overseeing the Tony awards severely restricted similar campaigns in the future.
Despite attracting notoriety, the play, about a bunch of twentysomethings struggling to find meaning in New York City, won where it counted: in dollars and cents.
Representatives for the show claim that it has grossed nearly $120 million to date, $23.5 million of which has made its way into the pockets of investors. A less well known show tour has also done well, drawing publicity and monies to the production.
Since its debut in 2003, "Avenue Q" has become a mainstay for New York, to the point where the puppets themselves--versus the actors who portray them--have become recognizable symbols, with many being used in commercials to promote tourism.
Following the success of such songs as "The Internet Is for Porn" and "It Sucks to Be Me" on YouTube, similar acts have sprouted hoping to capitalize on the popularity of edgy acts as "Avenue Q," including "Spring Awakening" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Few have outlasted "Avenue Q" though.
In all, the show would have had 2,554 performances by its end-run.
It is unclear whether the end of the Broadway performance will affect the West End production in London, underway at the Gielgud Theatre.
Besides Peck, the show stars Michala Banas as Lucy the Slut, Michel Butel as college graduate Princeton, and Luke Joslin as Trekkie Monster, among others.
Jeff Whitty wrote the screenplay for the production.
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