Avenue Q at the New World Stages

When Avenue Q opened last week at its new Off-Broadway home, the New World Stages, a lot of people in the theatrical community were paying close attention. Of course, it's a much-beloved show, and many are simply wishing it well. (Except, perhaps, the producers of Wicked, from whose verdant hands Avenue Q so summarily snatched the Best Musical Tony in 2003.)

But the main point of interest seems to be how well Avenue Q will do financially after making this unusual move. It's not entirely unprecedented for a Broadway show to move Off Broadway, but it's certainly rare. And if Avenue Q succeeds, we can probably expect other small shows to follow suit. There's talk that The 39 Steps will make a similar move after it closes at year's end at the Helen Hayes. Perhaps Next to Normal and Rock of Ages might consider returning to their Off Broadway roots after their respective Broadway stints have run their course.

I've been enamored of Avenue Q ever since I caught one of its Broadway previews back in 2003. I've subsequently seen the show on tour (read my review), and then revisited the Broadway production shortly before it closed (read my review). And, over the weekend, I caught the show once again at its new digs. And I'm happy to say that the show has lost none of its charm upon multiple viewings. Of course, part of the fun for me the last two times is that I saw the show with friends, and got to witness their delighted reactions to the show upon their first viewings. But even when I saw the show solo on tour, I was still caught up in the response of the rest of the audience.

The performance of Avenue Q that I saw over the weekend featured three understudies, indicating that even Off Broadway shows are not immune to the scourge of absenteeism that seems to be sweeping New York theater. Fortunately, the standbys were mostly stellar, particular the charming Jed Resnick as Princeton/Rod and the delightful Ruthie Ann Miles as Christmas Eve.

The more I see Avenue Q, the more I'm struck not just by its wit, but also by its wisdom. Yeah, I know, that sounds pretty pretentious. But there's so much about the show that's just plain smart, from the wistful nostalgia of "I Wish I Could Go Back to College" to the downright Buddhist quality of "For Now." So I wish the show well in its latest incarnation, and strongly recommend that you make your way to 50th Street, between 8th and 9th to catch the show, if you haven't already.

Or even if you have.

Comments

[Gil]

I've heard the rumor regarding N2N and 39 Steps. But Rock of Ages? I just presume that it's a more expensive show to run than the rest of them, simply due to cast size (although I suppose it could very well shrink down in cast size).

Avenue Q aside (which I thought played best off-Broadway back at the Vineyard and still plays best off-Broadway now), might we get to the point where shows end their Broadway runs, get second-hand casts off Broadway, and die slow, less-than-glorious deaths?

[ccaggiano]

Gil, dude, once again I get the impression that you and I are cut from the same cynical cloth. And I agree, the Off-Broadway run-down probably won't work in every instance. But it does make for a promising prospect for shows that have run their Broadway course, but still have some life left in them. It could change the economic model: develop the show Off-Broadway, take it to the main stem to generate awareness, and then settle in for a profitable run on the outskirts.

Or die an ignominious death somewhere in the process, as you suggest.

I haven't heard anything specifically about Rock of Ages moving, I was merely speculating. But the show did start out at the New World Stages, and I actually think it worked better there. More grungy and subversive. There's something a bit disconcerting about the ornate proscenium at the Brooks Atkinson framing such modern goings on.

[Drew J.]

I'm still kicking myself for not seeing this when it came here two years ago. I was new to the theatre world at the time and did not really know what it was :(