The residents of Theatreland’s favourite neighbourhood, Avenue Q, will be packing their bags on 30 October as they perform for the last time at the Wyndham’s theatre.
Broadway import Avenue Q first arrived in London at the Noël Coward theatre in June 2006. Its mix of satire, comedy songs and puppets caught the imagination of the public – if not the critics – and the musical enjoyed a three-year stay on St Martin’s Lane before moving to the Gielgud theatre in 2009 and subsequently the Wyndham’s earlier this year.
Billed as Sesame Street meets South Park, Avenue Q is a coming of age story with a twist, featuring a cast of puppets and humans who are all trying to find their way in life. When recent college graduate Princeton arrives on downmarket street Avenue Q he is struggling to know what to do with his BA in English. But his unlikely neighbours – including porn-obsessed Trekkie Monster, former child star Gary Coleman, sexually confused Rod and wannabe teacher Kate Monster – are there to help him find his purpose.
The score – which includes the ditties It Sucks To Be Me, The Internet Is For Porn and If You Were Gay – helped the show win three Tony Awards when it premiered on Broadway.
A statement confirming the show’s closure quoted Kate Monster as saying: “We’ve had a great time, it’s been a real ball, but I think we’ve all grown up and got our sights set on living in a more up-market part of town. And Trekkie Monster wants to be somewhere with a better broadband connection”.
No further productions have yet been confirmed for the Wyndham’s theatre.
CB