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Talkin' Broadway
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Matthew
Murray

October 21, 2009

You can’t keep a good puppet down. Or, for that matter, a bad one. Both types – along with a few sympathetic humans – are back with a vengeance as Avenue Q, the tiny show that could, returns to performances, now at New World Stages, where it will undoubtedly remain cozily ensconced for many years to come. And why not? As it is, the show’s background is so impressive and storied that this newest chapter in its ongoing biography is just one more improbability in an existence that’s been filled with them.

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October 22, 2009

The Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q remains as sharp and funny at its new Off-Broadway home at New World Stages as it did in its previous incarnations at the Vineyard Theatre and Broadway’s Golden Theatre. Indeed, the show’s clever score (by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez) and book (by Jeff Whitty) — about a motley group of New York residents facing life’s challenges together — continue to delight, and director Jason Moore’s production still sparkles.

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Backstage
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David
Sheward

October 21, 2009

When it first opened in 2003 at the Vineyard Theatre, "Avenue Q" seemed perfectly suited for Off-Broadway. The edgy humor and references to "Sesame Street" were ideal for the younger, hipper crowds that traditionally flock beyond the Main Stem. But economics dictated a Broadway run as more feasible and potentially profitable. Winning Tonys in 2004 for best musical, score, and book in an upset over "Wicked" gave the little show a shot of adrenaline, which propelled it to 2,534 performances. Now the satire is returning to its roots with a new Off-Broadway engagement at New World Stages.

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October 21, 2009

The closing of a long-running Broadway show invariably sends a sentimental pang through the New York theater community. But even if "Avenue Q" no longer lives on the Main Stem, what matters is that it lives on. Of all the musicals hatched in the post-2000 age of irony, this cheeky satire of children’s television shows like "Sesame Street" has arguably remained the freshest and funniest. Returning to its Off Broadway origins, the 2004 Tony winner shows no discernible signs of downsizing and no loss of heart. If anything, its message of endurance with a smile seems even more appropriate for these challenging times.

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October 22, 2009

They may have no legs of their own, but darned if those fuzzy creatures aren’t still standing, long after more full-bodied competition has bitten the dust. I mean the singing, occasionally foulmouthed hand puppets of “Avenue Q,” the “Sesame Street”-style musical for adults who can’t quite believe they’ve grown up, which reopened Off Broadway on Wednesday night at New World Stages, after a six-year, Tony Award-winning run on Broadway.

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