Avenue Q is a musical conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics, and directed by Jason Moore.
The show is largely inspired by Sesame Street: Most of the characters in the show are puppets and the set looks like several tenements on a rundown street in an Outer Borough of New York City.
Several characters are recognizably parodies of classic Sesame Street characters: for example, the roommates Rod and Nicky are versions of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie, Trekkie Monster is based on Cookie Monster and Kate Monster is inspired by Elmo. However, the characters are in their twenties and thirties and face adult problems instead of those faced by pre-schoolers. Four of the original cast members (John Tartaglia, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Jennifer Barnhart and Rick Lyon) had worked on Sesame Street before.
The characters use profanity, and the songs concern adult themes. A recurring theme is the central character’s search for a “purpose.” Since the musical soundtrack for it was released, the song “The Internet Is for Porn” has become particularly popular on websites such as YouTube and can be downloaded for free from the official website. According to the official site, the musical is appropriate for both adults and mature teenagers.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/cNARJPNz2CA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
pol