AVE Q - What do you think about?- Page 3

[whitless]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 4:40pm

I ran across this today and decided I had to leave the land of the lurker. (Note to Grinch: Avenue Q has costume changes! Lucy alone has THREE costumes! But to each his own). I'm the bookwriter for Q, and I just wanted to note a few things we found while developing the show.

Christmas Eve's consonant mixups aren't used for humor so much, except in "Racist" where the PC implications are directly addressed. The precision of her language is what gets the laughs, not the fact that she speaks in a dialect. During the writing process with Bobby and Jeff, I always thought about my sister-in-law, who is from Finland. She speaks beautiful English, but not being a native speaker, she uses turns of phrase that are often refreshingly blunt. Her intentions are always good, but the disconnect can be very hilarious and human.

Bobby, Jeff, Jason, and I wanted Christmas Eve to be a fully-rounded character. In early drafts of the libretto, I'd try an occasional joke that resulted from the mixture of her consonants ("What the matter, Rod? Feeling a little low?"), and the audience just wouldn't have it. They wanted Christmas Eve to be fully-rounded, and not discounted as a stereotype. A credit to the wisdom of audiences.

I am frankly not especially amused by the stereotype used in Sixteen Candles. The character is there for comic relief, solely, and we wanted to do better. Christmas Eve's status in the world of the show is very high -- she has power because of who she is, and isn't a low clown of any sort. She's nobody's retiring geisha (especially as played by the wonderful Anns, Harada and Sanders).

As for Gary -- yes, he sold his stuff on eBay. And he has the perspective of someone who feels his best years are behind him, which is the greatest fear of Princeton, the protagonist. So in my mind, Gary offers a severe shorthand to the primary theme of Avenue Q.

Okay, back to lurking. But I hope the original poster can see the show!

[Staci1818]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 5:04pm

Tis is off topic, but... You wrote the book? Congrats on your Tony then.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 5:35pm

Staci, get it...whitless...Jeff Whitty wrote the book of Avenue Q

[Staci1818]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 9:55pm

Yeah. I wish I was that creative. I'm even using my real name as my name here.
Then again, judging by the book of Avenue Q, I should have know that already. I love the Bad Idea Bears.

[Addicted2Seaweed]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:14pm

Am I the only one who likes I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today? I mean it's not exactly changing my life. But it's a great song to mumble under your breath in french class.

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:15pm

"I am sure seeing Avenue Q is a big part of it (which I haven't done)"

I was actually going to read this whole thread and participate in the discussion - but seeing this within the first few posts completely negated that concept.

What on EARTH causes someone to think they have an opinion without a foundation?

[Plum]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:21pm

To be fair, a lot of times we have no choice but to judge shows by their cast recordings. It's not that easy for everyone to get to NY and buy tickets, if a show is even open.

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:26pm

Plum - I understand your point, but I would think it would be difficult to make such definitive statements about a show's overall intent and arc, as this person has. I've had opinions about something from a cast recording, but limited it to what the recording presented, not the show as a whole.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:28pm

I've always said I don't think you can judge a show until you've seen a production of it. So many shows have great scores and when you see them are awful, or vice-versa. I really believe the only way you can say "I like/dislike *show title*" is if you've seen it in some form.

You can say you like/dislike the music, but you can't judge a show until you've seen it.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:38pm

In this, case, yeah, I'd say it's definitely unfair to condemn Avenue Q for its stereotyping based on only the score, especially wince the show doesn't even come close to being sung-through.

[Staci1818]

Posted: 12/10/04 at 10:39pm

Going by that, I liked the OBCR of Avenue Q, but it was so much better seeing them preformed. It just added something to the show.

[bbroadwaybb]

Posted: 12/11/04 at 1:24am

I feel the need to butt in here and agree as well. Everyone is allowed to have whatever opinions they want, but to form an opinion about the content of ANY show without having seen it AND post it on this message board is just complete ignornace and stupidity - not really worth discussing in my opinion.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 12/11/04 at 1:37am

I just want Jeff Whitty to come back so we can ask questions and share comments! As a huge fan of Avenue Q, it's really exciting to know that one of the creaters is on the other side of the computer wire. Jeff, stop lurking! Come bask in the Q love!

I guess I could always go to Q's official site, but I like BWW's message board format more.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/11/04 at 11:57am

Hey, it was admitted that the show wasn't seen. The person was being honest about it and adding a caveat. No need to jump down his/her throat, even if we all tend to disagree.

[peterjoshua]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 12:15pm

Thank you, Jeff, for giving us some insight into the creation of the show and the characters! (And a very belated "Congratulations!" on your Tony win! I was cheering for you from my living room!) It's nice to know that, even though we often think shows have to pander to the lowest common denominator, audiences actually are smarter than we give them credit for. Thanks again for the info!