Community Theatre Avenue Q. PICTURES!- Page 2

[emo_geek]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:17am

Yes but these are inconsistent with all the other productions

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 3:20am

Updated On: 5/8/09 at 03:20 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 12:03pm

"They don't seem to be double-casting Princeton/Rod, Kate/Lucy, and Nicky/Trekkie."

It's easy to not double-cast when you DON'T have to pay an actor a minimum of over $1500/week.

[Jon]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 12:14pm

Community theatres like to use as many people as possible, since no one is paid.

If planning to drive to Michigan from Chicago, don't forget the time change - you lose an hour going there and gain one coming back.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 12:22pm

Please tell me Lyon's company didn't make those. They look like dollar-store knockoffs.

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 12:29pm

Yeah those puppets look like they are trying to be similar, but look like the retarded cousins of the original ones. But I mean it is a community theater and custom puppets are expensive.

Posted: 1/24/08 at 12:31pm

Frankly, they look like a Community Theater knock off of the Broadway Puppets.

Oh wait....

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 2:05pm

AWESOME!

This is great news for Community Theaters everywhere who were probably wondering how in the hell they could ever pull this show off!

YAHOO for Kalamazoo!

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 2:19pm

"threadjack - I now have "I've got a gal in Kalamazoo" stuck in my head. How I love Glenn Miller. Sorry to interrupt.

/end threadjack "

I only heard that song once when Carlton is singing it on Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

and for those who don't know it.

here's the only one I know.

"ABCDEFGH... I gotta gal in Kalamazoo. I don't mean to boast but I know she's a toast of Kalamazoo zoo zoo zoo zoo zoo."

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 2:30pm

Is that girl even asian?

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 2:51pm

I have a chance at seeing it. I have to get two A's on my finals.

Wish my good luck.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 6:45pm

Wish my good luck?
Wish your good luck what?

[Jon]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 7:06pm

That girl is about as Asian as Yul Brynner, Larry Blyden, Juanita Hall, and David Wayne.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 7:11pm

That I get two A's when I'm getting a F,D,B,D

[DaneSaw]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 7:47pm

To the people commenting on the quality of the puppets..."they look like dollar-store knockoffs", etc....

Let's see you try to re-create a muppet in its entirety. You'll find that it's probably not as easy to get it looking exactly like the original as you'd think.

Jeez. Some people aren't satisfied with anything.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/24/08 at 11:03pm

Let's see you try to re-create a muppet in its entirety. You'll find that it's probably not as easy to get it looking exactly like the original as you'd think.

Do I have to bring up my "I guess I can't criticize my dentist if I don't have a 'DDS' suffix" argument again?

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 12:03am

I prefer my faux asians in Mickey Rooney Alec Guinness vein.

Updated On: 1/25/08 at 12:03 AM

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 12:31am

hrmm, i'll have to see this, i live like an hour from kzoo

[ricklyon]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 5:35pm

Hey, folks. Rick Lyon here. This thread was just brought to my attention, and I wanted to clarify a couple things, since there were a pretty good number of posts here...

I did NOT make the puppets for the Kalamazoo Community Theatre production of AVENUE Q. I didn't have anything to do with it - didn't coach the puppeteers, didn't make the puppets, didn't even consult with the people who made them. In fact, I don't even know who made the puppets.

Apparently, the folks who made the puppets, who were basing them on my designs (for which the theatre pays a licensing fee), made some LITTLE SHOP plants for MTI (the company that licenses the performance rights), so MTI suggested this place make the puppets for the Kalamazoo production of Q. This suggestion, by the way, occurred without my knowledge - no one asked me.

I would agree with most people here: the puppets this company made look pretty bad.

Unfortunately, people just don't understand how hard it is to make quality puppets that look good and work well. Each detail of a puppet is custom made by hand - it's a very labor-intensive process, like making a pair of custom shoes or a custom wedding gown. It takes skill, and that skill can only be acquired by years of experience. But for some reason, people think puppets are simple and anybody can make them, and the lowest price is always the best. Would you buy your wedding gown that way? Would you buy custom shoes from someone who had never made them before?

I am working with MTI right now to ensure an available supply of quality rental puppets for future productions of AVENUE Q that originate with me, so upcoming productions of the show can benefit from good-looking puppets that serve the best interests of everyone involved in the production.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued support of AVENUE Q!

All best!

Rick

PS - I had nothing to do with the productions in Israel or the Phillippines (despite the fact that they used photos of my puppets for their ads!), I consulted on the puppets used in Sweden and Finland and Paris, and I just got back from coaching puppeteers for AVENUE Q Mexico, for which I am right now building the puppets.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 5:40pm

Wow, look, it's Rick Lyon

Thanks for clearing that up! Great to know that future productions will be ensured an oportunity to get better-quality puppets...
Updated On: 2/15/08 at 05:40 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 6:28pm

I have to giggle a little that you are NOT claiming other productions...


Love your work btw!

[tinkerscanne]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 8:32pm

Does anyone know which licensing company holds the rights to Avenue Q? Is it MTI? I would love to be in this show, but, like others, didn't think that the performing rights would be available any time soon. Aren't they also planning a school version of Avenue Q? (Why they would, I have no idea...take out all the obsenities and you take out the funny!)

[Dover]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 3:56pm

"That girl is about as Asian as Yul Brynner, Larry Blyden, Juanita Hall, and David Wayne."

You forgot Jonathan Pryce.

[HoshiForever]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 4:35pm

One thing I wanna say that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned here is that the Civic's version of Ave Q is not only the first Community Theatre version, but it's also a trail run of a "clean" version of the show.

I'm from Portage (which for all intensive purposes is the same as Kalamazoo) and while I have not seen the Civic's version of the show (I just saw it twice on the West End and rather want to keep that in my mind), many people I know that have seen say that they do a good job with it and it's still plenty dirty (though most of those people haven't seen the original to compare with).

And I'll stop using parenthetical phrases now.

Also, it usually takes closer to three hours to get to and from Chicago.

[jbclindsay]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 5:54pm

Hey all, reporting from Kalamazoo, MI, to answer some of the questions posed on this thread.

Technically, the community theatre rights to "Avenue Q" are not released yet. Up until a few months ago, there was the original version and a "school version". Yes, school version. Our theatre became a pilot theatre to test what works and doesn't work for a community theatre version. We've been working with MTI and the writers to come up with a "middle ground". What they came up with were three options for future productions: the orignial version, the school version, and the version we have been testing... a slightly altered but still pretty raunchy version. We are missing the f-bombs (replaced with other swear words), and the writers came up with a new last line of "Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada". Other than that... it's in. Including full-frontal puppet nudity and aaaaaall that goes with it.

The rights will be fully released to community theatres sometime in the next two-three years.

The roles are cast singularly, as to give more people the benefit of being in the show. Also, until you have actually tried to maneuver one of these puppets for two and a half hours, you probably can't fully appreciate how much work they are. For community theatre/novice puppeteers, it would certainly be less stress on the actors to divide the work load.

The puppets were the result of trial and error by a puppet company (not our own). The original puppets we received as "practice puppets" were studied and noted for improvements by our guest artist, puppeteer Cheryl Blaylock. Improvements both on the outside (offset eyes, etc) and internally (hand grips, length of puppet sleeve, etc). She sent the list of improvements as well as the puppets back to the company, at which time they made as many of those improvements as they could. Needless to say, not all of the improvements could be made in the time constraint. But this is a pilot production, and hopefully future companies will be able to reap the benefit of some of the adjustments that have been and will be made.

A Costume Designer for the Kalamazoo Civic designed all of the costumes... human and puppet.

No, Christmas Eve is not Asian. Holy "King and I", Batman!

Thanks for all of the comments, we have had a great run (we close tomorrow) and it has been an incredible experience for everyone involved. Cheers!