New "Ave Q" tour — Page 2

Avenue Q is coming to New Orleans's Mahalia Jackson theatre in June

Non-Equity is just a scaled down version of the show right?

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Non-Equity tours are usually scaled down, but Avenue Q will be using the exact same sets an puppets as the equity tour.

Actors Equity is the stage actors union that is supposed to be 'the best of the bunch'. All Broadway shows and Equity tours have equity actors only. If a tour is non-eq, it means that they are choosing actors who are NOT in the equity union. That doesn't mean that they are not talented, but equity tours are supposed to be better. Believe me, I've seen several non-equity tours that could have passed for a Broadway production, so I don't believe in skipping a show because it's non-eq.

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Any word on a website for the tour?

^ DG07, I bursted out laughing when I saw that website. It's amazing that they're combining children's theatre with AVenue Q. Wow

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It will be in Philly next year as well

In general I have no problem with non-eq tours. They can be great or terrible just as equity can be. But I found out who some of the cast are .. sadly they are mostly very young performers who have only done children's theatre...for this same production company! What a waste of a great show.

Also, heard that the Christmas Eve understudy is a WHITE GIRL. WHAT?! Now *that's* definitely not OK and is SO racist!

"In general I have no problem with non-eq tours. They can be great or terrible just as equity can be. But I found out who some of the cast are .. sadly they are mostly very young performers who have only done children's theatre...for this same production company! What a waste of a great show."
With all due respect, neither you nor I have seen one of these cast members performing anything. It's not fair to judge a group of actors by their age and resume. For all you know, they knocked that children's theatre out of the park and they're going to give killer performances in Avenue Q. You have to start out somewhere. Talent is needed to have a successful career in acting, but so is luck. Some of these actors may not have ha their lucky moment yet and they could prove themselves as wonderful actors and get their big break after this tour is done with. You're right...the cast could be horrible, but they could also be excellent.

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You guys are complaining that Gary Coleman is being played by a man.. the way they did it in London and which makes sense since Gary Coleman is a MALE.... but you think I'm wrong to be a little unhappy that Christmas Eve is covered by a caucasian?! How would you feel if Gary Coleman's cover was a white guy? It's the same thing!

I'm not saying it's a tragedy.. but it's certainly disappointing. I don't want to see a white girl in 'yellow face' any more than you'd want to see a white guy in 'black face'. It's inappropriate and unnecessary.

1. Aymee Garcia did NOT actually cover Xmas Eve... she was covering the other ensemble roles and had to go last minute ONCE when they were short their role and cover because of illness. And she has publicly stated that she was very uncomfortable with the whole thing.

2. That's why the union has rules about not casting outside the intended race unless absolutely necessary. Remember the Jonathan Price problem in Miss Saigon? Why give a role that could go to a performer of that racial minority to a white performer if you don't have to?

Yeah everyone's a little bit racist.. way to quote the show. Original.

I'm not surprised the tour features performers with an average age of 25 and very limited professional theatrical experience. That pretty much is the definition of a non-Equity tour.

The JCS tour with Ted Neeley comes to mind. While it's jarring enough to have a 66-year-old Jesus, having him surrounded by recent college grads trying to earn their cards made him look even more like Papa Smurf.

At least the Q tour cast seems to be close in age to the characters they're portraying.

He turned in his card when the JCS tour became non-Eq.

i heard it took 5 weeks or something to cast this tour and my friend who went said they saw hundreds of people at the open calls, not to mention the agent submissions...

i would think after that intense of an audition process, they probably found exactly what they wanted and the cast is awesome. i have actually seen one of the cast members in a show before and they were amazing! if they are around his level, then I have no doubt this tour will be awesome. i can't wait until it comes to my hometown!

The Bway cast, creatives, & Bway producers have all been hanging at their rehearsals the past few days.