Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
Why is that?
Is there a separate London production from the one on the West End?
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
I meant west end. Sorry for not being clear.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
Because he is.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
Yet another blast of inanity from good ol' reliable dg.
I believe your question is why Gary's played by a girl on our shores but by a guy across the pond. Is that what you were asking?
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
^ yeah that is my basic question. Does anyone know?
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
Uhp. Jason Moore just emailed me back and told me it's because you touch yourself at night.
Best kind of sock - can't even write a coherent question.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
I am not a sock. Very Original Pirguaguy2.
Stand-by Joined: 8/7/07
Producers in London thought that British audiences would not be familiar with Gary Coleman, and therefore would not get the joke as to why he is played by a woman.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
^Thanks for being HELPFUL rich.hanson unlike some people...
I'm in London, I've seen Ave Q here 3 times, I grew up watching Gary Coleman on TV - so why is he played by a woman in NY?
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
It is supposed to be a joke. Sesame Street used to have guest stars Gary is the guest star but to mix it up a bit it is played by a woman.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
What? You still don't make sense.
They have a girl because they felt a girl could more properly emulate the lil', high-pitched midget Coleman was and is.
Pretty soon no one will even know who Gary Coleman is (or was) - except a character in "Ave Q".
"Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some"
"It takes Different Strokes to move the world."
That's why.
Sesame Street used to have guest stars Gary is the guest star but to mix it up a bit it is played by a woman.
Thank you question answer sense make Gary lol boy West end make senmse.
This is such a messed up thread.
thanks for giving me a laugh in the middle of the day. I needed it. :)
I had no idea who Gary Coleman was when I saw Avenue Q and, even having read this thread, I still don't.
hotjohn: what did you wear when you went to see Avenue Q?
"Producers in London thought that British audiences would not be familiar with Gary Coleman, and therefore would not get the joke as to why he is played by a woman."
Well as an American who certainly knew who Gary Coleman was, I still didn't understand the "joke" or the point of a girl playing the role on Broadway and not even making an attempt to be like, sound like, or act like Gary Coleman. I just thought it was a strange idea. But when I saw Avenue Q again in London, I thought it was sort of funny -- the guy really was sort of like Gary Coleman.
Was the American joke simply that the real Gary Coleman is more like a girl than a boy? Huh? If so, I didn't find that idea funny or even logical.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/04
Well think about it...If Gary Coleman was played by a man, people would think it was the ACTUAL Gary Coleman. When it's played by a woman, you know that it's a goof.
Thanks for the laughs, guys!
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
I think I remembered hearing once that in London, they were just going to have it be a random child star instead of specifically Gary, and cast a man in the role, but changed it back to Gary before it opened, leaving a man in the role instead of a woman. Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure.
If they are using a guy, why not just bring in Gary himself.
That would be funny and I'm sure Gary would appreciate the work.
Swing Joined: 3/22/09
What's funny about this is that when I saw the show this past February, there was a family behind me that had never seen it before (woman, mid-forties with two children). And before the show started she looked through her program and then proceeded to complain for a while about how silly it was that Gary Coleman was out. She couldn't fathom why his understudy was in fact a girl. So, yeah I guess it does take different strokes to move the world.
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