Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#1Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 9:57pmWhy is that?
#2re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 9:59pmIs there a separate London production from the one on the West End?
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#2re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:03pmI meant west end. Sorry for not being clear.
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#3re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:05pmBecause he is.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#4re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:06pm
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?
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#5re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:08pm^ yeah that is my basic question. Does anyone know?
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#6re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:11pmUhp. Jason Moore just emailed me back and told me it's because you touch yourself at night.
#7re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:21pmBest kind of sock - can't even write a coherent question.
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#8re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:25pmI am not a sock. Very Original Pirguaguy2.
rich.hanson59
Stand-by Joined: 8/7/07
#9re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:28pmProducers 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.
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#10re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:30pm^Thanks for being HELPFUL rich.hanson unlike some people...
#11re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 7:53amI'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?
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#12re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 9:44am
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.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#13re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 9:48am
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.
#14re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 3:09pmPretty soon no one will even know who Gary Coleman is (or was) - except a character in "Ave Q".
#15re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 3:32pm
"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.
#16re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 5:27pm
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.
#17re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/28/09 at 5:30pm
This is such a messed up thread.
thanks for giving me a laugh in the middle of the day. I needed it. :)
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
#18re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 8:56am
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?
#19re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:19am
"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.
leefowler
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/04
#20re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:28amWell 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.
#21re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:35amThanks for the laughs, guys!
bwayfan7000
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
#22re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:45amI 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.
#23re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:51am
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.
Slasher
Swing Joined: 3/22/09
#24re: Why is Gary Colemen a boy in London and a boy on the west end?
Posted: 3/29/09 at 12:10pmWhat'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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