Will we ever see Avenue Q again?- Page 3

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 8/14/24 at 5:35pm

It's a shame they were never able to make a film of the show in the style of the TV shows it was spoofing, I feel like that would've been a decently budget-friendly way to keep it around even as its relevance dwindles.

[JBM84]

Posted: 8/14/24 at 5:38pm

I'd love to see a modern take on the references and WHO grew up on children's media then. In 2004 it was kids of the 70s, now it's kids of the 90s. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 8/14/24 at 6:43pm

Phantom4ever said: "I ignored all of the obnoxious posts where people were getting into nonsense fights with each other over a dang theater message board for goodness's sake. Some of you really need to get some perspective in your life.

ANYWAY, I adore Avenue Q; I saw the original production at the Golden 12 times over the years. When the stagehand strike ended suddenly in 2007, I celebrated by going to see Avenue Q that night.

It's a show that spoke to a specific generation, I think. Many generations of children have grown up on Sesame Street but for kids of the 70's/80s, Sesame Street and perhaps Mr. Rogers were it for us and they had an outsize effect on our attitudes growing up, especially when it came to all of us being special, having a purpose, etc. When we got older and realized that the world doesn't care if we live or die or are successful or not, that's a tought thing to accept after hearing all that positivity in childhood. Not only that, but the city was still recovering from 9/11, and one of the things that went away was irony, especially in comedy. Avenue Q brought that back and then some. Sesame Street for adults? Puppity nudity? It was just what we needed.

Sure lots of stuff is dated and a lot of stuff even became dated during the original run like making someone a mixtape, having to go to the computer lab to use a computer, the total lack of social media, Gary Coleman (but he was the embodiment for what we were all feeling about adulthood at the time) and even the plasma TV screens on the sides of the stage--remember how the Avenue Q logowas burned into them even when the tvs were off? Ha!

I shudder to think that there are theater fans who can't see the satire in songs like "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist". I thank goodness you all weren't around during the original runs of some of our classic musicals because your pitchforks are out in full force and it's not a good look.

All that said, if Avenue Q were to come back tomorrow, most people in their 20s and 30s won't get most of the humor I would imagine and everybody else will wonder about the dated references. Avenue Q borrowed heavily from Sesame Street and Jim Henson's Muppets, so a new revival would have to have something fresh to connect us to those properties.

And that final line in "I wish I could go back to college" will always hit me right in the feels---If I were to go back to college, think what a loser I'd be. I'd walk through the quad, and think--oh my god! These kids are so much younger than me!""

I loved Avenue Q and still remember how groundbreaking it was at the time. I recall reading in an article how Avenue Q inspired the South Park folks to create Book of Mormon musical.
Perhaps New York City Center Encores may do Avenue Q revival in 20-30 years for 1-2 weeks with a star cast?
 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/14/24 at 9:38pm

I didn’t grow up during the 70s or 80s and I still thought avenue q was funny.  Even if you don’t know some of the references, it’s still funny by itself just like Book of Mormon. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 8/15/24 at 10:54am

Has anyone seen the edited Jr. Version? I know "The Internet Is for Porn" had the lyrics rewritten to "My Social Life is Online." Were there other significant changes?

Avenue Q School Edition, "My Social Life is Online" (youtube.com)

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/15/24 at 11:28am

SeanD2 said: "joevitus said: "Sondheim and Prince never had a falling out, Rice and Lloyd Webber never worked together again after Evita, and Lawrence alienated everyone.

I really should just block you..."

You're right about Sondheim & Prince, but Rice & Lloyd Webber did work together at least twice since Evita. On the original song for the Evita film and more substantially on the new songs for The Wizard of Oz. Additionally there are well placed rumors that they've been collaborating on a new show the past couple years."

Ah, thanks for that. My bad.

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/15/24 at 11:46am

Phantom4ever said: "I ignored all of the obnoxious posts where people were getting into nonsense fights with each other over a dang theater message board for goodness's sake. Some of you really need to get some perspective in your life...
I shudder to think that there are theater fans who can't see the satire in songs like "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist". I thank goodness you all weren't around during the original runs of some of our classic musicals because your pitchforks are out in full force and it's not a good look."

You obviously didn't ignore the posts, as you are responding to their content. Maybe you need a bit of perspective?

No one has pitchforks out. I like "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." It's a good, satirical song. But we are literally in the midst of a political/social moment where a nominee for president is repeatedly engaging in racist comments that hover between dog whistles and outright statements (talks of mass deportation and how with some immigrants, "we don't even know the languages they're speaking"), and his base is urging him on to be more explicit. For years now, we've been living through repeated news cycles of assaults/murders of Black citizens with rarely any consequences for the perpetrators, who are often law enforcement officers. The Democratic candidate is being accused of being a pretend Black person because she's biracial.

So right now, a song like that just isn't going to inspire much laughter, and will likely cause a lot of unhappiness. It isn't about the show, it's about the timing as well as a shift in the cultural discourse away from irony and sarcasm to more earnest, direct speech.

I'm sure the pendulum will swing back, likely when people who are vocally more than "a little bit racist" aren't such an influential part of the political discourse. But it's--just one--example of why now is not the time for an Avenue Q revival. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 8/15/24 at 12:56pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "Has anyone seen the edited Jr. Version? I know "The Internet Is for Porn" had the lyrics rewritten to "My Social Life is Online." Were there other significant changes?

Avenue Q School Edition, "My Social Life is Online" (youtube.com)"

My high school did the school edition back in 2012 or so (as the students we absolutely adored it because it felt edgy and cool).  My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada and You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want were both cut completely and I think Lucy the Slut was handled somewhat differently but I can't remember how (she still essentially seduces Princeton away from Kate and everything though).  I'm sure some lines of dialogue were changed as well but it still felt racy and more PG-13 than we expected for a school production.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/15/24 at 5:26pm

chrishuyen said: "My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada and You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want were both cut completely"

Seems a shame about "My Girlfriend..." - just a few phrases would need to be changed to make it safely PG, and the main joke would still be intact. "You Can Be..." was always pretty much my least favorite song in the show, so no big loss there (IMO).