Last Chance to See Avenue Q
Tony-winning musical departs Boston this weekend
The colorful cast of Avenue Q. Photo by Mark S. Howard, courtesy of Lyric Stage Company
When Avenue Q opened on Broadway in 2003, critics hailed the musical’s inventive blend of human actors and puppets and its witty and irreverent lyrics describing characters’ anxieties as they enter adulthood. In songs like “It Sucks to Be Me,” “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English,” and “There Is Life Outside Your Apartment,” composers and lyricists Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx gave voice to the fears of 20-somethings everywhere. The show won the Tony “Triple Crown”—best musical, best book, and best score—and ran more than 2,500 performances before moving Off-Broadway in 2009 for an extended run.
Now, you can see for yourself what all the fuss was about. Boston’s Lyric Stage Company has mounted a critically praised production of Avenue Q. But don’t wait to buy tickets. The show’s run concludes this Sunday.
Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a recent college graduate who moves to a shoddy apartment on Avenue Q in New York City, where he meets a host of colorful characters. Together they find their purpose in life. The show draws deeply on Sesame Street for inspiration, with several of the puppets parodies of the best-known Muppets, among them Bert and Ernie and Cookie Monster. The show’s gentle humor and winning tunes tackle a number of adult themes, including unemployment, racism, and sexual identity.
According to the Boston Globe, “We can all relate to a story about hard economic times and difficult personal relationships. And in the Lyric Stage Company production, it’s hard to say who’s cuter and more lovable, the puppets or the humans.” And the Boston Phoenix deems it “hilarious and soulful!”
The Lyric Stage Company was founded in 1974. Under the current artistic direction of Spiro Veloudos, it is dedicated to serving as a home for Boston-area theater artists.
Learn more about the Lyric’s production of Avenue Q here.
To get to Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon St., Boston, take the MBTA Green Line to Copley Station. Walk one block up Boylston St., turn right onto Clarendon, and walk two and a half blocks. Ticket prices range from $25 to $75 and are subject to change. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the box office at 617-585-5678. If the performance is sold out, you can call the box office after noon on the day of the show to be added to the waiting list. You can also test your luck with the student rush offer—an hour before the show, students with a valid student ID can get a ticket, if available, for $10.
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Andreia DeVries can be reached at adevries@bu.edu.
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