There’s a reason the original cast recording of “Avenue Q” became the first Broadway album to carry a parental advisory. Despite its puppets, “Sesame Street” it ain’t.
“Part flesh, part felt and packed with heart,” the musical opened on Broadway in 2003. It won the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score the following year and moved Off-Broadway in 2009. There it enjoyed a 10-year run, inspiring performances around the globe before, during and ever since.
It returns to Tampa Bay Aug. 31-Sept. 25, produced by the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. It’s featured as a part of the venue’s series showcasing the region’s top talent, most recently on display in “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Nunsense: A-Men!”
“The laugh-out-loud musical – featuring actors and puppets – tells the story of a recent college grad named Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment on Avenue Q,” it’s described. “He soon discovers that … this is not your ordinary neighborhood, which is a racy, adults-only cross between ‘South Park’ and ‘Sesame Street.’”
It’s a perfect fit for this season’s lineup, albeit with a parental advisory of its own. The Straz cautions “Avenue Q” contains “adult themes, raunch language and full puppet nudity.”
“I think right now audiences desire fun and they want to laugh,” Director David Jenkins says. “I was on the ground-floor of reopening the theaters, not just here locally, but at a national level, and audiences have just been really clear in how they vote with their feet.
“‘Little Shop of Horrors’ was selling out nightly but we can’t get folks into things that are more serious, that have less ‘brand-name’ recognition, or that are just generally challenging shows,” he continues. “So, that in mind, I could not be more happy to be directing ‘Avenue Q.’”
Its cast is led by Spencer Meyers, an artist, actor and artistic associate for Jobsite Theater, the Straz’s resident theatre company. He’s been an ensemble member there since 2007, working with Jenkins – the company’s co-founder and producing artistic director – in productions like “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Meyers plays Princeton, the “bright-eyed college grad” who finds a home on Avenue Q. That’s where he meets a memorable cast of characters including girl-next-door Kate Monster, internet entrepreneur Trekkie Monster and more.
“‘Avenue Q’ has always been on my bucket list,” Meyers says. “It’s a very exciting challenge and there is something really fun about having, manipulating and acting through a puppet.
“It feels similar to when I have a heavy makeup show,” he continues. “You can lose yourself and really become the character, and it’s great when that character is literally on your wrist.”
Other notable puppets include Rod – the “obsessively neat Republican” also played by Meyers – and Nicky, his “slacker roommate.” A play on Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street,” they share a memorable duet in “If You Were Gay.”
“It’s a classic and very comical song, but if you break down the lyrics it’s a song about acceptance,” Meyers explains. “It’s two roommates, one of them saying ‘if you were gay, we’d still be friends.’
“There’s a very specific generation that remembers when this show and song came out, including young kids who were aspiring theater students, and just having it in there was nice,” he continues. “Having characters in this show that may or may not be gay – who may be in the closet, you’ll have to see the show – was a big deal when it came out.”
The show’s other fan-favorite numbers include “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” and “The Internet is For Porn.”
“‘Avenue Q’ is one of those shows that’s intentionally transgressive, that’s hitting incredibly serious topics – sexuality, race, equality – for laughs,” Jenkins says. As his PhD work was in comedy, with a focus on how it can lead to social change, it’s something he’s interested in as both an artist and sociologist.
“Comedy acts as a pressure-valve, it helps vent some of that pent up steam,” he explains. “It allows everyone in that room to not have to talk but just be witness to another story, and then react accordingly … What comedy does best, especially with ‘heavy’ topics, is that it can work to short circuit taken-for-granted logic and create a space where we can learn from one another. And I love that.”
Bringing “Avenue Q” to the stage is no small task, even pre-puppet. The majority of the cast plays more than one character, frequently featured on stage and in song together.
“This is a very complicated show and the duality is a real thing,” Meyers says. “There are scenes with Kate Monster and the character Lucy – both played by the same actress – and watching her go back and forth is a marvel. Luckily, there are only a few times where I have to do that.”
Given that it’s his first time controlling a puppet on stage, let alone two, the actor says he’s lucky to be surrounded by seasoned puppeteers and performers.
“I love everyone involved,” Meyers notes. “They’ve passed along so many nice tricks and tips of the trade. It’s been very exciting to develop a whole new skill set.”
The performer is eager for audiences to witness the cast and crew in action, particularly their puppets. He says it has something almost everyone can enjoy.
“This is a fun, entertaining musical where you can sit down and not have to think too much, really getting an escape from your life,” Meyers says. “That is what a lot of people want right now and it’s perfect for that – as long as you’re 18 or older.”
“Avenue Q” plays Aug. 31-Sept. 25 in the Jaeb Theater of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1010 N. Macinnes Pl. in Tampa. To purchase tickets and for more information, call 813-229-7827 and visit StrazCenter.org.
