Avenue Q To Ride Off Broadway Via September ExitWhile the 2004 Tony Award-winning Best Musical
Avenue Q still resides on Broadway, it's simply for now. The little adult puppet musical will close on September 13 after playing 2,534 performances.
Avenue Q began as a "million dollar idea" initially conceptualized for television by
Jeff Marx and
Robert Lopez. But as it progressed, it took shape as a downtown musical with
Jeff Whitty providing its book in time for its original mounting at New York's
Vineyard Theatre. From there, it transferred to midtown to Broadway's
John Golden Theatre, where it opened July 10, 2003.
When I first caught the fledgling little
Avenue Q during the 2003-04 Theatrical Season with its original cast -- long before it was awarded the 2004 Tony for Best Musical -- I enjoyed its devious humor that tracked an ingenious parallel universe with television's "
Sesame Street." I vividly recall a fun time was had by all.
I was less enamored with the
current touring production when I caught it several years later, perhaps in part because of its unprecedented, all-out
campaign effort to win the Tony back in 2003, coupled with the
producers subsequent sell-out to Steve Wynn and Vegas
instead of touring. But I give the show and its creators enormous credit for having lasted so long and inspiring new audiences to enjoy live theatre.
Those die-hard
Avenue Q fans can take heart. The show still continues to
tour nationally, with stops scheduled through at least one year forward. Then there's the successful West End production that opened to
mixed reviews three years ago last Sunday.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Closing Notices, Jeff Marx, Jeff Whitty, London, Musical, Robert Lopez, The Vineyard
Freedom Of Speech...Even For Voices In ConflictThe
United States Supreme Court may not believe that First Amendment rights to free speech extend to high school students, but New York's Vineyard certainly does.
Next month,
The Vineyard will stage three free performances of the controversial
Voices In Conflict -- a documentary-style play constructed by drama students at Wilton (CT) High School as a class project that gives voice to actual interviews, letters and essays from American soldiers serving their country in Iraq. Wilton's students will perform the work.
Voices In Conflict originated when the students were confronted last September by the death of a 2005 Wilton High School graduate who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. That soldiers's legacy included a written letter. The students began to compile other soldier's writings and soon had a series of monologues that were ready to be staged.
After deeming the original high school production as too controversial this past April, Wilton High School Principal Timothy H. Canty canceled all performances at the school.
He was quoted in The New York Times saying, "'It would be easy to look at this case on first glance and decide this is a question of censorship or academic freedom....In some minds, I can see how they would react this way. But quite frankly, it's a false argument.''
Ironically,
the high school bills itself as "a community of learners dedicated to academic and personal excellence. Within a nurturing, respectful environment, we foster scholarship, character and citizenship."
While the school's claims are specious at best, we can be thankful that these students will understand that there are far more Americans who care about the proper protection of First Amendment rights and are willing to join in teaching school administrators a thing or two about what those rights actually mean.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Labels: Freedom Of Speech, New York State, Off-Broadway, Play, Supreme Court, The Vineyard, Voices In Conflict, Wilton High School
