Where is Avenue Q? Why, it’s the place where “Sesame Street” meets “South Park.”
It’s also a production with beautiful music, where puppets interact with humans and monsters really do exist. “Avenue Q” opens Aug. 9 at the Bay Street Theatre.
Director Jeffrey DeVincent first saw “Avenue Q” when a performance ensemble at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he is chairman of media and performing arts, performed at Carnegie Hall.
“It was right after ‘Avenue Q’ moved to Broadway,” he says. “I went to see it and fell completely in love. I went four more times and had the best time. Over eight days, I saw it five times.”
DeVincent was a first-generation “Sesame Street” fan.
We used to watch it as part of our first-grade class day,” he says.
From the beginning, DeVincent enjoyed the Muppet sense of humor. “By the time I reached my late 30s, ‘Avenue Q’ came around,” he says. “As my sense of humor darkened, the Muppets turned into ‘Avenue Q.’”
For years, DeVincent has been working with puppets.
“I’ve always been a Muppet and puppet fan,” he says. “Once ‘Avenue Q’ became available, I was all over it.
“I talked Bay Street Theatre into doing it. It’s ‘South Park’ meets ‘Sesame Street’ with music.”
While there’s a lot of irony going on in “Avenue Q,” its theme is really all about acceptance, DeVincent says.
“The playwright gives us permission to change some of the lyrics to make it contemporary,” he says. “It’s very contemporary, with even Chick-fil-A and everything that’s going on in politics.”
The music and lyrics were written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and the book was written by Jeff Whitty. “Avenue Q” is a coming-of-age parable that satirizes the issues faced on entering adulthood.
Assured by their parents and such shows as “Sesame Street” that they were “special” and “could do anything,” as adults they realize the real world is quite limiting and they are no more special than anyone else.
Human actors work alongside puppets, just as is done in “Sesame Street.” There are some obvious parodies, including roommates Rod and Nicky, a clear parody of Bert and Ernie, and Trekkie Monster, a parody of Cookie Monster.
The resemblance ends there, however. The characters use profanity, have puppet sex and there is even some “full puppet nudity.”
Adult themes are expressed, including racism, pornography and homosexuality. And there’s some weirdness in the inclusion of a character named Gary Coleman who plays the late actor.
In most productions of “Avenue Q,” the part is played by a woman. Coleman has been forced to accept a job as a building superintendent in the run-down Avenue Q neighborhood due to his dire financial situation.
Although “Avenue Q” is often updated with modern issues, the character remains, even though Coleman died in 2010.
“The only time it was ever modified was the day he died, and they did it as a tribute to him,” DeVincent says.
At one point, Coleman threatened to sue over his characterization in the production. “It was something he really hated until he saw it,” DeVincent says.
The show incorporates single rod, double rod and live hands puppets. “We have a beautiful set of puppets we rented from New York,” DeVincent says.
“I just returned the rehearsal puppets,” he says. “You have the rehearsal puppets for two weeks, then you get the real puppets before the show opens.”
“Avenue Q” is a giant production to mount. “We did it in four-and-a-half weeks, which is not enough time to do the music let alone the puppetry,” DeVincent says. “There was only one person who had puppetry experience prior to this. It was quite a mountain to climb.”
The cast features Kamille Dawkins as Gary Coleman, Thomas Houston as Brian and Cecelia Arango as Christmas Eve. “They are all human characters,” DeVincent says.
The puppet characters are Valerie Macaluso as Lucy the Slut, Brittny Hargrove as Kate Monster, Bryan Pridgen as Princeton, Matthew Gunnells as Trekky Monster, Danielle Frazier as Mrs. T, Travis Harold Coles as Rod and Christopher Stanley as Nicky.
“We did a workshop with Aretta Baumgartner from the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts,” DeVincent says. “It took a long time, but it was a really great learning experience, the best kind of fun challenge.
“It’s been a wonderfully diverse process,” he says. “We laugh so much. I run a tight ship, but we laugh a lot.”
While “Avenue Q” is a puppet show, please, leave the children at home. “This show is for older teens, mature teens and above,” DeVincent says. “It is not for the little ones.”
But adults are guaranteed a really good time. “For people from their late teens up, this is the funniest piece of theater they will see in Savannah this year, with some beautiful music,” DeVincent says. “We can all stand a big belly laugh in the climate of 2012.”
IF YOU GO
What: Bay Street Theatre presents “Avenue Q”
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26
Where: Bay Street Theatre, Club One, 1 Jefferson St.
Cost: $20 general admission, $25 for table seating
Info: 912-232-0200, www.baystreettheatre.org