(MURFREESBORO) The tony-award winning hit musical, Avenue Q, opens this Friday (7/8/2022) evening at Murfreesboro’s Center for the Arts (110 W. College St.). This R Rated Musical described as “Sesame Street meets South Park,” combines a cast of humans and puppets who tackle some of life’s most controversial issues: racism, sex, money, career, and other matters unmentionable.
“This musical is definitely rated R,” said Patience Long, Executive Director at The Center for the Arts. “While some of the subjects are very sensitive, when puppets do the talking, it takes the conversation from uncomfortable to funny, so it’s a way to tackle subjects that have been too risky to discuss in the past.”
The Center for the Arts is mostly known for family-friendly productions, but since increasing the number of shows offered to the public, they have spread their wings to offer more diversity.
“We’ve seen dramatic growth since 2015, which has allowed us to hire additional staff, pay some of our tech artists, and offer a more diverse season,” said Long.
Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30PM and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM from July 8 - 24, 2022.
The show won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. It has been praised for its approach to themes of racism, homosexuality, and internet pornography.
Avenue Q's cast consists of three human characters and eleven puppet characters who interact as if human, Sesame Street–style. The puppets are animated and voiced by puppeteers who are on stage, unconcealed. The puppet and human characters ignore the puppeteers, creating the illusion that the puppets are alive. The show draws inspiration from and imitates the format of children's educational television show Sesame Street. All of the characters (puppet and human) are young adults who face real-world problems with uncertain solutions, as opposed to the simplistic problems and invariably happy resolutions encountered by characters on children's television programming.
Tickets start at $16 and are currently on sale at boroarts.org, by calling 615-904-ARTS (2787), or at the Center for the Arts Box Office, 110 West College Street, in downtown Murfreesboro.
