About the work
Avenue Q is a musical by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (music and lyrics) with a book by Jeff Whitty, premiered on Broadway in 2003. Inspired by Sesame Street but decidedly adult, this comedy featuring puppets and humans surprisingly won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Plot
The fresh college graduate Princeton moves to the run-down New York street Avenue Q, the only one he can afford. There a colourful neighbourhood of humans and puppets all grapple with the disappointments of growing up: the search for purpose, precarious jobs, love, and identity. In ironically tender songs they address everything from internet pornography to everyday racism, until Princeton learns that everything in life is only "for now."
Cultural significance
Avenue Q was an irreverent parody of children's programmes that used their form to sing of the disillusionment of the intern generation. Its surprise victory over the heavily favoured Wicked at the Tony Awards became legendary. Songs such as It Sucks to Be Me and Everyone's a Little Bit Racist captured the ironic tone of a young generation and made the work a long-running Off-Broadway and touring success.