Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez: Avenue Q - Original Broadway Cast

Avenue Q has been running on Broadway since 2003 and is currently the 25th longest running musical in Broadway history having won 3 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The show is largely inspired by (and in the style of) Sesame Street - but for adults, most of the characters are puppets (operated by actors onstage). There's a healthy dose of profanity and even puppet sex! But the show also displays heart and a satisfying zany streak.

Avenue Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q - still, the neighbors seem nice. There's Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fiance's Christmas Eve. There's Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod - a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret. There's an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building's superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, Gary Coleman from Different Strokes.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

The excellent cast, dominated by John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, does it full justice, milking the humorous numbers for all they're worth and finding pathos in the more straightforward ones. Not bad for a "children's" show.