For a while, Avenue Q seemed like one of those shows that wouldn’t die — not that that’s a bad thing. It began a typical six-week run in the summer of 2012 at the Theatre Too space in Dallas, but was such a hit it was renewed three times, finally closing around Thanksgiving of that year. Then the folks at Theatre 3 brought it back last spring, and again this past fall, when it had its final curtain.
But only in Dallas, it turns out. The entire creative team — director Michael Serrecchia, puppet designers Michael Robinson and Pix Smith, and the original cast (including, pictured, Robinson, James Chandler, Megan Kelly Bates and Matt Purvis) — have reunited for a final (they say) six-week engagement. This time, however, it’s the folks on the other side of the Trinity who are hosting it. Fort Worth’s Stage West is now the venue, which will require a few tweaks to the production: The Theatre Too space was tiny and almost in-the-round; Stage West offers a proscenium stage which has required some new blocking and, according to Robinson, a new style.
But the really important thing is simply that anyone who missed this production — one of my favorites in 2012 — will get a final chance to see it … or even see it again. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with horny gay puppets? It’s like a Friday night at JR.’s, only with more singing.
Stage West, 821 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth. Through Feb. 15. StageWest.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 10, 2014.
