Vail Mountain School does ‘Avenue Q’
Vail Mountain School| Special ot the Daily |
Meet The Cast
Princeton: A recent college grad played by Luke McKeever.
Kate Monster: A kindergarten teaching assistant played by Sophia Nisinoff.
Nicky: A very caring and well-intentioned slacker voiced by Zack McKeever. Maddy Cooper operates the puppet. Nicky is always trying to make things better and everyone happier, but sometimes it backfires.
Rod: A closeted gay Republican investment banker played by Cameron Bill.
Lucy: A cabaret singing vamp played by Malia Hollander.
Trekkie Monster: A monster who spends his days at home on the Internet. He’s voiced by George Savin and operated Ian Hardenbergh.
Bad Idea Bears: They’re two snuggly teddy bears who are Princeton’s bad influence, encouraging him toward making bad decisions. They are played by Colby Wilson and Max Foote.
Mrs. Butz: A crabby old kindergarten teacher who is Kate’s boss. She is played by Sabrina D’Andrea.
Ricky: A surprise character played by Georgia Hintz.
Christmas Eve: An Asian therapist with two master’s degrees. He’s engaged to Brian and played by Christie Spessard.
Brian: A laid-back aspiring comedian played by Alec Mauro.
Gary Coleman: A fictionalized version of the child star of “Diff’rent Strokes” who is the superintendent of the building on Avenue Q. He is played by Brooke Weller.
Take a stroll down Avenue Q and you’ll hear all the hilarious things you want to say, but, along with clean underwear and combed hair, your mama made sure your internal filter was securely in place.
Vail Mountain School is presenting the school edition of “Avenue Q,” the Tony Award-winning Broadway show — only funnier.
“Not only have they made it not an adult show, they made it better. It’s actually funnier,” said Greg Jones, head of Vail Mountain School’s theater department.
The show runs next weekend at VMS.
“When we started rehearsing, the cast and I were on the floor laughing. I think the show is genius,” he said.
Support Local Journalism
“Avenue Q,” school edition, lampoons almost everything considered politically correct. And just because it features puppets does not mean it’s for small children. It certainly is not, Jones said.
“I love it because it’s one of those shows that asks questions and does not make statements. It allows you to laugh at things that people might not laugh at. It dares you to laugh at awkward moments,” Jones said.
The show approaches the subjects that everyone is afraid to talk about but does it in a humorous way. Kind of like that guy at the party with no internal filter who says what everyone else is thinking, but too afraid to say.
Take for example the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”
“There are many awkward moments that are funny because it is natural to laugh in awkward moments. Laughter is the path to true introspection and growth,” Jones said. “There’s nothing necessarily offensive, just humorously awkward.”
The monsters are physically actually big furry monsters, but metaphorically, they represent different races. The cast of “Avenue Q” is made up of 11 puppets and a cast of characters.
All the characters live on the same block on Avenue Q, meant to represent a random sampling who come together. Princeton (played by Luke McKeever) is 22 years old and just out of college. He’s full of dreams and looking for purpose in life when he moves to Avenue Q.
“Avenue Q” created a huge stir when it upset “Wicked” to win the 2004 Tony Award. It ran on Broadway for 2,534 performances.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 and rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
