AVENUE Q is back!

Atlantis Productions bring back Broadway's hit Tony Award winning musical AVENUE Q to Manila from March 12 - 27, 2010, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati.

AVENUE Q first premiered in Manila in 2007 and has had three sold out runs since then plus a hit run in Singapore's Esplanade Theatre in 2008.

Tony-winning musical Avenue Q is the hilarious and heartfelt story of a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and little money. He can only afford to live on Avenue Q but--good news!--his neighbors turn out to be a remarkably funny bunch of characters (and monsters!).

Described as a cross between SESAME STREET and RENT and performed by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets, AVENUE Q was the winner of the 2004 TONY AWARD® for BEST NEW MUSICAL, BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE!  Featured in the cast are Aliw Award winner Rachel Alejandro, Felix Rivera, Aiza Seguerra, FrenchieDy, Thea Tadiar and Joel Trinidad.  Joining them for the first time is Calvin Millado.

AVENUE Q, with Music and Lyrics by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez and a Book by Jeff Whitty, is Directed by Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga and has Set Design by Mio Infante, Lighting Design by Jonsy Reyes, and Puppet Design by Samuel Fuentes based on the original Broadway designs of Rick Lyons. Due to full puppet nudity, parental discretion is advised.

Tickets on sale now!  Call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.

Well, that's what was written on the press material anyway.

I was fortunate enough to attend Avenue Q's bloggers preview yesterday at their rehearsal venue, and we got to watch the cast in action, performing musical numbers such as "The Avenue Q Theme," "What Do You Do With A B.A. In English?," "It Sucks To Be Me," "Purpose," and "Special."

So what new stuff will we be expecting for this run?

Joel Trinidad, who plays Nicky and Trekkie Monster, had said that "artists find new things to keep [the show] fresh. Maybe the character can do this or that... Ideally, the actors try to find something new."

After a 2-run absence, Rachel Alejandro is also back as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut. Knowing that manipulating puppets while acting is a challenge, Rachel said that there are many ways of conveying emotions through other means. They admitted that during their first run, they mostly focused on manipulating the puppets, but after several runs, they discover more ways to do things, and Rachel put it quite well when she said, "The more you do something, the more you get confident."

Also, they've got a new Brian aboard! Calvin Millado, last seen in Atlantis Productions' Beauty and the Beast back in 2005, is stepping into the unemployed comedian's shoes as Christmas Eve's fiance.

So to those who haven't seen Avenue Q, what makes this musical so different from the other shows? Basically this is really something new (especially back in 2004, when it won over Wicked for best play at the Tony Awards), having to confront and discuss issues in a different way, through the use of puppets. Felix Rivera (who plays Princeton and Rod) had said, "That's the magic of the show. It talks about real things but it's not preachy. It's all about tolerance and acceptance."

"It's not entirely positive, even towards the end, but it still makes you feel hopeful," Rachel had added.

I've seen this musical since it first opened in Manila, because heck, I was also part of it in the beginning, and when I took a sneak peek yesterday at the beginning of their rehearsal, it still never gets old. The actors really know how to keep everything fresh.
And because we weren't allowed to take photos or videos during the preview, here's a couple of photos from when I visited the Atlantis office later yesterday afternoon.

Hahaha, it's a small version of the perverted Trekkie Monster! This little thing is a resident of the Atlantis office, and I couldn't resist taking photos with him, while he took advantage of the opportunity, hahaha!