Jennifer Barnhart - the original AVENUE Q cast member who performed with the show for over seven years from the very beginning at the Vineyard Theatre through its entire run on Broadway - will once again join AVENUE Q when she resumes the roles of Mrs. T, Bad Idea Bear and other characters on Sunday, May 2nd at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) in Manhattan.
Ms. Barnhart - who performed AVENUE Q well over 2,000 times in her long tenure with the show - recently appeared in the Goodspeed Opera House production of Jim Henson'S EMMET OTTER and at the Union Square Theatre in STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG. Her other credits include: ANGELS IN AMERICA (Gallery Players), TWELFTH NIGHT, INTO THE WOODS, RUMORS (CT Repertory Theater). Her list of TV credits include: "Law & Order: SVU", "Sesame Street", "Between the Lions" and "Lomax: the Hound of Music"(PBS/CPTV). She, along with the entire original cast of AVENUE Q, is the recipient of an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Puppet Artistry.
Ms. Barnhart joins the cast of AVENUE Q, which features Sarah Stiles (Kate Monster & Lucy); Seth Rettberg (Princeton & Rod); Ann Sanders (Christmas Eve); Cullen R. Titmas (Nicky & Trekkie Monster); Nicholas Kohn (Brian); and Danielle K. Thomas (Gary Coleman).
AVENUE Q is the three-time Tony Award-winning musical about a group of 20-something people and puppets fresh out of college who move to New York City with big dreams and tiny bank accounts.
AVENUE Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, and is directed by Jason Moore. Based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon, AVENUE Q has musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, choreography by Ken Roberson, scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by ACME Sound Partners. General management is by Ken Davenport, Davenport Theatrical Enterprises.
Winner of three 2004 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score (Messrs. Lopez and Marx) and Best Book of a Musical (Mr. Whitty), AVENUE Q became an overnight sensation on Broadway in July 2003, having transferred to the John Golden Theatre from a wildly successful, extended and sold-out engagement Off-Broadway at The Vineyard Theatre in Union Square. The musical transferred to New World Stages in the theater district in October. 2009 and continues to play to sold-out, happy audiences eight times a week.
Over two million people have seen AVENUE Q in the past seven plus years - including most recent celebs Charlize Theron, Liev Schreiber and Mercedes Ruehl.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls AVENUE Q "A breakthrough musical of a very different stripe." In the Washington Post, Peter Marks wrote, "AVENUE Q rekindles your faith in the American musical." And Entertainment Weekly said the musical is "jaw-droppingly hilarious. One of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see."
