Jeff Whitty Reveals His AVENUE Q Movie Ideas

Avenue Q book writer Jeff Whitty has shared a detailed outline of what a film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical would be like.

In a new blog post on his website, Whitty discussed the musical's success nearly 20 years after it initially opened Off-Broadway. Now, he is sharing his thoughts on what an updated movie musical should look like.

Although the musical reflects a Sesame Street-style educational children's television show, Whitty believes that the film should be a "fully-developed, perfectly-structured feature film," similar to The Muppet Movie.

Whitty's idea for the film also features updated takes on each character, including maknig Kate Monster more "assertive" in the film, turning Lucy The Slut into the "equivalent of a Kardashian," and focusing more on Trekkie Monster "as an incel (minus the resentful misogyny)."

"We can play with the cultural conversation on 'wokeness,'" Whitty wrote. "In the stage show, Kate's activist side is revealed by degrees. She can lead more with it in the film. She's not 'holier than thou' so much as sensibly outraged."

Whitty also asserted that the character of Gary Coleman should be cut out of the story out of respect to his death and replaced with a new character, "that is funnier and less prone to declining relevance." Whitty also stated that the new character can be later placed into the stage version.

However, some aspects of the show will remain the same for the film, such as Princeton's "Purpose" character arc, the love story between Rod and Nicky, and having Ann Harada and Jordan Gelber return as Christmas Eve and Brian, respectively.

While Whitty seeks to cast unknown actors in the other lead roles, he mentions that he would like Ian McKellen to play Mrs. Thistletwat and have multiple celebrity cameos throughout the film.

Whitty's blog post features extensive plans to what the film could potentially look like, complete with drafts of scenes from the script. Read the complete blog post here.

At the end of the post, Whitty also leaves the door open to further adaptations of the musical, included a television series and a "smartly revised, up-to-the-minute Broadway revival."

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 fianceé Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod -- a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

The musical opened on Broadway in 2003, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. It ran through 2009 and later opened Off-Broadway where it ran for several more years. The musical has also played the West End, a national tour, and a sit-down production in Las Vegas.

Photo by Peter James Zielinski