AVENUE Q Returns to New Conservatory Theatre Center for 5th Anniversary

This December, New Conservatory Theatre Center delivers the ultimate holiday present with the 5th anniversary of its award-winning production of Avenue Q. Proclaimed "a local tradition" by San Francisco Travel, this "perennial hit ... even when seeing it for the second, third, or whatever time" (TheatrE Eddys) won over critics and audiences alike in its previous engagements in NCTC's intimate Decker Theatre.

Avenue Q runs December 1, 2017 - January 7, 2017 in NCTC's Decker Theatre. Opening Night is Saturday, December 9, 2016 at 8pm. Tickets are $35 - $60 and are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Due to popularity, NCTC has added Tuesday evening Avenue Q performances.. Performances are Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm.

Ring-in the New Year with Avenue Q, a special New Year's Eve performance, will be presented Sunday, December 31, 2017, complete with complimentary champagne toast and festive early start time of 7pm. Tickets are $60 are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Avenue Q is the laugh-out-loud, Tony Award-winning musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. Once there, he meets Kate (the girl next door), Rod (the Republican), Trekkie (the internet sexpert), Lucy The Slut (need we say more?), and other colorful types who help Princeton finally discover his purpose in life.

NCTC's 5th anniversary production is directed by Stephanie Temple, with musical direction by Ben Prince and orchestrations and arrangements by Stephen Oremus.

Special Engagements:

During the run of the show, theatre lovers can enjoy many special events:

• Onstage Insight, Post-Show Discussion after the following performance:

o Sunday, December 17 at 2pm- Panel discussion featuring the cast, moderated by the play's director.

• Low-cost Previews: Friday, December 1 - Friday, December 8.

• Opening Night will take place on Saturday, December 9 at 8pm. The performance will be followed by a reception with the cast, designers and director, catered by 17-18 Season Restaurant Sponsor, Mina's Brazilian.

• Ring in the New Year with Avenue Q - special New Year's Eve performance Sunday, December 31, at 7pm. Tickets are $60 and includes a complimentary champagne toast.

Composer and Lyricist Robert Lopez's first two Broadway musicals, Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, have both been critical and commercial smash hits and Best Musical Tony Award winners. He shared Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book for The Book of Mormon. He also shared a Tony for Best Original Score and a Grammy nomination for Avenue Q. With wife Kristen Anderson?Lopez, he co-wrote the smash Disney film Frozen, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Let it Go"; Finding Nemo: The Musical (playing at Walt Disney World since 2006), the Broadway?bound original musical Up Here and songs for Winnie the Pooh (Disney feature animation, 2011). He shared two Emmy Awards for his music for The Wonder Pets and an Emmy nomination for the Scrubs musical episode.

Composer and Lyricist Jeff Marx with Robert Lopez made their Broadway debut with Avenue Q. They began writing Avenue Q in the BMI Workshop in 1999, thinking it was a great idea for a TV series. Three years later it was produced Off?Broadway, Broadway (with three Tony Awards), Las Vegas and London. They also collaborated on new material for a Muppet movie called Kermit, Prince of Denmark (which received the coveted Ed Kleban Award) and Ferdinand the Bull, a children's musical for TheatreWorks/USA.

Librettist Jeff Whitty won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Avenue Q, which ran six years on Broadway and then moved to its current home Off-Broadway at New World Stages. He also wrote the book to the musical version of Tales of the City, which premiered at American Conservatory Theatre in 2011. He newest musical was Bring It On, with a score by Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, and Lin?Manuel Miranda, which had an extended limited run on Broadway in 2012, and was nominated for a Best Musical Tony Award. Whitty's plays include The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, The Hiding Place, The Plank Project, Balls, and Suicide Weather, and have played at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Atlantic Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, Vineyard Theatre, and The New Group.

The Purple Cast of Avenue Q will play Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances and features Audrey Baker (Kate Monster/Lucy), Chelsea Carruesco (Bad Idea Bear, Mrs T), Scott DiLorenzo (Brian), Maita Ponce (Christmas Eve), Nick Rodrigues (Princeton/Rod), Daniel Sherman (Nicky/Trekkie), Phaedra Tiller (Gary Coleman).

The Orange Cast of Avenue Q will play Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday performances and stars Janelle LsSalle (Gary Coleman), Juliana Lustenader (Bad Idea Bear, Mrs T), Kamren Mahaney (Princeton/Rod), Brendon North (Nicky/Trekkie), Sharon Shao (Christmas Eve), Scott Taylor-Cole (Brian).
The creative team of Avenue Q also includes Scenic Design by Kuo-Hao Lo, Costume Design by Wes Crain, Lighting Design by Maxx Kruzunski and Puppet Design by Travis Howse.

New Conservatory Theatre Center has been San Francisco's premier LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high-quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to developing new plays to expand the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.

Photo credit: Lois Tema

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