NCTC Presents AVENUE Q; Special Events Announced

This December, New Conservatory Theatre Center continues its not-so-traditional tradition of its award-winning production of Avenue Q. Featuring "catchy melodies sung by randy puppets suffering post-collegiate existential dread" (SF Chronicle), NCTC's Avenue Q has been proclaimed a "local tradition" by San Francisco Travel, winning over critics and audiences alike in its previous engagements in NCTC's intimate Decker Theatre. Declares the San Francisco Examiner, "only the Grinch could prevent the laughter-filled show from selling out night after night."

Avenue Q runs November 30, 2018 - January 6, 2019 in NCTC's Decker Theatre. Opening Night is Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 8pm. Tickets are $38 - $65 and are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

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

A Very Fuzzy New Year with Avenue Q, a special New Year's Eve performance, will be presented Monday, December 31, 2018, complete with complimentary champagne toast and festive early start time of 7:30pm. Tickets are $54-65 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.

This year's production is directed by Jay Manley, with musical direction by Mark Dietrich, assistant direction and puppet direction by Chris Morrell, and choreography by Audrey Baker.

Audiences can enjoy these special events during the run of the show:

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

o Sunday, December 16 at 2pm- Panel discussion featuring the cast, moderated by the play's director.

§ Low-cost Previews: Friday, November 30 - Friday, December 7.

§ How to Puppet Workshop

o December 6, 13, and 20 at 7:15pm - Learn how to work the Avenue Q puppets from Puppet Director, Chris Morrell. Free with ticket purchase.

§ Opening Night will take place on Saturday, December 8 at 8pm.

o The performance will be followed by a reception with the cast, designers and director.

§ A Very Fuzzy New Year with Avenue Q

o Special New Year's Eve performance Monday, December 31, at 7:30pm.

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. His 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 Angel Adedokun (Gary Coleman), Alex Akin (Bad Idea Bear, Mrs T), Jake Gale (Nicky/Trekkie), Nick Rodrigues (Princeton/Rod), Maya Sherer (Kate/Lucy), Isabel Anne To (Christmas Eve), and Ted Zoldan (Brian).

The Orange Cast of Avenue Q will play Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday performances and stars John Brown (Nicky/Trekkie), Chelsea Carruesco (Kate/Lucy), Danya El-Kurd (Bad Idea Bears/Mrs T), Kamren Mahaney (Princeton/Rod), Nick Mandracchia (Brian), Eimi Taormina (Christmas Eve), and Phaedra Tillery (Gary Coleman). The creative team of Avenue Q also includes Scenic Design by Kuo-Hao Lo, Costume Design by Corrida Carr, Lighting Design by Mike Post, Sound Design by Steven Crandell, and Puppet Design by Travis Howse, Stage Management by Kaitlin Rosen, and Puppet and Prop Repair by Carlos Aceves.

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