Avenue Q Replacements (Puppeteers) Questions

[jasobres]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 6:33am

So first of all, how are the replacements for Avenue Q doing? Second of all, are they using the same voices as their predecessors used? Because this is not like other Broadway shows where you need to put your own spin to the role.

What I'm really asking for is how is Mary Faber doing in the dual roles of Kate and Lucy?

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 8:47am

I have yet to see Mary, but I think Christian Anderson is doing a fantastic job. I had seen Rick Lyon in the roles of Nicky, Trekkie, etc. four times previously, and I saw the show again this past November, not sure what to expect from Christian. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he performs all the characters almost identical to Rick. The voices, the movements, everything. If you closed your eyes, you couldn't discern that it was a different performer.

I made sure to tell Christian how great I thought he was at the stagedoor. He said that he never got a chance to work directly with Rick, but he "watched that man like a hawk". :) Very impressive!

I hope to see Mary in the next few months. Stephanie D'Abruzzo is a hard act to follow, but I have high hopes.

[QtKt]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 1:09pm

I heard Mary has been doing a great job.
Stephanie is hard to replace, but I hear Mary is doing very well..

And concerning the voices being the same.. that's pretty difficult, even for a seasoned puppeteer, but hey, Barrett doesn't sound exacty like Johnny, but I actually enjoy his version of Princeton a little better... Johnny will always be Rod tho- But Barrett pulls off the voice nicely.
I also agree about Christian, he's fantastic.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 2:05pm

i recall reading an article from back when barrett was just an understudsy, and he said that they are directed to match the voices of the originals as closesly as possible. Think for instance Ernie on seasame street, he's had a ton of puppeteers (including for a year John Tartaglia) but he always sounds reasonably the same.

[jasobres]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 2:08pm

That's ironic how John did Ernie for a time, because Rod is really the "Bert" character.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 2:21pm

When I saw the show in August, Christian was awesome. I had nothing to compare him too, but I had heard the OBC soundtrack a million times and I thought Christian was great. I love that show it's the funniest thing I've ever seen.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 2:28pm

I saw the show in November of 2004 with the original cast and have seen it many times since then. Christian and Barrett are phenomenal in their puppettery work. Unfortuntantly, the last time I saw it, there was an understudy for Jennifer Barnhart and she defently needed improvement concerning her puppeterying skills. She was struggling to keep up with Christian when they did Trekkie together.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 2:43pm

Barret was really cool also. I think he was really well adjusted to the puppet movements. He kind of became an extension of them, the way he moved his body was very clean cut and comical or sad in the way the puppet was acting. I was really impressed. I took a pic with him after the show... he's a really nice guy too.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 4:03pm

Here's another question about the Avenue Q puppeteers. Do you think that the casting people care about the actors' race? I mean, I would love to play Princeton/Rod, but I don't know if they'd care that I'm not Caucasian.

I know that the puppets are the actual characters, but I'm just curious, since I haven't seen any puppeteers of color yet.

[jasobres]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 5:36pm

Well, if you can imitate the voices, then they wouldn't give a damn.

[waddledee524]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 6:31pm

Well, seeing as Princeton is orange and Rod is blue, you might not have a problem.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 6:35pm

Actually I went to vegas and got tickets to both casts the same night so I could see how they did it differently. Just because it is a puppet doesn't mean the actor/tress can't bring her own style to it.

[adamized88]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 8:16pm

i saw mary faber last week - and she's phenomenal - her voice is perfect - and she is convincing in both parts - though stephanie will always hold a special place - mary is outstanding!!

i've now seen barrett do the role twice and he's really made it his own - when i saw it in june he seemed to just be doing what john did - now he's interpreting the lines his own way and putting laughs in some unexpected places

[emo_geek]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 8:31pm

I was so suprised how just little things that you do can change the character in such a noticible way. Even with a puppet. It made me relize the puppet is just a like a costume you have to move...the actor gives it the personality.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 8:33pm

Mary was absolutely adorable as Kate and Lucy. I saw it on December 29th only 4 or 5 performances into her being the lead, and sh ehandled it like she had been doing it forever. The only spot that I noticed she was weak was during "The Internet is For Porn" where her voice seemed to get lost in the noise when she needed to scream "hold on a second." Other than that, the roles of Kate and Lucy are in great hands.

NVB was not at my show, instead I saw Carmen Ruby Floyd as Gary Coleman. I also saw Becca Ayers instead of Jennifer B, and they were both great in their roles.

Jordan and Anne were excellent as always, it will be sad to see them go.

Christian was great in all his roles. The only real difference I hear is the way his Trekkie says "for porn." He kind of slides the for with porn, whereas Rick separated them... but I think you would have to hear it to understand.

Barrett was awesome as Princeton/Rod. I actually enjoyed him a bit more than John, and Rod's coming out at the end was very well done.

So dont fret, Avenue Q is in great hands =) They are also all incredibly nice and kind at the stage door, and have no problems with pictures. We bumped into Robin Goodman, one of the producers, and she took us backstage. It was a great experience =) Not many people wait at the door either...

EDIT: Fixed a typo and added some things...
Updated On: 1/3/06 at 08:33 PM

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 9:48pm

Maybe it's just me but it seems Jen has been out quite a few times. Anybody know anything?

She is such a sweet and talented person- I am truly surprised she didn't get bumped up to Kate/Lucy.
I'm sure she'll make her BIG debut soon!! Jen rocks!!

[fishergirl819]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:38am

Bumping this up because I finally saw Avenue Q yesterday for the first time in almost a year, so I got to see both Barrett and Mary for the first time.

Firstly, Barrett is absolutely ADORABLE. I think I still prefer John, but Princeton and Rod are in amazing hands. He was adorable and sounded fantastic. The only song I didn't particularly like him on was My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada...I don't know why, but I just wasn't that impressed. But besides that, he was absolutely wonderful, and really fun to watch up there.

Mary Faber....there's really nothing I can say other than A-MA-ZING. I had seen her in Slut a couple months back, and she mentioned after the matinee on their last day that she had just been cast as Kate in Q, and I just thought, well damn, that's PERFECT. You would've never known yesterday that she had only been doing the role for two weeks. I was blown away by her, and so happy that she was doing so well - what a way to make your Broadway debut, Mary Faber. Her Lucy isn't as strong as her Kate, but her Kate is PHENOMENAL. She completely gets everything about Kate, and that makes her performance so much better.

To people who aren't really familiar with Mary, it'll probably sound like she's just copying Stephanie. And I'm sure she's trying to get as much of Stephanie across as possible, but Mary's natural singing and speaking voice are almost identical to the Kate voice (just not as exaggerated), so this is basically her just going all out. And its amazing. Amazingamazingamazing!

Can you tell I liked Mary Faber alot? Haha.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 12:00pm

Barret is too adorable. Have you guys seen this:

http://www.avenueq.com/qanda-barrettrod.htm

It's pretty awesome.

[BroadwayBaby21]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 1:12pm

I haven't seen Mary yet, but I did see Barrett and Christian. Having never seen the original cast, I thought both of them did amazing. Yes, their voices are different from John and Rick's, but I think they did a great job.

and RENTingFAME, I so agree. Barrett is so cute. hehe :)

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 1:53pm

How is Howie Michael Smith?

[misto625]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 1:55pm

Just have to correct something stated on this thread earlier. John Tartaglia never performed Ernie on Sesame Street. He did Ernie for part of a season on Play With Me Sesame for Noggin when Steve Whitmire was filming other projects, but Ernie has only had 2 real performers: Jim Henson and Steve Whitmire. There will not be a third for many more years.

That said, I have not seen Mary Faber yet, but I have seen Barrett and Christian and think they are great in those roles, especially Christian. Barrett has made Princeton/Rod his own though and I gotta give him credit for it.

[EdmundOG]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 1:27am

Misto625, you jerk. I was so excited to share my puppetty knowlege re Ernie's performers, and you had to scoop me on it.

Oh, and Joshua, i certainly hope they don't care about race. Not only for your sake, but I'd kill to see Kevin Clash take on the Lyon parts. Not only would his Trekkie be amazing, but picture a Bad Idea Bear with Elmo's voice. Yeah.

[Tag]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 1:47am

How long is everyone contracted for? Especially Barrett, Ann, Jennifer, and Jordan.

[electrakitty]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 10:35am

Thanks for the Barrett interview. That boy is just too cute! I knew him like 10 years ago, and just loved him. He's too much!

[MissNY]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 2:23pm

Jordan is leaving January 22, Ann is leaving February 26. Jenn and Barrett are both contracted through July and Christian through April.

Dottie: Howie is fantastic in the role. More similar to John than Barrett. If you have the opportunity to catch him, then you should