Avenue Q Character Dead @ 42

[MyLife]

Gary Coleman has died today of a brain hemorrhage due to a fall.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/05/actor-gary-coleman-reported-dead-of-brain-hemorrhage/1

Gary Coleman is most famous for his roles in Diff'rent Strokes, various VH1 reality shows, and Avenue Q.

[darquegk]

Rest in peace, Gary.

I have to wonder... are Avenue Q shows going to give either some tribute to Gary or a massive revision to replace him with a different living ex-celebrity? Or will they just take refuge in audacity and continue using Gary Coleman?

[TheatreFan4]

Will Ave. Q continue with Gary or change to Emmanuel Lewis? Or just 'Gary' like in London?

[orbops]

I would think Avenue Q needs to take a few days off and determine how to write his character out. That joke is definitely not going to be funny any longer.

[TheatreFan4]

Well there is really no need to write out the completely. All they would have to do is switch to London's "Gary".

[HeyMrMusic]

Oof. I'm starting rehearsals for a production of Avenue Q in a couple of weeks. Sad and awkward all at once.

~Steven

[Biff AKA Levi]

Gary Coleman lives on Avenue Q, which like LOST, is now a weird version of Heaven. Or Hell. Or Purgatory. No ones really sure.

[perfectlymarvelous]

My first thought was what they were going to do with Avenue Q now as well...it seems odd to continue lampooning him. RIP

[wickedpoppinsfan]

I think they should just go with 'Gary', or change the name or something, it could be easy. It would not be funny at all, for any of the performances to make jokes abotu Gary Coleman. May he Rest in Peace!

[wendilin622]

didn't he want to sue Avenue Q when it came out because he was offended by it?

[Steve2]

I was wondering Avenue Q was going to do as well. Not as funny anymore after someone has died, I think. But maybe with time.

[darquegk]

With Gary dies the decades-old mystery of what exactly Willis was talking about.

Is there another fairly appropriate figure that could move into Avenue Q? I know other countries have had other figures, including one nation's use of Michael Jackson. Maybe Jackson will move to New York?

[auggie]

Wow, Schadenfreude could really be akward tonight.


GARY COLEMAN:
The world needs people like you and me who've been knocked around by fate.
'Cause when people see us, they don't want to be us, and that makes them feel great.

NICKY:
Sure!
We provide a vital service to society!

GARY AND NICKY:
You and me!
Schadenfreude!
Making the world a better place...
Making the world a better place...
Making the world a better place...
To be!

GARY COLEMAN:
S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E!

[DayDreamer]

The show is in a place and time. I see no need to change the character because the inspiration for it has died.

[HeyMrMusic]

darquegk, Michael Jackson is also dead.

~Steven

[darquegk]

Except that it is NOT in a place and time- it regularly updates its topical references.

[HeyMrMusic]

Like what? The only update I saw was the mix tape becoming a "mix." And the licensed version still has the mix tape before the change.

~Steven

[darquegk]

I realize Jackson is dead. However, I'm just trying to weigh where the line between period and current falls vs. the line of Law of Funny.

Law of Funny dictates that almost anything can be hand-waved in favor of a joke. However, it also requires a balanced scale of suspension of disbelief. The bigger the joke or the payoff, the more audiences will suspend disbelief or simply accept what is presented. Hence, Michael Jackson (dead a year, massive international figure with spotty background) making an appearance post-mortem on Avenue Q has a bigger Law of Funny payoff than Gary Coleman (just died, B celebrity only used in American production).

I'm betting that we're getting a third option that isn't Coleman or Jackson.

[JESmith]

It's amusing you bring up Jackson, because I've heard that they actually did use him in place of Gary in the Hungarian production. After he died, they rewrote the script to say that he had gotten into a huge debt and faked his death.

That rewrite may not work with Gary though...

[winston89]

Yes, Coleman did threaten to sue the creators of the show due to the fact that he didn't like how his character was lampooned. However, I don't think that went very far though.

I had always thought that the name change to simply "Gary" in the London production of the show was simply because the creative team wasn't sure if the whole ongoing Gary Coleman joke that is used in the American production is something that the british audiences would get. Only to put the name back in as Gary when they were wrong. Didn't they originally call the character "Job" in the London production?

[wendilin622]

Avenue Q just tweeted that they dedicate tonight's performance to Gary Coleman..."who will live on in Avenue Q".

[wicked91]

That's so sad!

I guess we can say Gary Colman died from several Diff'rent Strokes.


..... too soon?

[AwesomeDanny]

Steven, don't forget about how they updated the Bush joke in "For Now". I don't know what they do off-Broadway, but the tour sings "Glen Beck".

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Like what? The only update I saw was the mix tape becoming a "mix." And the licensed version still has the mix tape before the change.


At New World Stages, the Bush line has been changed to "Fox News."

[darquegk]

A mix on a CD is still called a mix tape. It's an actual industry term in the hip-hop world.

And the Gary character Job... that wasn't Gob Bluth from Arrested Development was it?