Avenue Q - Gary Coleman alternative- Page 2

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 9:26pm

Jane2 - think you are right.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 10:11pm

Well, I was working at NWS at the time so I knew what was happening or not!

[AngusN]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 10:29am

Has anyone heard of any other productions that have used an alternative to Gary? Unfortunately we are unable to cast anyone with the appropriate ethnicity to play Gary Coleman. I love the idea of Michael Jackson, but it will need a significant rewrite of the script.

[sondheim94]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 10:45am

We almost cast a ten year old little girl who was white in our production. Personally, I think it's even funnier if the actor is a different ethnicity.

In some interview with the creators, didn't they say they cast Gary gender and color-blind? It just so happened that a Black women best fit the bill? I know I read this somewhere...

[AngusN]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 12:56pm

One of the problems with casting a white boy/girl is that the 'black' joke in Everyone's A Little Bit Racist isn't as effective.

Updated On: 10/28/13 at 12:56 PM

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 5:16pm

I like Gary Coleman, to keep the integrity (irony?) of the original show. Even if it isn't 100% relevant, everybody knows who Gary Coleman is and can appreciate the humor.

But I agree and think Lindsey Lohan would be a hysterical addition.

[AngusN]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 5:49am

I agree too. If we could cast someone in the role of Gary, we would, 100%. But unfortunately we don't have any suitable performers. The new Chinese production uses a Chinese performer and it doesn't look right, and I feel a lot of the humour would be lost. Whereas if you have a white man play the role of Michael Jackson, that's part of the irony.