UK Avenue Q Begins Previews June 1, and Opens June 28 at Noel Coward Theatre

Tickets on sale on March 13th

The hit Broadway musical AVENUE Q will open at the newly re-named Noël Coward Theatre (formerly the Albery Theatre) on Wednesday 28th June 2006, following previews from Thursday 1st June.

Alan Brodie from The Noël Coward Foundation said, "We are delighted that AVENUE Q is the first production in the newly re-named Noël Coward Theatre. It is witty, irreverent, musical and above all entertaining, all elements that Noël Coward himself would have heartily approved. I'm sure Noël would have loved this show."

AVENUE Q started its life in 2002 with an off-Broadway run at the 200 seat Vineyard Theatre, where it was extended four times. It then opened at the Golden Theatre on Broadway in July 2003 to critical acclaim. To the delight of all involved, the show went on to beat favourite "Wicked" to win three of the top 2004 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Original Score of a Musical and Best Book of a Musical. AVENUE Q remains one of Broadway's hottest tickets and most original shows in recent memory. London will be only the third production in the world – the other being Las Vegas where the show has been equally well received and is the first of many major US cities where it will play extended seasons.

AVENUE Q is not the most upmarket of New York streets, and is about as far away from Park Avenue as you can get, but it is home to some lively and off the wall characters performed by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets! Princeton, a bright-eyed college graduate, has just moved to this neighbourhood as he desperately tries to follow his dreams and discover his ever-elusive purpose in life. A tiny bank balance, the distraction of a busty blonde and a variety of weird and wonderful friends and neighbours lead Princeton on a hilarious story of self-discovery. Life may suck on AVENUE Q but being jobless, homeless, politically incorrect, having sex (whether hetero, homo or porno… and that's just the puppets) are just some of the topics featured in the terrific songs of this show.

The show has been auditioned in collaboration with The Theatre Royal Stratford East, who helped the producers find hundreds of fresh musical performers of all backgrounds to be auditioned, the result being a terrific company, bringing together a wonderful mix of young newcomers and seasoned West End performers.

The cast includes Jon Robyns as 'Princeton' and 'Rod', Simon Lipkin as 'Nicky' and 'Trekkie Monster', Julie Atherton as 'Kate Monster' and 'Lucy The Slut', Clare Foster as 'Mrs T.' Naoko Mori as 'Christmas Eve', Sion Lloyd as 'Brian' and Giles Terera as 'Job'. The cast also includes Luke Evans, Matthew J Henry, Gloria Onitiri, Gabriel Vick and Yanle Zhong.

AVENUE Q is the creation of a host of talented young 30-something theatre artists. AVENUE Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx; and directed by Jason Moore. AVENUE Q has puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon; musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, and choreography by Ken Roberson. AVENUE Q's scenic design is by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by Acme Sound Partners.

AVENUE Q is produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre, The New Group and Cameron Mackintosh.

www.avenueqthemusical.co.uk

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