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Beginning Monday

June 28, 2004

That's My `Q"

Tony-winning show captures lives of today's "young immigrants" to the Big Apple.

gles to find jobs, dates and that ever-elu-
sive purpose in life. That's pretty much
what the show is about.
In other words, it's about me and my
friends. College-educated, from nice
suburban homes, we came to New York
to live in cramped apartments, work
long hours to support ourselves and
dream of one day having a better life. It's
sort of a sad undoing of everything our
immigrant forebears accomplished. But
we do it because ... well, there are lots of
times when we're not sure why we do it.
- What ultimately makes Avenue Q so
intriguing is its sobering and delightfully
anti-climatic conclusion that it's perfect-
ly OK not to find your "purpose," or to
find it later in life or to stop pursuing it
because another opportunity — from
finding love to winning the lotto —
leads you on a path you hadn't even con-
sidered.

Great White Way (at least for now).
One of the co-creators, Jeff Marx, had,
like a good Jewish boy, given up acting
to become an attorney when he wrote
live on Avenue Q. Well, OK, not
his first-ever song, for a law-school
really. But I do live just off West
revue. These are the right people for the
45th Street, where the hit show and
message.
newest recipient of the Tony Award for
"Hey, it sucked to be me for quite a
Broadway's best musical — co-produced
number of months after graduate
by former Detroiter Jeffrey Seller —
school," says Jordan, who temped for a
plays at the Golden Theatre eight times
real-estate analysis firm for more than a
a week.
year while auditioning for films, plays
At least every other day, I run into
and TV commercials. "I watched friends
members of the cast and crew on the
taking more traditional career paths start
street or in my corner coffee shop. And
to have savings and to afford luxuries
in a metaphorical sense, I certainly feel
that I had to budget myself to avoid."
like part of the neighborhood — a place
Jordan's character, for example, never
populated by people (and puppets) try-
makes it as a comedian, but does find
ing to make it in New York.
love and happiness. Avenue Q, which
So earlier this month on the Tony
plays just down the block from
broadcast, when Nathan Lane
Broadway's current revival of Fiddler on
announced Q's upset over the favored
the Roof, has its own Jewish wedding
big-budget witch-ical Wicked, I actually
scene at the end of Act One. More
cheered and pumped my fist at the
specifically, its a Jewish-Japanese
TV, as if the home team had won.
wedding, complete with rising-sun
They had.
yarmulkes and a chuppah hung with
It also helped that I had a friend
Asian lanterns. "Jewish weddings are
on stage.
very theatrical," Jordan says of his
"It was fantastic," says Jordan ,
character's onstage nuptials.
Gelber, who plays the part of Brian
Meanwhile, the show has present-
— one of Avenue Qs few human
ed him with his own unforeseen
characters — an out-of-work caterer
opportunity. When he signed on
and stand-up comedian.
early last year to what was then a
Jordan and I met freshman year
small, innovative workshop produc-
of college when he cast me in a stu-
tion, he never expected to play the
dent-written play about people (no
same role on Broadway, let alone the
puppets) trying to make it in Los
stage at the Tony Awards.
Angeles. 'And I couldn't have asked
"It hasn't even sunk in for
for more than to have my debut
Princeton, John Tartaglia, Kate Monster
me on an individual level
received so well," he says, "in a
and Stephanie D'Abruzw: The press likes
yet," he says. "That's what is
show that speaks to things that are
to play up the puppets, but it the people
so wonderful about the the-
relevant to me."
behind them and beside them that are
ater - -I feel like I'm sharing
Compared to some stage epics,
really the newest thing on Broadway.
this with everybody."
not a lot happens in Avenue Q. It's
He assures me that he
the classic tale of a fresh-faced col-
Jordan Gelber means not just the other
For someone who knows and
lege grad who comes to the big city with
loves theater, it's refreshing to find
actors, the directors and the
big dreams. Only this newbie is played
a message so clearly intended for me.
designers — but his family and all the
by a puppet, and from the opening
The classics will always be the classics, -
friends that supported him, too. As the
number — titled "What Do You Do
but recently Broadway seemed to have
song ends, "It sucks to be us / But not
With a B.A. in English?" and structured
gone from Les Miserables directly to The
when we're together."
around the refrain, "It sucks to be me"
Lion King, skipping my generation
That, too, is what's so wonderful
— it's clear this journey isn't going from
entirely. Until Avenue Q, though, I had-
about the nature of live theater, and
rags to riches any time soon.
n't really noticed.
the message of Avenue Q in particular:
There are some cute songs like
The press likes to play up the puppets, It's nice to be included.
"Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "The
but its the people behind them and
Internet is for Porn," but mostly, .for the
beside them that are really the newest
next two hours, the residents of Avenue
Avenue Q is playing at the John
thing on Broadway. Like Jordan, almost
Q sing and complain about their strug-
Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St.,
everyone in the company and on the
in New York City. $21.25-$91.25.
creative team is making a big-time
Victor Wishna lives and writes in
(212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250.
debut. The cast is the lowest-paid on the
New York City He can be reached at

VICTOR WISHNA

Special to the Jewish News

I

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LetterFromNY@juno. corn.

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4TN

6/25

2004

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