The producers’ decision to take the show to Las Vegas rather than on the road–the route taken by most Broadway shows–is both unconventional and controversial. But that’s nothing new for “Avenue Q.” The show’s cheeky campaign for the Tony awards included draping the Golden Theater, where it’s being staged, in red, white and blue (a la political-campaign-headquarters style) and handing out buttons that read DON’T SUCK. VOTE Q. The content of the musical doesn’t shy away from controversy either, dealing frankly with issues from race to pornography (with songs like “The Internet Is for Porn’” and “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love)”). But audiences in New York have taken to the potty-mouthed puppets, snapping up tickets since the show debuted on Broadway last year. And coproducer Kevin McCollum, who also helped produce the popular New York musical “Rent,” says there are no plans to tone down the show for the Las Vegas premiere. NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett spoke with McCollum about the making of “Avenue Q,” the Tony awards and the decision to move to Vegas. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Congratulations on the Tony awards. What went through your head when you heard “Avenue Q” had won best musical?
Kevin McCollum: I thought, wow, my body can actually vertical-jump eight feet. No, really, I was thinking: what an amazing victory for the creators of the show. I’ve always been very interested in “unconventional” storytelling and “Avenue Q” is a very unique and special piece of theater that represents everything I care about. And this was a wonderful affirmation for all the work–the four years of work–that we put into this.
A lot of people had expected “Wicked” to win–were you surprised you did?
Well, it fulfilled my bet I had with my fellow partners and, yes, I was surprised. When we won ‘Best Book’ first, that said to me that the Broadway community understands that “Avenue Q” is a real story–not just children’s television for adults, not just a puppet show. They have confirmed what I have always known: that it is a real Broadway musical with craft and a real book. The book is amazingly funny, and yet often when they are that good, no one notices. But not this time. The awards were really a wonderful affirmation for the show and for the entire Broadway industry.
What do you think has made “Avenue Q” so popular?
It’s a real musical comedy and it’s entirely original. It’s based on the imagination of our creators, not on a book or a movie. We–the producers–are honored to be able to carry their work to the public. One of the most gratifying things about this is that all of us who came to the project cared deeply about getting people to write for Broadway. All these nominations mean we helped usher and produce a show that will be instrumental in furthering talented people’s goals to keep producing….
Was it hard to convince the public–and the Tony awards judges–that this was not just a puppet show?
I have to say that we suffered from tremendous puppet bias, and we were thinking of filing a class action against the entire theatrical community for bias against puppets [laughs], but then we thought that would be too expensive. I think we are changing the theatrical landscape 800 people at a time–that’s all we can fit in the theater. With 6,400 people coming a week, it’s turning into a critical mass that people are realizing it’s a refreshing new Broadway musical. Also, we won the Tony for best score and best book, too, which in the theater world is like the Triple Crown for any musical.
So how would you describe “Avenue Q?”
Everyone described it as this little puppet show, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about coming to New York and finding yourself and your passions. We’re dealing with racism and starting and keeping relationships. The puppets are part of the theatricality … and they can also be politically incorrect. And especially these days, the truth is often more important than being politically correct right now. It’s part of the irony that we have to use puppets to describe how we human beings really feel.
How did you first got involved in producing Avenue Q?
One of my coproducers, Robyn Goodman, had heard a couple of the songs by Jeff [Marx] and Bobby [Lopez] for what they thought would be a TV show. Then [coproducer] Jeff [Seller] and I heard them, and we were just blown away. We thought it was clever and original, and we didn’t know what the show would be yet, but we knew these were very creative, witty guys … We actually opened [off-Broadway] the night the war [in Iraq] started.
Bad timing.
Yeah, the off-Broadway review ran on page five of the New York Times arts section. The review was very good, but, in fact, no theater owners had seen it. I was waiting for them to call me and they didn’t. Finally, I had to call them and point it out and tell them, hey, I know there’s a war going on but we’re putting on a show here….
You’ll be taking the show to Las Vegas next, instead of on the road. Why?
We had a conundrum. We looked at all our options and what we learned over the years and coming up to the Tonys was that the intimacy of our show needs to be protected. We also wanted to make sure, because we are unconventional in terms of what people’s perception is, that people knew where to see the show and we could control the environment. We decided on Las Vegas. The city gets 35 million visitors–as does New York. Our show appeals to a very mobile, urban, sophisticated crowd and more from young adults to 80-year-olds–we are not going for a 10-year-old–so being in Las Vegas also helps protect that aspect of the show. We don’t have to rewrite any parts of the show.
Do you think non-New Yorkers will get it?
Oh, yeah. “Rent,” which I also produced, was a very New York story, but it was one of the most successful shows of the past 20 years. Everyone gets it. And we are dealing with universal themes of humanity here, but we needed puppets to tell the story.
I understand that casino owner and developer Steve Wynn is building a theater just for “Avenue Q,” right?
Mr. Wynn has created a truly musical theater with 1,200 seats versus some of the other theaters in Las Vegas. This is more intimate.
So is this a done deal–you’ll only be playing in New York and Las Vegas?
I’ve been involved in more than eight deals in Las Vegas, and only one came through [with the Argentinian musical “De La Guarda”], and I learned a lot from that experience. So I know making a deal is a long shot. But this deal is concluded–it’s done.
When do you open in Las Vegas and how long do you plan to keep the show there?
It will open in Las Vegas on Labor Day in 2005, but people can continue to come to New York, too. And we’ve said “Avenue Q” will play in Las Vegas until further notice–so who knows. Steve [Wynn] has never done anything that hasn’t lasted for many years. Hopefully, we’ll be there for a very long time.
