"Avenue Q" To Close; Began at Waterford's O'Neill Center

Frank Rizzo
on July 1, 2009 1:26 PM

"We never dreamed it would go to Broadway, much less run for six years," says Jeff Whitty reacting to the news that the musical in which he was the librettist, "Avenue Q," will be ending its Broadway run in September.

Whitty was speaking yesterday at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford where he is working on a staged reading of a new musical based on Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" books. "Avenue Q" director Jason Moore is also directing the new project which features music by Jason Sellards and John Garden of the band Scissor Sisters.

"There is definitely a wistful feeling," says Moore. "We knew it was coming and when the call came last week, it was like, OK."

"You want to end it with a bang and with a great cast and a full house. Now the show can go on to other things like amateur productions."

Staged readings of "Tales of the City" are Saturday, Sunday, and next Wednesday and Saturday at the O'Neill, where "Avenue Q" had its start when it, too, was part of the National Music Theater Conferece.

Variety reports that Broadway's "Avenue Q" grossed almost $120 million so far, and, according to reps for the show, returned $23.5 million to its investors.

Pictured above: Jason Sellards and John Garden of the Scissor Sisters and Jeff Whitty. Picture by Patrick Raycraftt of The Hartford Courant.

http://blogs.courant.com/curtain/2009/07/avenue-q-to-close-began-at-wat.html