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Mickey Jo (11:40)

Now this news makes me happy for a whole handful of reasons. I think this kind of a fun musical comedy doesn't come along all too often and we have a lot of really brilliant fresh talent in the UK that it would be great to see in a lot of these roles. It was asked yesterday whether there was any sort of initial plan for it to include a handful of familiar faces. Was it going to bring back the original West End cast? Particularly, I guess asked because of the recent reunion concert, but also because that original West End cast have almost all gone on to pretty extraordinary success. In fact, Original Kate Monster. Julie Atherton is at the Shaftesbury Theatre right now playing Margaret Thatcher in Just for One Day, admittedly a slightly different role. It also included the likes of Simon Lipkin. I think Claire Foster was in the original cast as well. John Robbins, like brilliant people in the first cast of Avenue Q here, I'm also just excited about the notion of having Avenue Q back in the West End. My fiance Erin and I were talking not that long ago about how it feels like now is a great time, almost a better time than 20 years ago for Avenue Q. Just tonally in terms of the kind of comedy that people are enjoying, in terms of the appetites of audiences, I think this is going to be really popular. I think this is going to sell really well throughout its lim run and I think audiences are really ready for Avenue Q. I'm also super excited to experience a reduced capacity Shaftesbury Theatre with like just a stalls and a circle level, but like a wide stalls and circle level. I think that's going to be really fun. My biggest curiosity is around this idea of revisals and there were a couple of words said about the idea of updating certain things. And there has always been a song towards the end of the show called for now which speaks about particular cultural things happening around the time of the show that has always had updated references. So it goes without saying that that is going to feature references to more recent things, whether it's going to talk about Donald Trump, whether it's going to. I mean, it's a little late in the day for us to be talking about Brexit or Covid, but who knows? It'll depend. Whatever is topical at the time, maybe by 2026 new wild things will be happening in the world. Can't wait to experience yet more unprecedented times. Unprecedented times. Weren't they fun? My initial reaction was that it would be great to have an updated Avenue Queue with a little bit of re examination of some of the material. And a lot of people I've spoken to have said the same thing, but on reflection, so much of the material, it is a little crass and it is irreverent and offensive, but it's sort of equal opportunities offensive and not like the Book of Mormon, which is still fairly directed this in even its most Controversial moments. Even songs like Everyone's a little bit Racist or when depicting amorous relationships between puppets on stage, which fun fact, was not a part of the show I knew about because my sister used to play me the cast recording and skip that bit. What a surprise that was for me when I saw it on tour at the Southampton Mayflower. But off the top of my head, and there are probably moments I'm not considering, it doesn't really feel like it's material that's punching down or is necessarily outdated. It's just a little bit wild. So it's going to be really interesting to see. See to what extent it has some kind of an update also, by the sounds of it, new choreography and the returning creative team. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the exact direction is going to be replicated. The return of the original puppet designer, it was said the original Broadway puppets, they might be a little updated, someone might have a slightly new puppet haircut, we don't know. I think inherently a 20th anniversary production is going to have in many ways a little bit of a new shine to it, but it's going to still pay tribute to the original version of the show. And it's one of those shows where I don't think any non replica version has ever really improved on it, either aesthetically or in terms of the staging. I think it's such an iconic original production. Spring Awakening, I find to be a similar example. I just don't know that it can really be done any better. So I'm excited to see that version of the show again. I also think that this is pretty great producing. Not only is it coming at a good time, but it's also clearly coming from a place of love remounted by the show's original producer in conjunction with a producer who grew up watching the show, who has always loved it. And I'm thrilled that the Shaftesbury Theatre is getting this renovation work done. And it doesn't mean the theatre has to be dark, because we like for these theatres to have shows in, we like for them to be open, we like to have as many different shows on as possible, but we also like the theatres to be well maintained and taken care of. I love going to the theatre, but I really love when the roof doesn't fall down. That's. That's like maybe my favourite thing. And it's great to see that so much work is being done on the Shaftesbury Theatre. They had a big refurbishment not too many years ago and fun fact, it's one of very few commercial West End theatres to be independently owned. Don't sing the song. Don't sing the song. And there is clearly a lot of love for the building. I will also say, incidentally, and this is not to say that I disbelieve any of the reasons given for this particular piece of producing. Does the amount of nostalgic producing and revivals we're seeing at the moment feel a little bit like a recession indicator? I'm just gonna put that idea out there because simultaneously as this was announced, the return of another prolific long running West End show from yesteryear was also teased on social media. I'm not gonna tell you which one. You've either seen the teasers or you haven't, and it will be announced soon enough, but certainly on either side of the Atlantic. At the moment it feels like we're really leaning into revivals and remountings and the returns of shows that we know sell well, which is great, which is fantastic as long as those same prod producers with all the money they make from those shows are also putting that towards the development of new musicals, which is something that the likes of Jamie Wilson and Kevin McCollum do. Finally. Then, let's speculate about what casting could look like for this production and I would love to hear all of your thoughts in the comments section down below. I think inevitably great as it would be to see returning stars from previous casts and there have been really great people in it, not just in the original cast, but like I saw Lucy May Sumner as a fantastic Kate monster on one of the Non Replica UK tours. I also think it would be fantastic to see this new generation of musical comedy talent getting to go into the show. And I'd be curious as to who has always wanted to do Avenue Q, maybe who has a background in puppetry or who can do those kinds of character voices. There's a lot of performers swirling around my head right now. There's a lot of musical theater trained actors who have also done mischief shows who clearly have an extraordinary capacity for that kind of zany comedy. Lewis Cornay is a name that's just popped into my head. Chrissy Beamer is a name that's popped into my head. Teddy Hind is a name that's popped into my head. Like there's so many people. I'm thinking about some of the cast members I saw recently in 50 First Dates. I'm thinking about some of the cast members I saw not too long ago in Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder. There's so much exciting talent this is going to be, I think, a really fun casting announcement when it eventually gets unveiled. Oh, Julie Yaminy would be fun in this show as well. Let's make that happen. And I will also add one other thought out there into the universe. And I don't know if Jamie Wilson is listening to this, but the Shaftesbury Theatre, post renovations a couple of years ago, is now one of very few, maybe only a couple of commercial West End houses in which the backstage and stage areas are accessible for performers who are wheelchair users. We talk a lot about front of house accessibility and audience members who are wheelchair users being able to enter the theatre and the auditorium. But there are even fewer venues where wheelchair user actors can actually get onto the stage. The Shaftesbury Theatre is now one of those. And there are great people like Ed Larkin, like Amy Trigg, like all of the names that I don't yet know, who I think would be fun in Avenue Q. And Amy Trigg, Mrs. Thistle Twat, that would be kind of iconic. And there's a lot of roles in the show where the specificity of that performer's identity matters. But if it's going to be a revised and updated version, maybe it could be a little bit more reflective of the world that we live in now. There was always something in the early 2000s that was a little bit friends esque about the New York depicted in Avenue Q. And they were talking about their challenges, but it was still a pretty like smiley and fun and you know, puppets don't have have skin color. But the human performers on stage are predominantly white cast other than Christmas Eve and Gary Coleman. And a little diversity would never hurt, especially because I am so curious. This is the one thing I can't yet quite predict about how Avenue Q is going to play in 2025. I agree it's super timely and there will always be a generation, you know, coming of age having that kind of a quarter life crisis. I was a teenager when I first saw this show. Now I've, you know, just turned 30. So I'm gonna look at it in a very different, more relatable way. But I also think that a lot of what is being experienced by that generation right now is sort of more akin to political fatigue and strife and despair, which aren't themes explicitly recognized in the show. It's a lot more about like getting a job and maintaining a relationship, hooking up with a sexy puppet. And, you know, we've all been there. But there are definitely going to be other elephants in the room and not literal elephants. Unless, of course, the revivals to the production are even more extreme than I thought. In any case, lots for us still to find out about the West End return of Avenue Q. But in the meantime, I am very excited to welcome it back to London and I hope you feel the same. But let me know what you think about all of this in the comments section down below. Are there any parts of the show that you think maybe are going to play a little bit differently in 2025? Are there any performers you would like to see in the cast? Share those names, share those thoughts, and let me know if you've got tickets already. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening to this theatre news recap. Stay tuned for my coverage on everything happening in the West End and on Broadway as well as around the world. Plus plenty of things. Theatre reviews and theatre going vlogs right here on YouTube or on podcast platforms. Make sure you're subscribed or following me so you don't miss any of that content. And as always, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a Stagey Day. For 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe.

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Mickey Jo (22:46)

New secrets, lies are coming out. This is gonna be catastrophic. We're fighting for our marriages and the girls are just putting us through hell.

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Marc Maron (22:55)

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Mickey Jo (22:56)

Hopefully this doesn't end in a bloodbath.

Boost Mobile Legal/Promo Voice (22:58)

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