Everything you need to know about 'Avenue Q'

The rude, hilarious and heart-warming Tony Award-winning musical is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a West End revival in 2026.

Summary

• Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q is returning to London in 2026
• This West End revival celebrates the show's 20th anniversary
• The production reunites the musical's original creative team and puppets

Grab your favourite puppet and prepare to be charmed, shocked, and wildly entertained: Avenue Q is back in town. The ground-breaking, irreverent musical is returning to the West End for a 20th-anniversary run at the Shaftesbury Theatre, still just as naughty and weirdly heart-warming as ever.

This major revival of the Tony Award-winning show will reunite key members of the original Broadway creative team, once again giving us direction by Jason Moore and set design by Anna Louizos – plus the original Broadway puppets!

Read on to learn more about this must-see musical event ahead of your Avenue Q trip.

Book Avenue Q tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

What is Avenue Q about?

This affectionate parody of Sesame Street, but with distinctly adult themes, follows college graduate Princeton. He can only find an affordable apartment right down on New York’s Avenue Q, where his neighbours are kindergarten teacher Kate, investment banker Rod, wannabe comedian Brian, his Japanese fiancée Christmas Eve, slacker Rod, recluse Trekkie Monster, and former child actor-turned-superintendent Gary Coleman.

Princeton struggles to find work and pay his bills, and grows close to Kate, but panics when it looks like they might be getting serious. Meanwhile Nicky tries to encourage the closeted Rod to come out, Kate dreams of starting her own school for monsters (or “people of fur”), and various provocative songs tackle everything from racism and sex to online porn – along with plenty of jokes and even some genuinely sweet moments.

Who wrote Avenue Q?

Avenue Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Lopez is an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winner whose numerous hit projects include The Book of Mormon and Disney’s Frozen and Coco. Tony winner Marx has worked on TV shows like Glee, Scrubs, and The Book of Pooh.

Avenue Q’s book is written by Tony winner and Oscar nominee Jeff Whitty. His other work includes Bring It On: The Musical and the acclaimed movie Can You Ever Forgive Me?, starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant.

When was Avenue Q first performed?

The show began its Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theatre in 2003 and quickly became a sensation. It then transferred to the John Golden Theatre later that year for its Broadway premiere, and it continued to run until 2009: 22 previews and 2,534 performances in all.

Avenue Q opened in London in at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006, and the West End production was also a big hit. It ran for 1,179 performances, then moved to the Gielgud Theatre in 2009 and finally the Wyndham’s Theatre in 2010, completing a five-year run.

What awards has Avenue Q won?

Avenue Q was nominated for six Tony Awards in 2004 and it won three of them: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical for Whitty, and Best Original Score for Lopez and Marx. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, and the London production was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Who are the characters in Avenue Q?

The puppet characters in Avenue Q include:

• Princeton: a naïve recent English graduate who is trying to become an independent adult.
• Kate Monster: a kindergarten teaching assistant with big dreams of opening her own school.
• Rod: a Republican investment banker who is scared to admit his true sexuality.
• Nicky: Rod’s laidback and supportive roommate.
• Trekkie Monster: a hermit who is completely obsessed with online porn.
• Lucy: a vampy singer who takes a shine to Princeton.
• The Bad Ideas Bears: two teddy bear-type figures who suggest terrible ideas.
• Mrs. Lavinia Thistletwat: kindergarten teacher and Kate’s boss.

The human characters include:

• Brian: a stand-up comedian who is struggling to make his mark.
• Christmas Eve: Brian’s Japanese fiancée and an aspiring therapist.
• Gary Coleman: a formerly famous child actor who now supervises the tenants’ building.

What songs are in Avenue Q?

The brilliantly rude score of Avenue Q features the following songs:

Act I

"The Avenue Q Theme" – Company
"What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" – Princeton
"It Sucks to Be Me" – Brian, Kate, Rod, Nicky, Christmas Eve, Gary Coleman, Princeton
"If You Were Gay" – Nicky, Rod
"Purpose" – Princeton, Ensemble
"Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" – Princeton, Kate, Gary, Brian, Christmas Eve
"The Internet Is for Porn" – Kate, Trekkie Monster, Brian, Gary, Rod, Princeton
"Mix Tape" – Kate, Princeton
"I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today" – Brian
"Special" – Lucy
"You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love)" – Gary, Bad Idea Bears, Princeton, Kate, Brian, and Christmas Eve
"Fantasies Come True" – Rod, Kate, Princeton, Nicky
"My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada" – Rod
"There's a Fine, Fine Line" – Kate

Act II

"There Is Life Outside Your Apartment" – Brian, Princeton, Christmas Eve, Gary, Nicky, Trekkie Monster, and Lucy
"The More You Ruv Someone" – Christmas Eve and Kate
"Schadenfreude" – Gary and Nicky
"I Wish I Could Go Back to College" – Kate, Nicky and Princeton
"The Money Song" – Nicky, Princeton, Gary, Brian and Christmas Eve
"School for Monsters" – Trekkie Monster
"The Money Song" (reprise) – Nicky, Princeton, Gary, Brian and Christmas Eve
"There's a Fine, Fine Line" (reprise) – Princeton and Kate
"What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" (reprise) – Newcomer
"For Now" – Kate, Brian, Gary, Princeton, Nicky, Rod, Christmas Eve, Trekkie Monster, Lucy, Bad Idea Bears, Company

Where is Avenue Q playing?

The show is having its 20th-anniversary revival at the Shaftesbury Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue right in the heart of London’s West End. The theatre has a capacity of 1,416.

When is Avenue Q playing?

Avenue Q is booking from 20 March to 29 August 2026. Performances take place from Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:30pm.

How long is Avenue Q?

The running time of the show is to be confirmed.

Who is in the cast of Avenue Q?

It will be very exciting to see who follows in the footsteps – and puppet arms – of the amazing past Avenue Q casts. The original Broadway company featured John Tartaglia, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Rick Lyon, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Ann Harada, Jordan Gelber, and Jennifer Barnhart.

In the West End, the talented original cast featured Jon Robyns, Julie Atherton, Simon Lipkin, Giles Terera, Sion Lloyd, and Clare Foster. Check back soon to find out who will play these hilarious roles in the 2026 production!

Who is in the creative team of Avenue Q?

This London revival is a fantastic reunion for the original creators of Avenue Q. That means the Tony-nominated Jason Moore is back as director: his work includes Shrek the Musical, The Cher Show, Jerry Springer: The Opera, and the hit movie Pitch Perfect.

Also returning are Tony and Grammy-winning musical supervisor, arrangements and orchestrations maestro Stephen Oremus (Kinky Boots, The Book of Mormon), puppet conception and designer Rick Lyon (Sesame Street, Men in Black), and set designer Anna Louizos (In the Heights, School of Rock).

They are joined by choreographer and movement director Ebony Molina (Just For One Day, The Crucible at Shakespeare’s Globe).

What are some fun facts about Avenue Q?

• The show is a loving spoof of children’s TV shows like Sesame Street. Lyricist Marx actually interned on the programme, while some of the original cast, such as Tartaglia and D’Abruzzo, performed on Sesame Street.

• Many characters riff on Sesame Street favourites: Trekkie Monster is a parody of Cookie Monster, while roommates Nicky and Rod wink at Bert and Ernie. More broadly, the musical puts a fun spin on Sesame Street’s educational remit; there are definitely lessons imparted here, but aimed at young adults rather than kids.

• The character of Gary Coleman is a reference to the real-life child actor of the same name, who starred as Arnold Jackson on the American sitcom Diff’rent Strokes in the 1980s. The character is often played by a woman in US productions, but that was changed to a male actor in London to avoid confusion for British audiences.

• The puppets in Avenue Q cost up to $10,000 each originally, and were designed and built by Lyon, who was also an original cast member. The show uses three types: rod puppets, which have a head, torso and arms moved by rods; live-hand puppets, which are operated by two puppeteers using their arms and hands; and mechanised/free hand puppets, whose mouths are opened by a trigger instead of moved by a puppeteer’s hand.

• The character of Brian was named after lyricist and playwright Brian Yorkey, who played the role in Avenue Q’s early workshops. Yorkey went on to create musicals such as the Tony-winning Next to Normal, Idina Menzel-starring If/Then, Sting-scored The Last Ship, and musical adaptation Freaky Friday.

Book Avenue Q tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Main photo credit: Avenue Q at Shaftesbury Avenue (Photo courtesy of the production). Inset: The Avenue Q puppets, Avenue Q on Broadway (Photo courtesy of the production, photos by Carol Rosegg)