Avenue Q Ends Lengthy Broadway Run Today

The little show that could, Avenue Q, finally ran out of steam today, ending its six-year Broadway run at the John Golden Theatre today. Although the puppet musical eventually succumbed to the lowering ticket sales that inevitably bedevil most long-running shows, it remains a great Broadway success story. The modest one-set musical comedy began with a hit run at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre, surprising many when it made the move to Broadway in 2003. Naysayers didn't think that a hip and snarky little musical like Avenue Q, which is a kind of satirical post-college take on Sesame Street, would fit in on big-and-glittery Broadway. But the show won over audiences of all ages, who were too busy laughing at songs like "If You Were Gay" and "The Internet Is For Porn" to be concerned about the fact that it didn't have big sets or big stars. Empowered by its popularity, Avenue Q launched a major campaign to win the Best Musical Tony Award, and it ultimately nabbed the trophy, beating mega-musical Wicked. At its closing, Avenue Q played over 2,500 performances for Broadway audiences.