Tickets on sale Thursday for Jan. 6 benefit performance of ‘Avenue Q’
UW-Green Bay Theatre and Dance and UW-Green Bay Music will present a special benefit performance of Avenue Q, The Musical at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, in the Cofrin Family (main) Hall at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts on campus, 2420 Nicolet Drive.
All tickets are $25 and general admission for this special show, which will help support the groups’ Jan. 10 performance at the prestigious American College Theatre Festival competition in Saginaw, Mich. Tickets will be available for the front orchestra area only (about 600 seats), as the actors perform on a larger stage to prepare for competition. Four November performances of Avenue Q were staged at University Theatre in Theatre Hall on campus.
Winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, Avenue Q is a gut-bustingly hilarious modern musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life. Although the show addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children’s show; a place where puppets are friends, monsters are good and life lessons are learned. Avenue Q is rated R for strong language and adult themes.
“The play has a big heart — sincere and sometimes naïve characters look for their purpose in life,” said Director Laura Riddle, chair of UW-Green Bay Theatre and Dance. “The puppets invite us into a playful world where they negotiate real issues faced in life after college. Avenue Q has a very diverse population and the residents learn to be compassionate and inclusive but it’s not always easy — or ‘politically correct.’ But just like some of the great children’s programming we grew up with, you can learn and have fun at the same time.”
Tickets for Avenue Q will be available for purchase starting at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19 at the University Ticketing Service & Info Center in the University Union on campus. They can also be bought at www.uwgb.edu/tickets.
ACTF is a national theatre organization affiliated with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Wisconsin is part of region three, which also includes Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and part of Ohio. Bids for the regional competition are awarded after independent judges travel to plays that are entered for consideration. Following the regional festivals, the ACTF then selects a half dozen or fewer shows for the national festival and performances at the Kennedy Center.
The annual regional festivals double as conferences with workshops for students and faculty, as well as individual competitions in acting, design, playwriting, directing, dramaturgy, theatre criticism and technical fields.
This is not the first time a UW-Green Bay play has made it to the regional theatre competition. The program has a string of past invites including the most recent in 2011 with Almost, Maine, which earned numerous accolades and national recognition for its success. The full list of UW-Green Bay Theatre productions invited to the regional competition is as follows: 2014 Avenue Q, The Musical; 2011 Almost, Maine; 2009 The Balkan Women; 2006 Red Herring; 2004 The Christmas Schooner; 2002 Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls; 1999 On the Verge; 1993 Camp Meeting; 1991 In Circles; 1985 Children of a Lesser God ; 1981 Trojan Women.
Visit http://news.uwgb.edu/multimedia/video/11/08/theatre-dance-present-avenue-q/ to watch a video preview of the UW-Green Bay production of Avenue Q. More information about UW-Green Bay Theatre and Dance is available at www.uwgb.edu/theatre/.
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