Sesame Street is to kindergarten as Avenue Q is to college. How does one grow up asking how to get to Sesame Street and grow up to find themselves on Avenue Q instead? Let's explore that for a bit.
Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Kate and Lucy) was in college when Jim Henson died, and many thought her shot to be a muppeteer in his company died with him. However, she became a background muppeteer for Sesame Street. Unfortunately, others who would later become her Avenue Q cohorts weren't so lucky. Muppeteer Rick Lyon (Nicky, Trekkie, Bad Idea Bear 1) and unpaid intern Jeff Marx (Avenue Q co-creator) were fired. Along with D'Abruzzo, they brought in other muppeteers Jennifer Barnhart (Mrs. T and Bad Idea Bear 2) and John Tartaglia (Rod and Princeton). The production that followed was not done entirely in angst, however - it was as much honoring Sesame Street as anything. Truthfully, those who knew him say that Henson would have loved it.
Everything in both is all in good fun. However, Sesame Street usually fills us up with such promise whereas the feeling I get by the end of Avenue Q is that everything in life is fleeting, the good and the bad. It's kind of depressing. For an uplifting experience, watch the documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey following Kevin Clash's experiences and rise to fame. He also mentors a young muppeteer named Tau. I just wish he wasn't getting hassled by all these guys he supposedly molested. I also wish Mom hadn't thrown out my old Elmo doll so I can hug it whenever I think about this debacle. Instead I'll just include it in a novel I'm working on.
Additionally, I'm surprised the Disney-owned Muppets are still considered children's films when the movies are somewhat more violent than I remember.
Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. Penguin Group: New York, 2008. pp. 297-299, 337-338
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