'AVENUE Q,' IN FULL-FRONTAL PUPPETRY MODE, FINALLY MAKES ITS WAY TO L.A.

Byline: EVAN HENERSON

>LA.COM 

The "fuzz" has finally reached our shores. Not the "buzz." We're talking about hairy puppets. Get it?

Only now, say the creators of "Avenue Q," their musical is free to be as raunchy as it wants to be.

Three years after upsetting "Wicked" for the best musical and best score honors at the Tony awards, and three months after the expiration of an exclusivity agreement with a Las Vegas casino that prevented the show from taking to the road, the national tour of "Avenue Q" is set to open at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Which means Angelenos who haven't ventured outside the city can at last meet Princeton, Rod, Kate Monster, Trekkie Monster, Gary Coleman and the Bad Idea Bears.

We'll learn who's gay, who's feckless, who's a little bit racist, who contends the "Internet is for porn" and who thinks "It sucks to be me."

And despite the presence of Jim Henson-inspired puppets, "Avenue Q" arrives with raunchy language, full puppet nudity and a "not for kids" warning.

At the Wynn Las Vegas, where the musical played a nine-month run, "Q's" slacker pedigree required blunting, says co-composer Jeff Marx, noting the irony of a show being too risque for Vegas.

"We kind of crippled ourselves because our marketing wasn't allowed to be quite as racy as we wanted it to be," says Marx.

"We couldn't bill it as the dirty puppet show. We wanted little fliers with (the character) Lucy the Slut's pictures on it," he continues, "but Steve Wynn was very protective of the image of his casino. There could be no connotation with sluts or prostitutes or strippers. It was surprising he even allowed gambling in his hotel."

"Avenue Q" follows the exploits of Princeton, a 20-something puppet with minimal ambition who leaves college and takes up residence on low-rent Avenue Q. His neighbors are just as messed up as he is, and Gary Coleman -- yes, that Gary Coleman -- is the friendly building superintendent.

Princeton's waywardness mirrored that of his creators: Marx and Lopez, who paired up in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.

"We were these lost 20-somethings who weren't really sure where we fit in the scheme of things," says Lopez, "feeling a little at sea and recognizing a lot of humor in that."

Things have changed a bit for the composers since "Q" stormed Broadway. Marx and Lopez re- teamed for a musical episode of "Scrubs," with Marx digging the experience so completely that he relocated to L.A.

Lopez married, fathered a daughter and has scored a musical version of "Finding Nemo" at Disney World. Many of his projects these days have a decidedly family bent.

"Avenue Q," he hastens to remind, does not.

"I think everyone recognizes that Jim Henson was one of our idols and can look at 'Avenue Q' as a love letter to him from a generation very much influenced by him," says Lopez. "But as the parent of a child who watches 'Sesame Street' every day, I'd feel bad if someone brought their 2-year-old."

"Avenue Q" opens Sept. 7 at the Ahmanson Theatre. [phone] or visit www.centertheatregroup.org.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

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Lucy and Kelli Sawyer star in "Avenue Q," an evening of puppetry that's most definitely not for children, though it's very apparent that the production was influenced by "The Muppet Show."