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Home , Avenue Q, Jeff Marx, Stephen Oremus

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS : Ben Randle, Artistic Associate ~ 415.694.6156 ~ [email protected] PHOTOS & PRESS KIT: nctcsf.org/press

HOLIDAY HIT RETURNS TO NCTC FOR A FURWELL TOUR

Partying puppets ring in the new year with special New Years Eve performance

San Francisco, CA (September 15, 2015) — This holiday season, get ready for a “Furwell Tour” like no other, with the return of NCTC’s sold-out record-breaking hit production of Avenue Q, with music, lyrics and original concept by Lopez and and book by . This “fresh and delightful” (SF Examiner) and “brilliant” (Talkin Broadway) production of the Tony Award-winning musical won over critics and audiences alike in its return engagement during the 2014-15 season. The Bay Area Reporter exclaims, “A big smiley face quickly throws its net over NCTC’s Decker Theatre and keeps the audience happily entrapped” – because it’s not the holidays without naughty puppets!

Avenue Q runs December 4, 2015 – January 17, 2016 in NCTC’s Decker Theater. Opening Night is Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 8pm. Tickets are $30 - $50 and are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Ring In the New Year with Avenue Q, a special New Years Eve performance, will be presented Thursday, December 31, 2015, complete with complimentary champagne toast and festive early start time of 7pm. Tickets are $50 are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Avenue Q is the laugh-out-loud, Tony Award-winning musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. there, he meets Kate (the girl next door), Rod (the Republican), Trekkie (the internet sexpert), Lucy the Slut (need we say more?), and other colorful types who help Princeton finally discover his purpose in life.

NCTC’s production is once again directed by Dennis Lickteig, with musical direction by Ben Prince, and orchestrations and arrangements by .

Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Special Engagements: During the run of the show, theatre lovers can enjoy many special events:  Onstage Insight, Post-Show Discussion after the following performance: . Sunday, December 20th at 2pm– Panel discussion featuring the cast, moderated by the play’s director.  Low-cost Previews: Friday, December 4th – Friday, December 11th.  Community Pay What You Wish Tickets: A limited number of tickets are held for each preview performance for our Pay-What-You-Wish program. These tickets cannot be reserved or purchased in advance and are only available in-person beginning 1 hour before the performance.  Opening Night will take place on Saturday, December 12th at 8pm. The performance will be followed by a reception with the cast, designers and director, catered by 15/16 Season Restaurant Sponsor, Mina’s Brazilian.  Ring in the New Year with Avenue Q – special New Years Eve performance Thursday, December 31, at 7pm. Tickets are $50 and includes a complimentary champagne toast.

Composer and Lyricist ’s first two Broadway musicals, Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, have both been critical and commercial hits and Best Musical Tony Award winners. He shared for Best Original Score and Best Book for The Book of Mormon. He also shared a Tony for Best Original Score and a Grammy nomination for Avenue Q. With wife Kristen Anderson‐Lopez, he co-wrote the smash Disney film Frozen, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Let it Go"; Finding Nemo: The Musical (playing at Walt Disney World since 2006), the Broadway‐bound original musical Up Here and songs for Winnie the Pooh (Disney feature animation, 2011). He shared two Emmy Awards for his music for The Wonder Pets and an Emmy nomination for the Scrubs musical episode.

Composer and Lyricist Jeff Marx with Robert Lopez made their Broadway debut with Avenue Q. They began writing Avenue Q in the BMI Workshop in 1999, thinking it was a great idea for a TV series. Three years later it was produced Off‐Broadway, Broadway (with three Tony Awards), and London. They also collaborated on new material for a Muppet movie called Kermit, Prince of Denmark (which received the coveted Ed Kleban Award) and Ferdinand the Bull, a children's musical for TheatreWorks/USA.

Librettist Jeff Whitty won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Avenue Q, which ran six years on Broadway and then moved to its current home Off-Broadway at . He also wrote the book to the musical version of Tales of the City, which premiered at American Conservatory Theatre in 2011. He newest musical was Bring It On, with a score by , Amanda Green, and Lin‐Manuel Miranda, which had an extended limited run on Broadway in 2012, and was nominated for a Best Musical Tony Award. Whitty's plays include The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, The Hiding Place, The Plank Project, Balls, and Suicide Weather, and have played at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Alliance Theatre, Atlantic Theater , South Coast Repertory, , and The New Group.

Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Director Dennis Lickteig returns to direct Avenue Q, having staged the two previous runs at NCTC. Past NCTC collaborations include the regional premiere of The Nance by Douglas Carter Beane this October, the world premiere of Brad Erickson's American Dream, The Lisbon Traviata, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Story of My Life, The Busy World is Hushed, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins, The Sugar Witch, Act A Lady, Thrill Me, Farm Boys, Theatre District and Harvey Milk –The Musical. Other recent directing projects include: and The Heiress for Palo Alto Players; The Story of My Life (Contra Costa Civic); Thoroughly Modern Millie and (Broadway By the Bay); Forum, Sunday in the Park with George, Anything Goes (CCMT); , Closer Than Ever, Crimes of the Heart (Hillbarn Theater).

Musical Director Ben Prince recently musical directed the regional premiere of Dogfight (SF Playhouse); Heathers, Carrie, Songs for a New World, Bat Boy, The Rocky Horror Show, The Who’s Tommy (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award), Jerry Springer: The Opera (BATCC nomination), and The Full Monty for Ray of Light Theatre. Additional credits include Lucky Duck (Berkeley Playhouse), Show Me Yours (New Musical Theater of SF), Spring Awakening (USF), REAFHelp is on the Way concerts. Ben Prince is also a house pianist at Martuni’s Piano Bar.

Avenue Q will feature Erin Ashe, Teresa Attridge, Will Giammona, Sam Jackson, Christopher Morrell, Pam Sevilla, and Gary Walker.

The creative team of Avenue Q also includes Choreography by Stephanie Temple, Scenic Design by Kuo- Hao Lo, Costume Design by Wes Crain, Lighting Design by Christian Mejia, Technical Direction by Devin Kasper, and Puppet Design by Travis Howse.

New Conservatory Theatre Center is San Francisco’s premier LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to nurturing emerging artists and playwrights to expand the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.

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Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Avenue Q FACT SHEET

WHO: Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx Book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx Directed by Dennis Lickteig Musical Direction by Ben Prince Orchestrations and Arrangements by Stephen Oremus Choreography by Stephanie Temple Starring Erin Ashe, Teresa Attridge, Will Giammona, Sam Jackson, Christopher Morrell, Pam Sevilla, and Gary Walker Scenic Design by Kuo-Hao Lo Costume Design by Wes Crain Lighting Design by Christian Mejia Technical Direction by Devin Kasper Puppet Design by Travis Howse.

WHAT: Avenue Q Returns to NCTC

WHERE: New Conservatory Theatre Center Decker Theatre, 25 Van Ness Ave @Market, San Francisco, CA 94102

WHEN: December 4, 2015 – January 17, 2016 Wednesday – Sat at 8pm Sundays at 2pm

COST: $30-$50

RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH AVENUE Q: Thursday, December 31, 2015 at 7pm. COST: $50, includes complimentary champagne toast

TICKETS AND BOX OFFICE: 415-861-8972, [email protected]

Special Engagements: Onstage Insight…………………………………………………………………………….……….12/20 Low-Cost Previews………………………………………………………………………12/4 - 12/11 Opening Night……………………………………………………………………………………….12/12

PHOTOS AND PRESS KIT: nctcsf.org/press

Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR