To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of Avenue Q’s death have been greatly exaggerated. At its closing performance Sunday evening at Broadway’s Golden Theatre, lead producer Kevin McCollum announced onstage that after 2534 performances over six years, the 20th longest-running show in Broadway history would transfer to Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, where it will resume performances on October 9.

It’s nearly unheard-of for a show to transfer from Broadway to Off-Broadway (exceptions include the play ‘night, Mother in 1984, the short-running Billy Bishop Goes to War in 1980, and the Langston Hughes tuner Simply Heavenly in 1957). But then, Avenue Q’s trajectory has never been considered traditional. During its development at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, songwriters Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx were unsure whether their creation was a theatrical piece, a television series, or something else entirely. Jeff Whitty was brought on board to write the book, and the musical found its sea-legs at the 2002 O’Neill Music Theatre Conference. Avenue Q premiered Off-Broadway as a co-production between The New Group and The Vineyard Theatre in spring 2003 (where it won the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Musical." The show moved uptown that fall, amid much nay-saying (“It’s too small-scale for Broadway,” “It’s not based on a movie or popular songs,” “It has no appeal beyond a 20-something audience”) and bowed to critical acclaim but slow ticket sales. The producers believed in their raunchy, sweet puppet/live-actor musical and word of mouth eventually turned Avenue Q into a sold-out hit.

The theatre world was further surprised when (after a cleverly orchestrated wining-and-dining campaign reminiscent of a political battle) Avenue Q, in true David-and-Goliath fashion, defeated the big green juggernaut Wicked and received the 2004 “Best Musical” Tony Award, in addition to prizes for its book and score. Also defying expectations, the show’s producers eschewed a national tour in favor of a sit-down engagement in Las Vegas. Only when that production closed did Avenue Q eventually hit the road. The show has continued to beat the odds with a successful London run on the West End, in addition to conquering the world in Swedish, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, French and many more languages in international productions. Not bad for an original musical – sort of a grown-up “Sesame Street” – about a bunch of good-hearted people and puppets trying to find their purpose while living way out in Brooklyn.

According to an interview with McCollum published in today’s New York Times, the show’s move from the 800-seat Golden Theatre to the 499-seat space at New World Stages (alongside other quirky fare as The Toxic Avenger, Altar Boyz, Gazillion Bubble Show, My First Time and Naked Boys Singing) will reduce ticket prices by roughly 22%, along with greatly reduced advertising expenses, a lower pay scale for actors, and a smaller orchestra. The transfer is capitalized at $800,000 to $1 million (as compared to $3.5 million for the Broadway production). Otherwise, the scenery, puppets and other design elements will remain the same.

The musical’s closing song, “Only for Now,” extols a list of things that may exist temporarily: your hair, George W. Bush, sex, et cetera. It remains to be seen whether the show’s Off-Broadway berth will also be ephemeral, but theatre fans are rejoicing for another chance to visit Princeton, Rod, Trekkie Monster and everyone else over at Avenue Q again… or even for the first time!

SEPTEMBER 24 UPDATE: CASTING ANNOUNCED!
The cast of Avenue Q at New World Stages will be comprised of "Q alumni" representing the musical's Broadway, Las Vegas and 1st National Tour companies: ANIKA LARSEN (from the final Broadway cast and previously from the National Tour) as Kate Monster/Lucy; SETH RETTBERG (Broadway and National Tour) as Princeton/Rod; CULLEN TITMUS (National Tour) as Nicky/Trekkie Monster; DANIELLE K. THOMAS (final Broadway cast and National Tour) as Gary Coleman; SALA IWAMATSU (Broadway) as Christmas Eve; NICHOLAS KOHN (final Broadway company and Las Vegas) as Brian; and MAGGIE LAKIS (National Tour) as Mrs. T/Bad Idea Bear.