Avenue Q Comes to The National

by ~Phifty

These days David Benoit takes his home along with him. He plays Nicky, Trekkie and a Bad News Bear in the traveling cast of Avenue Q, which will be coming to The National in Washington D.C. from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9. The tour brings its stage with them, “three old dilapidated brownstones, not that different from Fall River,” Benoit’s Massachusetts hometown. Benoit has been playing the two major characters for over a year, spending time in both the Broadway and traveling cast.

“The show really pays homage to the children’s television shows we grew up with, shows like Sesame Street.” Benoit said. “Shows that taught life lessons. But it is a very adult show, though it looks like it’s a kiddy show. But it is not at all, there are some adult situations, there’s full puppet nudity and there’s indeed puppet sex.”

Many of the puppets may resemble characters from classic children’s shows, but Avenue Q’s puppets are different.

“I think the show tips the hat to it and celebrates it enough to suggest it, but [the characters] are not terribly closely related,” Benoit said.

Despite its unusual nature, the musical has been a remarkable success. Avenue Q swept the Tonys, receiving three awards and three nominations.

“I think it’s courage. I think it’s unabashedly very courageous. It puts its best foot forward and makes no apologies. It has a huge heart and it follows its heart.” Benoit said. “That’s why it is so successful. Many people probably didn’t believe in it but the people at the helm, our producers—there are three major producers, Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman and Jeffrey Seller—they believed in the show so much when not many people did.”

The writer’s significance in the play’s success is not only about their skill, but their experience as well.

“These two guys were unemployed and they are basically like the lead of the show, they were like ‘ok I just graduated college. What do you do with a BA in English?’ basically that was their story,” Benoit said. “They [and the producers] became the heart of the show.”

Before the porn-addicted puppet, Benoit played the darkly humorous Thénardiers in Les Misérables for six years. It was his excellence with character voices, a skill which he had also displayed during his tenure on Forbidden Broadway, which caused his associate director to recommend him to audition for the parts of Nicky and Trekkie in the Las Vegas show. When Benoit got the part the first thing he did was go to puppet school.

“It was like two weeks of puppet boot camp, eight hours a day, learning how to puppeteer,” said Benoit of the experience.

The two main characters he plays, Nicky and Trekkie, are free hands puppets, which means that around 90 percent of the time, he has another person playing his right hand while he provides the left and the mouth, along with the voices.

“We move like a human being. If it looks effortless, then we are doing our job. We walk around in tandem.” Benoit said. “That is the hardest stuff, the puppeteering and then, literally, having another person attached to you, walking around, but it really has a big impact. All my work paid off.”

Benoit truly enjoys working with the puppets, who are the most unique part of a very different type of musical.

“There are puppets going in and out of windows and jumping up on roofs and stuff like that,” Benoit said.

“Nicky, one of the characters, is really sweet; he’s like a dude or a slacker.” Benoit said. “I get to play this big-hearted character, which is great, and I play Trekkie monster who is kind of cantankerous and grouchy. They make people laugh which is really great and rewarding for a comedic actor.”

Benoit performs in many of the songs, though his favorite parts are working with the ensemble in the opening and closing numbers.

There are only seven actors on the stage, along with two people backstage.

“I also like singing ‘The Internet is For Porn.’” Benoit said.  “It’s a very entertaining number and it’s about teaching Kate Monster a lesson. “He sings in a number of the most popular songs in the play, including Trekkie Monster’s song which has become quite popular as an internet meme.

When asked if he ever feels nervous singing such well known pieces, Benoit responded, “Now I’m going to be paranoid, thanks,” and laughed. “I just do it. I’m not afraid of it. I hope I deliver it and I take it as it comes.”

“I actually come in and sing where Nicky comes in and tries to talk to his friend Rob saying ‘I think I know you’re gay and, guess what, it’s ok.’” Benoit said. “I just try to play it; I’m not thinking ‘oh here it comes.’”

Benoit says that the show has a special message for college students.

“It is your story. It is a story about a kid who just graduated college. He has no idea what to do with his life. All he is trying to do is find his purpose.” Benoit said. “He got his BA in English and he is like what’s next? And so it really is. This is a college students’ show, in terms of humor, in terms of, most of all, how they identify with the character. It is about this person–this puppet–who graduates from school, and has no idea what to do with his life and what he learns along the way.”

The deck, a stage on the stage, means that the show brings its set where ever it goes. But the audience that the traveling show faces in each of its locations can react very differently.

"We're in Des Moines right now, the audiences here are insane." Benoit said. "Here and Kansas City, they were out of control. I loved that and was surprised." Even in the more serious locations "they laughed despite of themselves."

Benoit didn’t want his favorite schadenfreude moment to be revealed, but it can be heard in the play, during the song.

As for the internet? “It’s for porn,” Benoit confirmed.