Photo: Jonah D. Winston and Dan Smeriglio | Brett A. Beiner Photography

Mercury Theater Chicago’s acclaimed production of AVENUE Q is slated to close on December 30, after playing to over 40,000 patrons over 355 performances in 2014 and 2018.

The current cast includes Audrey Billings (Christmas Eve), Molly C. Jones (Kate Monster), Andrew Lund (Princeton), Matthew Miles (Brian), Jason Richards (Trekkie Monster, Ricky), David S. Robbins (Gary Coleman), Christian Siebert (Rod), Dan Smeriglio (Nicky, Bad Idea Bear) and Stephanie Wohar (Lucy, Bad Idea Bear). Understudies include Shana Dagny, Ryan Hamman, Natalie Kreft, Steve Peebles, Maxton Smith and Sam Woods.

A racy cross between South Park and Sesame Street, AVENUE Q is a modern musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life. Its Broadway production won the “triple crown” of Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book in 2004. AVENUE Q features Music and Lyrics by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez (co-creator of THE BOOK OF MORMON and recent Academy Award winner for FROZEN) and a Book by Jeff Whitty. The Mercury’s production is led by L. Walter Stearns (director), Eugene Dizon (musical director), and Kevin Bellie (choreography) and features custom made puppets by Russ Walko. The creative team includes Alan Donahue (scenic design), Rachel Boylan (costume design), Dustin L. Derry (lighting design) and Max Maxin IV (video design). Stage management is by Kristi J. Martens with assistant stage manager Kaitlin Moser. Rick Lyon, master puppeteer and original Broadway AVENUE Q cast member, oversaw puppetry training at the beginning of the 2018 production, followed by Kevin Noonchester, who led puppet camp in November 2018.

Read Alyssa Dyksterhouse’s PerformInk review of the production here. Tickets are still available for the remaining performances at mercurytheaterchicago.com.