Avenue Q

Jacqueline Martin as Lucy and Graham Fleming as Rod in Avenue Q. Photo by Joel Levy.

After a sold-out run last year, the hit musical Avenue Q returns to the Lower Ossington Theatre this summer with two new leads: Jacqueline Martin plays the dual role of Kate Monster and Lucy, and Graham Fleming tackles the parts of Princeton and Rod. We caught up with the dynamic duo to find out more about their experience working on the show (opens June 20).

Theatromania: How would you describe Avenue Q in a sentence or two?

JM: Avenue Q is a story about a young university graduate trying to find his way through life, now that he’s done school, and out in the real world! He meets some very interesting characters, and gets into some hilarious situations!

GF: Avenue Q takes you on the journey of a character, Princeton, who is in search of his purpose in life. On his journey he meets a bunch of new characters who slowly become a part of his family. In the show, every character has some sort of struggle in life and you will have to come to see the show to see where it takes them!

Theatromania: Tell us about your characters Princeton/Rod and Kate Monster/Lucy. Can you relate to them at all?

JM: J: Kate Monster is a sweet young monster who works as a Kindergarten Teaching Assistant, and Lucy is a vixen-ish vamp who performs at the Around the Clock Café. As a singer. I don’t think I can relate to either of them completely, but I definitely understand Kate’s desire to have a successful job, good friends, and romance and I adore Lucy’s boldness and her fabulous hair!

GF: Princeton is a fresh-faced college graduate who ends up moving to Avenue Q in search of his purpose in life.
Throughout the musical, you will see Princeton go through various ups and downs…an emotional rollercoaster, I would call it. Rod is a closeted homosexual republican, who spends the first act fighting to keep his sexuality  a secret. As the show progresses you see him become more comfortable with himself and his surroundings, while finding peace with his best friend and roommate Nicky.

In a sense I can relate to both of them. I can relate to Princeton in the same sense that he moved to Avenue Q
searching for his purpose, and I moved to Toronto in the same search; for the two years that I have been here, I am
proud to say that I found it! I have also recently come out and so my journey has had a similar course as Rod.

Theatromania: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered during the rehearsal process so far?

JM: Well, this show has so many aspects that you have to learn to do simultaneously, so the biggest challenge is definitely being able to sing, dance, act, AND manipulate puppets all at the same time!

GM: My biggest challenge was allowing my emotions to translate to the puppets. Playing two vastly different characters
in one show has been quite the experience. The art of puppeteering has been a huge challenge that I have been
working on and with the help of my cast, crew and Mike Petersen (our puppet coach), I am now extremely comfortable in both of these roles!

Theatromania: Have you learned anything new or significant?

JM: We have been very lucky to work with an amazing puppeteer, Mike Petersen, who has been showing us all the ins and outs of how to properly use a puppet! I honestly didn’t think that I would enjoy working with a puppet as much as I do. I haven’t been this fascinated by an art form in a long time, so it’s been an incredible experience for me!

GF: Prior to the show, I’ve never been a puppeteer or worked with puppets, so this whole process has been new to me.  I am extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity, because I think it’s an amazing skill to have and is just so much fun.

Theatromania: What do you hope audiences take away from this performance?

JM: This show has SO many great moments, ranging from joyous, to poignant, to downright hilarious! I hope the audience leaves laughing, and enjoyed the performance thoroughly. I also hope that they take in what tremendous theatre is happening in and around the city, and have the desire to keep supporting local theatre companies and artists!

GF: Avenue Q is such a great show in so many ways, from the music, to the script to the visual elements in the musical. Of course I hope audiences have fun watching the show (I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy watching hilarious puppets sing on stage), but I also want audience members to  appreciate the fact that Avenue Q is such a genuine story that is
so true to real life. This is a show that so many different individuals can appreciate because it is one of which we can
all connect with from multiple points on our lives.

See Jacqueline Martin and Graham Fleming in Avenue Q from June 20 to September 29 at the Lower Ossington Theatre. Visit avenueq.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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Lower Ossington Theatre: Avenue Q

Avenue Q's hilarious and heartwarming characters return to the stage in a new production at the Lower Ossington Theatre