By Ariana Rathan
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Theatre’s adaption of the musical “Avenue Q,” directed by Robert Zick and Iva Irwin, opens on April 1 and is running through April 2.
“Avenue Q” by Jeff Whitey is a story about college graduate Princeton (Roger Nguyen and McKenzie Martell) and the lessons he learns, relationships he gains and his own self-realization on Avenue Q, located in New York City, New York. The aspect that makes this show different from the rest of the Broadway shows is that the cast is not only made up of people but of puppets as well.
FVHS Theatre has faced obstacles such as restricted performances in the past last year due to the pandemic. Luckily, they have found a way to cast and perform the smash Broadway hit “Avenue Q.” The show is double cast and the performance will take place outside with masks. It will be socially distant and follow all safety protocols in place.
The cast and crew have worked hard since early February and rehearsals started immediately after the auditions. They have rehearsed up to twelve hours per week.
“We have music lessons every single Monday, we have been blocking our show, with masks on and are socially distanced,” junior Roger Nguyen said. “We’ve honestly been trying to work around these mandates while producing a show that’s both truthful and also does the show justice.”
The theater students have had less preparation time for their show than previous years, but that hasn’t stopped them from working hard and pushing themselves to produce an amazing show. They have created their own costumes and sets and have Irwin as a student choreographer, as well as junior Robbie Macey as a student stage manager.
The cast and crew of the show not only want to entertain their audience, but they want to provide them with a message about everyday people and their struggles.
“[People] are so hard on themselves We are all in this together as we have been saying this entire year. We are just going to keep pushing,” sophomore Katy Bell said. “This [performing] is what we love to do and we’re not going to stop doing it.”
To view the show live, only two tickets per actor are allowed because of COVID-19 restrictions. FVHS Theatre is currently working on a plan to allow the general public to view the show online.
March 31 update: An earlier version of this article misspelled Roger Nguyen’s name.
