Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 11:52:47 -0400 From: Adam Gertsacov <kafclown-AT-well.com> To: puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org Subject: [Puptcrit] Interview with Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/theater/newsandfeatures/31robe.html My favorite part is where they ask her if she can sing without the puppet. As if the puppet were doing the singing! Adam July 31, 2005 A Puppet Master, Still Standing By ROBERT SIMONSON Broadway marathons aren't what they used to be. What with actors moving between stage, film and TV, and corporate musicals that can support a stream of interchangeable faces, the days when a Marian Seldes would play 1,793 performances of "Deathtrap" without missing a curtain are long gone. But that doesn't mean stars with staying power are extinct. Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who plays the puppet protagonist Kate Monster (as well as her rival, Lucy T. Slut) in the two-year-old-plus "Avenue Q," recently woke up to find she was the only 2004 Tony Award acting nominee (out of 40) who was still working the job for which she was nominated. Ms. D'Abruzzo, who was beaten out for best actress in a musical by that relative short-timer Idina Menzel of "Wicked," spoke with Robert Simonson about keeping it fresh after more than 800 shows. Have you ever played around with certain lines, changed them from show to show? We are not allowed to. I remember the night after the 2003 blackout, I desperately, for one night, wanted to change the line "George Bush is only for now" to "Con Ed is only for now." We were given the nay-say on that. The thing about comedy is it is very fragile, and if you let it spin out of control, if you dicker too much, it can lose something. If you go for the laugh - which is so tempting to do after this period of time - then we are in danger of becoming just the dirty little puppet show. How many Kate Monster puppets have you gone through? We did have one fully replaced, the one you see the least in the show, the naked Kate. But those Kate puppets, some are from Off Broadway. Rick Lyon built them to last. Actually, right now we're getting an influx of new puppets. Our old puppets will be backup for the Las Vegas production. We have brand new reformed Lucy, who shows up at the end of the show. She looks totally different. She has no eyelids, has big wide open eyes and big pigtails. The first time I saw her, I thought she looked like Suzanne Somers in "Three's Company." I think her boobs are bigger, but Rick says they're not. Do you go on auditions for other shows? Of course, but in many ways I'm limited, because so many people still see me as only a puppeteer. People have actually asked me, "Can you sing without the puppet?" I can't take myself too seriously. I walk out the stage door that shares a service entrance with the Milford Plaza. So I leave the theater every night surrounded by garbage or laundry or mattresses. _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/puptcrit-driftline.org Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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