Israeli Avenue Q - Follow-up #1: Rehearsal Sneak Preview
Oh boy, have I got a bag of goodies for all you Avenue Q fans out there. First, check out this photo of the Israeli cast:
Front left to right: Michal Muchtar, Lucy the Slut, Tali Oren, Kate Monster, Michal Yannai, Rod, Roy Bar-Natan.
Back left to right: Princeton, Nicky, Idan Alterman, Trekkie Monster, Nicky Goldstein.
Missing from photo: Elinor Aharon.
Peeking in the back: the ubiquitous all-Israeli white Ketter Plastic chair 
If that photo did not quench your thirst, I know what will: a video clip of the company singing the Avenue Q Theme, but before you press play, I have transcribed the Hebrew lyrics for your listening pleasure, then translated them back to English, and then added the original English lyrics for reference:
| Original lyrics | Translated back | Hebrew lyrics |
| The sun is shining, It’s a lovely day, A perfect morning For a kid to play, But you’re got lots Of bills to pay - What can you do?You work real hard And the pay’s real low And ev’ry hour Goes oh, so slow And at the end of the day There’s no where to go But home to Avenue Q! You live on Avenue Q! You’re friends do too. You are twenty-two And you live on Avenue Q! You live on Avenue Q You live on Avenue Q You live on Avenue Q! |
Sun is shining In golden colors A cat and dog Play together You have no Money for milk That’s the statusWorks a lot And earns a little The time crawls And crawls slowly At the end of another crummy day Me and you Come back to Avenue Q! Living in Avenue Q! It’s not all-that Just so you know Living in Avenue Q Living in Avenue Q Living in Avenue Q Living in Avenue Q! |
זורחת שמש בצבעי זהב חתול וכלב משחקים יחדיו לך אין כסף לחלב זה המצבעובד הרבה ומרוויח קצת הזמן זוחל וזוחל לאט בסוף עוד יום מזופת אני וגם את חוזרים לאבניו קיו גרים באבניו קיו זה לא משהו רק שתדעו לגור באבניו קיו לגור באבניו קיו לגור באבניו קיו לגור באבניו קיו! |
Also, in a Ynet interview published today, Moshe Kepten, the director of the show dished out some exciting information. Apparently, the musical was translated to Hebrew, but the names and locations were kept, except for one character: the building superintendent in the original production is Gary Coleman, the actor who starred in the eighties television series ‘Different Stokes’ – played by another actor, as the has-been of the Avenue. In a very bold move this part was transformed, and Michal Yannai, who herself was a huge television star for millions of Israeli kids in the nineties, plays herself as the has-been, supposedly telling everyone at home she is participating in a movie filmed in New-York.
The full article in Hebrew can be read here, and is also archived here for posterity.
I have previously posted all the needed ticket ordering information here.
