Puppets a tough act
to follow in ‘Ave. Q’

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

Look, up on the stage. It’s a man, it’s a puppet. It’s a man, it’s a puppet.
Actually it’s both, as a mixed art of humans and puppets comes to the Forrest Theatre stage in the three-time Tony Award-winner, Avenue Q. The smash-hit musical about real life in New York City, as told by a cast of people and puppets, runs Jan. 29 through Feb. 10.
Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad with a B.A. in English who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone’s looking for the same thing: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a purpose. Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that "the real world" isn’t so bad after all.
Appearing in the role of Princeton, the romantic leading man (as well as another puppet, Rod, a sort of closeted Republican investment banker), is Robert McClure, who comes to this national tour from the Broadway production of Avenue Q. A Barrymore Award winner last year for The Bombitty of Errors, McClure is originally from New Jersey but now lives in Philadelphia — when he’s in town, that is.
"I’ve had to move on because this show is on tour, but I’m looking forward to getting back here as soon as possible," he said. "I fell in love with the Philadelphia theater scene (as well as Maggie Lakis, one of his cast mates in Avenue Q who happened to live here), and I don’t want to move from this city."
Still, a juicy role is a juicy role, and so McClure is now on the road with the show, enjoying a career that started by chance.
"In high school," he explained, "I was in all sorts of extracurricular activity. In the fall it was this sport, in the winter that sport, and in the spring I would try out for a play. But one day it dawned on me that I was having a lot of fun doing the play and didn’t want to have to wait a full year until the opportunity came around again. So I decided to branch out and do community theater, and slowly getting recognized, I found more and more doors opening to me. I took the opportunities presented and the passion that came with it."
Studying at Montclair State University with a double major in English (just like his puppet pal Princeton) and theater, McClure left before graduation for a chance to appear on Broadway with Judd Hirsch in I’m Not Rappaport. And that was that. The young actor never looked back, appearing in many regional and local theater productions and earning accolades for all his work — and enjoying it all.
Having appeared on Broadway in Avenue Q, he also has been seen at many regional theaters, such as The Arden Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse and 11th Hour Theatre Co. But playing with puppets is quite different from playing more traditional roles.
He said he jumped at the chance but was very surprised to learn how difficult it can be at times. "We had three days of intensive puppet training to see if we could handle it all. It was thrilling to watch every nuance that’s necessary to bring the puppet to life.
"It’s so much more than just the opening and closing of the mouth. You know, truly animating a character is a blast. It’s an astounding art form," he added. "It’s also funny to watch the audience, because the puppets can get away with saying things that people can’t because of their inherent innocence. There’s no slant, no bitterness behind their words, because they’re just furry, funny, sweet creatures." ••
Because of adult situations (like full puppet nudity), Avenue Q may be inappropriate for kids under 13. For show times and ticket information, call 1-800-447-7400.