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3%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4%%
5%%
6[[foldercontrol]]
7
8[[folder:Puppets]]
9
10!Princeton
11[[quoteright:176:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princeton7.JPG]]
12[[caption-width-right:176:What do ya do with a B.A. in English?]]
13A college graduate, who's 22, naive, chipper, and looking for his purpose in life.
14--------
15* ADegreeInUseless: What he thinks of his B.A. in English.
16--> '''Princeton''': '' Four years of college and plenty of knowledge have earned me this useless degree.''
17* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Hence, the aptly titled number 'Purpose.' In fact, he's so desperate to find a purpose in life that he [[spoiler:botches up his relationship with Kate midway through the show when she brings up the idea of marriage]].
18* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Why would you trust people called the "Bad Idea Bears"?
19* InformedAttractiveness: According to Lucy, he's "well hung" and "baby-faced". Because he's a puppet, although he looks somewhat cute, it's harder for the audience to see this.
20* InnocentlyInsensitive: He doesn't know it's rude to ask whether monsters are related to each other.
21* InterspeciesRomance: With Kate Monster.
22* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: During the song 'Mixtape' where Kate cannot figure out if he likes her or not.[[note]] He does.[[/note]]
23* NaiveNewcomer: Gary tends to treat him as this for thinking life would be easy.
24* NiceGuy: He is generally friendly and helpful.
25* TheProtagonist: The main character of the play.
26* PunnyName: A recent college graduate, and named for one of the most prestigious universities ever.
27
28!Kate Monster
29[[quoteright:211:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/el7wx12.jpg]]
30[[caption-width-right:211:There's a fine, fine line between love... and a waste of time.]]
31A 23-year old monster who works in a kindergarten.
32-------
33* BettyAndVeronica: The sweet, wholesome Betty to Lucy's seductive, lewd Veronica. The two of them are usually performed by the same puppeteer.
34* BewareTheNiceOnes: While she's definitely a sweetheart, she can become hot headed if you drive her to it.
35* ClingyJealousGirl: Downplayed but still there. She's visibly angry when she sees Princeton with Lucy, gets into a argument with Lucy when they meet in Princeton's apartment and is [[spoiler: mostly unrepentant that she nearly killed Lucy - albeit by accident and Lucy did recover]]
36* CuteMonsterGirl: Her species is literally "monster". She looks like a cute human girl covered in tan-colored fuzz.
37* CoolTeacher: Really wants to be this.
38* DeadpanSnarker: Acts this way when she's hurt or offended. She gets a good quip when she sees Princeton dating someone new after he says he wants to find a purpose in life.
39--> '''Kate''': Is her name Purpose?
40* {{Deuteragonist}}: She's Princeton's LoveInterest, and the play eventually culminates in her monsters' school opening.
41* {{Expy}}: Her voice, desire to teach a proper lesson, and relationship to Trekkie evoke Prairie Dawn.
42* GirlNextDoor: She is a nice girl who is the neighbor and LoveInterest of Princeton.
43* InterspeciesRomance: With Princeton.
44* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Gets a few good zingers against Princeton whenever they meet after [[spoiler: their breakup]] since she's upset with him.
45* PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher: Played positively, and seen entirely outside of the classroom, too. Kate fiercely opposes racism against Monsters, and her biggest dream is to someday open up a Monsters-only school.
46* PrecisionFStrike: Not that the whole cast don't swear like sailors, but her exasperated "Fuck!" in "It Sucks to Be Me" is the first clue to the audience that this isn't ''Sesame Street''.
47* SpeciesSurname: Her last name is Monster, just like Trekkie's, but she is offended by the question whether the two of them are related.
48
49!Nicky
50[[quoteright:181:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicky28.jpg]]
51[[caption-width-right:181:If you were gay, that'd be okay.]]
52He's 25-year old slacker with no job, who's Rod's roommate.
53-----
54* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/SesameStreet Ernie]].
55* {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}}: With Rod. Emphasis on the fact that "partner" is singular.
56* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Stated during the "If You Were Gay" number.
57* [[SubvertedTrope Not-So]] FantasticRacism: Possibly. "Happiness at the misfortune of others? [[TakeThat That]] ''[[TakeThat is]]'' [[AllGermansAreNazis German]]."
58* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat:
59--> '''Nicky''': '' So what should it matter to me what you do in bed with guys?''
60* ObliviousToLove: Possibly subverted; while he's fully aware that Rod's gay, it seems that he's NOT aware that Rod's specifically interested in him. However, [[spoiler:the boyfriend he finds for Rod looks and apparently acts ''just like him'' and he comments after the fact that he "knows Rod's type". It's not clear if this means he knew Rod liked him the whole time or if he was ComicallyMissingThePoint]].
61* RedOniBlueOni: The lazy, laid-back Red Oni to Rod's pedant, neurotic Blue Oni.
62* ThoseTwoGuys: He and Rod are a subversion. They're seldom seem apart, but their divergent personalities mean that being around each other all the time is, in their words, "a hell."
63
64!Rod
65Nicky's stuffy investment banker roommate.
66------
67* AllGaysLoveTheatre: His favorite book is ''Broadway Musicals of the 1940s.''
68* ArmoredClosetGay: Mild example: he's not aggressively homophobic, but when Nicky sings him a whole song about how it'd be okay if he was gay, he squawks, "Nicky, that is WRONG!" (But it ''might'' just be because Nicky specifically sang, "What should it matter to me what you do in bed with guys?", which is a little too personal.)
69* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: He's blue, although he's a Republican.[[note]]American politics associate the color blue with Democrats and red with Republicans.[[/note]]
70%% Doesnt' explain what the reaction is. * BerserkButton: Being accused of being gay.
71* ComingOutStory: His character arc is about him coming around with being gay.
72* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/SesameStreet Bert]].
73%%* FieryRedhead: Subverted.
74* GayConservative: He's a Republican investment banker. [[AllGaysLoveTheater Who just happens to enjoy Broadway Musicals of the 1940's.]]
75* {{Gayngst}}: He has trouble fitting his homosexuality with his conservative mindset.
76* GirlfriendInCanada: {{Trope Namer|s}}. When he overhears a discussion that the others think he's gay, he sings a musical number about his alleged girlfriend.
77* HasAType: Guys like Nicky are apparently grade-A boyfriend material for him. [[spoiler:Considering the boyfriend Nicky finds for him is practically his ''twin'', it seems Nicky may have known that]].
78* IResembleThatRemark: When Rod tries to awkwardly turn a conversation away from a gay guy Nicky met on the subway, Nicky comments that he doesn't have to get defensive about it. Rod's response is ''"I'M NOT GETTING DEFENSIVE!!!"''
79* MeaningfulName: Like Bert, he's a "rod-hand" puppet, his hand controlled by a rod in the puppeteer's off-hand, in contrast to Nicky who, like Ernie, is a live-hand puppet, using the puppeteer's actual hand in a glove. Also appropriate that a closeted gay man would have a name that's a penis euphemism.
80* RedOniBlueOni: The pedant, neurotic Blue Oni to Nicky's lazy, laid-back Red Oni.
81* StraightGay: He's very uptight, conservative, and shows no campy behavior. [[AllGaysLoveTheatre He is into musicals, though.]]
82* TransparentCloset: Everyone knows he is gay, no matter how much he denies it.
83
84!Trekkie Monster
85[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trekkie_monster_9.jpeg]]
86[[caption-width-right:350:The internet is for porn!]]
87A monster who prefers to sit in his apartment and look at internet porn
88----
89* AffluentAscetic: Has over one million dollars lying around his room despite living in a one-bedroom apartment in a poor neighborhood.
90* TheArtifact: The character was originally intended to be [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/6/65/Original_Trekkie_Monster.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160516194927 a ''Star Trek''-obsessed fan visually modeled after Cookie monster]]. The character's interests and design were changed, leaving his name to be the only remnant of this.
91* BasementDweller: He has barely any social life, spending most of his time sitting at home and masturbating to porn.
92* CatchPhrase: "...for porn!"
93* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: He has savings that help Kate build her school for monsters.]]
94--> '''Trekkie''': [[spoiler: ''In volatile market, only stable investment... '''[[BrickJoke is porn]]'''!'']]
95* [[spoiler:EleventhHourRanger: Considering the lateness at which he assists the group...]]
96* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/SesameStreet Cookie Monster]].
97** With some [[Series/SesameStreet Oscar the Grouch]] thrown in as well, considering his personality.
98* FieryRedhead: Has pinkish-red hair and a fierce temper.
99* {{Hikikomori}}: The School Edition of Avenue Q changes his porn-addiction to an anti-social shut-in obsessed with the internet and having thousands of online friends.
100* TheInternetIsForPorn: Firmly believes that the internet is a wonderful tool because of the wide assortment of porn it gives him access to. His signature song is the TropeNamer.
101* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his unfriendly, antisocial personality, he helps the case of the school for monsters [[spoiler: by giving them his savings of millions of dollars]].
102* LovableSexManiac: Although he's a [[DoubleEntendre solo performer]]. Loves sex so much has an entire song dedicated about his love for watching porn on the internet.
103* NerdsArePervs: Trekkie Monster has only one thing on his mind: internet porn. He even has an entire song about how great the internet is...for finding porn. His nerdiness is [[ImpliedTrope implied]] by his name, which is a deliberate ShoutOut to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', as Trekkie Monster was originally supposed to be a {{Trekkie}}, until copyright concerns led the creators to remove all traces of the franchise, save for the name.
104* NonindicativeName: He's obsessed with porn, not ''Franchise/StarTrek''.
105* SpeciesSurname: He is ''not'' related to Kate Monster, they just have the same last name due to both being monsters.
106* StealthPun: Trekkie has small horns on his head. One could say he's a ''horny'' monster.
107
108!Lucy the Slut
109[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucy_70.jpg]]
110[[caption-width-right:200:I can make you feel special...]]
111A cabaret singer who sleeps around.
112----
113* AggressiveCategorism: Hates monsters
114* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:With her virginity intact, too.]]
115* BettyAndVeronica: The seductive, lewd Veronica to Kate's sweet, wholesome Betty. The two of them are usually performed by the same puppeteer.
116* FamilyFriendlyStripper: She dances and sings in a very suggestive manner, but she doesn't actually strip down. This might be justified, as she's a cabaret singer.
117* ForTheEvulz: [[spoiler: Throwing away Kate's note]] was an entirely spiteful and petty act especially considering the fact that she didn't want a relationship with Princeton after their [[spoiler: one night stand]] and there was no need to get between them
118* GoldDigger: Wants to marry a rich husband
119* GodIsGood: [[spoiler: Apparently, He revived her as a chaste woman. It's all PlayedForLaughs.]]
120* {{Jerkass}}: Lucy does a lot of petty things, one of those things is that she [[spoiler: gets rid of the note Kate wrote inviting Princeton in getting back together]] just because.
121* LasciviousBeautyMark: Lucy has a beauty mark on her upper lip. Usually on her right, but some puppets have it on the left. As her [[MeaningfulName name indicates]], she ReallyGetsAround and acts as TheVamp, flirting [[spoiler:and sleeping]] with NiceGuy and NaiveNewcomer Princeton after he breaks up with Kate Monster to ensure they don't get together again.
122* LaserGuidedKarma: After being the SpannerInTheWorks (see below) she ends up [[spoiler:being hit by the penny Kate drops off the Empire State Building and put in the hospital, eventually dying (temporarily)]]. Lampshaded by Kate, who first feels horrible [[spoiler:for having dropped the penny]], then once she realizes Lucy's spanner role: "I feel better now."
123* MeaningfulName: She is just as much of a slut as her name implies.
124* MsFanservice: Designed to look as sexy as a muppet can be, up to having visible nipples under her dress.
125* MyGirlIsASlut: It's right in her name.
126* NearDeathExperience: [[spoiler: Thanks to Kate,]] who accidentally hits her with a penny dropped from the Empire State Building and puts her into a coma. She finds religion afterward.
127* ReallyGetsAround: She is stated to be very promiscuous. A line in the ''Life Outside Your Apartment'' has one of the characters saying, "Hope you don't get gonorrhea!"
128* SpannerInTheWorks: For Princeton and Kate's relationship [[spoiler:since she throws away the latter's note about meeting at the Empire State Building]].
129* TurnToReligion: She experiences [[spoiler:a penny to the head thrown from the top of the Empire State Building]]. Result: she turns into a goody-goody, religious girl. Her puppet's previously sultry, lowered eyelids are removed off-stage to make her eyes look brighter.
130* TheVamp: She flirts with Princeton, and after he breaks up with Kate Monster she tries to ensure they don't get together again.
131
132!Mrs. Thistletwat
133Kate's boss, a kindergarten teacher.
134------
135* AmbiguouslyGay: A cut line in the official book has her state "I have never laid with a man", and one of the personal ads in the same book is a [=W4W=] (woman for woman) ad with teaching puns implied to be from her.
136* CardCarryingJerkass: She seems rather proud of being a "crabby old bitch".
137--> "Crabby Old Bitches are the bedrock of this nation!"
138* FullNameBasis: The only character in the musical who refers to Kate as "Katherine".
139* JerkassHasAPoint: While she loses the moral high ground by being racist about it, she isn't wrong to be angry with Kate Monster for failing to show up to teach the class when she left her in charge, considering the children caused chaos and got hurt without supervision.
140* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Well, she ''was'' willing to let Kate teach her own session...
141* MeanBoss: She's very unfriendly with her employee Kate.
142* MeaningfulName: Thistle''twat''. She's a rather unlikable person.
143** SeeYouInHell: Her exchange with Kate:
144-->'''Mrs. Thistletwat:''' ''You're going to Hell, Katherine.''\
145'''Kate Monster:''' SEE YOU THERE!
146* SadistTeacher: Though we don't see her teach, how she treats Kate implies that she doesn't treat her students any better. She actually lampshades this herself as she's firing Kate, saying she never should've hired a monster:
147-->'''Kate Monster:''' Well, better a monster than a crabby old bitch!\
148
149!The Bad Idea Bears
150Two bears, one yellow, and one blue, who offer Princeton [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin very bad ideas]].
151------
152* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: A yellow and a blue bear.
153* BearsAreBadNews: They are not large and threatening as most examples of this trope, but don't let their cute appearance fool you: they are very malicious.
154* CatchPhrase: YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
155* CrocodileTears: The first thing they do is advise Princeton to buy some beer with the check his parents sent. When Princeton says he probably shouldn't be spending his parents' money on beer, they cry loudly and dramatically until he says maybe he can afford a six-pack, and then get him to up it to a case of beer.
156* {{Evil Mentor}}s: They suggest that Princeton gets drunk and then commit suicide. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
157* ForTheEvulz: Their motivation for ruining Princeton's life is never explained. It's just what they do.
158* HeelFaithTurn: [[spoiler:Subverted. They ''do'' find religion in the end (specifically the ChurchOfHappyology) but there's no indication that they're actually going to make a legitimate HeelFaceTurn.]]
159* GenkiGirl: The yellow bear energetically and enthusiastically tries to enforce whatever bad idea the blue bear comes up with.
160* GoodAngelBadAngel: '''Don't believe a word of it'''. They're both the closest thing the show has to {{Chaotic Evil}} characters, so they are practically two Bad Angels.
161* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: This goes without saying, as they really don't have much in the line of goodness besides encouraging self-destructive behavior in the other characters. In one instance, later, they try to convince [[spoiler: Princeton to kill himself]].
162* KarmaHoudini: They get no comeuppance for their misdeeds.
163* {{Manipulative Bastard}}s: They manipulate Princeton into spending all his money on alcohol, getting Kate drunk so he can bed her, and almost ''hanging himself''.
164* RedOniBlueOni: In this partnership, the blue bear tends to come up with the suggestions while the yellow one tries to enforce them more enthusiastically.
165* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: The male bear is blue with a bowtie, while the female bear is yellow with a ribbon, eyelashes, and a pearl necklace.
166%%* {{Token Evil Teammate}}s
167* ToxicFriendInfluence: They act as if they wanted the best for Princeton, but their suggestions always make Princeton's life worse.
168-->'''Female bear''': How about a case!\
169'''Male bear''': A case of beer!\
170'''Princeton''': No, no, I can't get a case.\
171'''Female bear''': But you're on a budget!\
172'''Male bear''': You're wasting money in the long run if you don't buy in bulk!
173
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:People]]
177!Brian
178An unemployed 32 year old who's engaged to Christmas Eve
179------
180%%* DeadpanSnarker: Sometimes.
181* {{Expy}}: Of the human adult characters on Sesame Street, like Gordon or Bob.
182* HenpeckedHusband: He is constantly abused by Christmas Eve. Doesn't seem to be too bothered by it, though.
183* HypocriticalHumor: During the song, "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist", Brian scolds Kate Monster, Princeton, and Gary Coleman for laughing at the way Christmas Eve says "recyclables", before strongly denying that he is racist. The very next thing he sings is, "How many Oriental wives have you got?" which Christmas Eve finds offensive. Princeton has to step in and sing, "Brian, buddy, where've you been? The term is 'Asian-American'!"
184* TheLancer: He becomes Princeton's closest friend.
185%%* NiceGuy
186* OfficialCouple: He gets married with Christmas Eve over the course of the play.
187* PhraseCatcher: Usually catches Christmas Eve's phrase: "What!? Brian!"
188* [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny So Unfunny He's Funny]]: More or less the entire point of his character. GET A JOB!
189%%* StrawLoser:
190
191!Christmas Eve
192Brian's fiancee, who's a Japanese immigrant and a therapist, though,she doesn't get a lot of clients.
193-----
194* CatchPhrase: "What!? Brian!"
195* InterchangeableAsianCultures: Averted. Being Japanese is ''why'' she can't get a job in a Korean deli (Chinese restaurant in the UK West End version).
196* InnocentlyInsensitive: When Rod talks to her about [[IHaveThisFriend his friend]] who's gay, she says there's nothing wrong with it until Rod says the friend is also a conservative at which point she says they should just stay in the closet.
197* JapaneseRanguage: Not extremely, but it's always there. Don't worry, though; Everyone's A Rittle Bit Lacist.
198* OddFriendship: In Act 2, she develops a rather sweet one with Rod.
199* OfficialCouple: She and Brian get married over the course of the play.
200%%* TheSmartGirl
201* TwoferTokenMinority: After Christmas Eve marries Brian, she is now a (from what's implied) Jewish Japanese woman, or as fans put it "a kung fu Jew."
202* {{Tsundere}}: She can switch quickly from being nice and sweet to yelling and abusive. She believes that "the more you love someone, the more you want to kill 'em".
203
204!Gary Coleman
205%%* TheBigGuy : Metaphorically.
206* ButtMonkey: Very much. The song "It Sucks to be Me," the characters sing about how their lives are so much worse than everyone else's . . . until Gary pops in. Then everyone cheerfully agrees that he wins the MiseryPoker.
207-->It sucks to be you!
208-->You win!
209-->It sucks to be you!
210-->[[CrossesTheLineTwice I feel better now!]]
211* {{Catchphrase}}: Deconstructed, as he's more or less grown resentful of it due to people [[PhraseCatcher always saying it to him]].
212* CrosscastRole: It is a tradition to have Gary be played by a woman. It has been stated that the reason for this is the people behind the production didn't want anyone to think they were making fun of the real life Gary Coleman, and they believed that having him played by a woman would provide a clever "wink" to the audience to let them know it's not meant to be serious. Subverted in the UK version, where he's more often than not played by a man.
213%%* DeadpanSnarker
214* DeathByAdaptation: After [[RealLifeWritesThePlot the death of the real Gary Coleman]], some productions of the show end with Gary dying. It's usually played for BlackComedy.
215* DropInLandlord: As the building super, he's not part of the main ensemble of Avenue Q residents, but periodically shows up to interact with the main characters, who treat him with a mixture of amusement and pity. They all agree that while their lives are bad, his is the worst.
216* {{Expy}}: In a roundabout way, of the stock role celebrities in general played on Sesame Street. He [[AdamWesting pokes fun at himself and his own public image]] and sings songs teaching the puppet characters about the concepts of the scene.
217%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
218* MrFixIt: He works as the superintendant, and part of his job is to fix things.
219* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Averted - he is a caricature of the real Gary Coleman. Foreign adaptations sometimes replace him with a different - but always real - celebrity.

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