Buffalo Grove High’s Bison Grove Theatre Company to stage ‘Avenue Q: School Edition’

Part puppet show, part coming-of-age story, and completely hilarious, Buffalo Grove High School’s latest theatrical offering — “Avenue Q: School Edition” — tackles life’s biggest postgrad questions with heart and irreverent humor.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Oct. 22-24, in the Miller Theatre at Buffalo Grove High School, 1100 W. Dundee Road. Tickets are available in advance online at GoFan.Co and at the door, while supplies last.

The Broadway hit, with equal parts puppetry, comedy, and a great musical score, has been adapted for the school stage from the original production, which won the 2004 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book. Mature themes are still explored, but the “School Edition” is decidedly more “viewer-friendly,” while preserving its original integrity.

Like “Sesame Street,” “Avenue Q” has interacting human and puppet residents, but that’s where the similarities end. On Avenue Q, sunny days don’t necessarily sweep the clouds away. Twenty-somethings are often struggling to find their place in the world, while dealing with the stress of securing jobs and making relationships work. Princeton, a recent college graduate, moves into a shabby apartment on the New York City street, Avenue Q, where he and his new friends face the everyday struggle of trying to find purpose in life. The characters eventually learn to discover, accept, and own who they are.

Each show is brought to life by the huge cast of Buffalo Grove High School actors, including: Natalie Michael, Ender Puent, Vishnu Adiga, Evan Johnson, Ethan Lebron, Angelli Manalansan, Nina Carter, Eden Kim, Charley Finn, Gia Alexakis, Riya Bhatt, Claire Conseur, Greg Cruz, Paige Dasgupta, Rachel Ferber, Dylan Glazer, Carly Goldstein, Jairy Guzman, Garrett Marnstein, Kayla McCloskey, Lily Nelson, Lily O’Malley, Barbara Sue Scott, Julianne Smith, Keira Weirich-Rodriguez, and Elly Williams.

The production is co-directed by Bison Grove Theatre Company directors Beth Wells and Lauren Stenzel, with vocal direction by Debora Utley. They are assisted by student directors Kayla McCloskey and Elly Williams, and assistant vocal director Paige Dasgupta. The costume crew is led by costume director Debbie Andres with student costume chief Cassie Bustos and makeup crew chief Lily O’Malley, along with the crew of Paige Dasgupta, Rachel Ferber, Jairy Guzman, Ashland Haack, and Jaima Siddiqua. Debbie Jacks provides house management.

The pit orchestra, under the direction of Joshua Stewart, includes students Augi Santiago, Andy Eidson, Jamie Kim, Katie Tarrillo, Nandin Batzorig, and Bretton Gazdic and Buffalo Grove alum David Gleason on drums and professional keyboardist Tam Conseur.

Technical director is Ed Conkle, and the sound director is William Franz. Student technical director Juneillyz Ruiz Vargas leads the student crew including, stage manager Zechariah Smith and crew: Sebastian Bolaños, Sadie Burr, Cassie Bustos, Zoe Calderaro, Alexander Clarke, Geetika Esaparu, Jeremy Ferber, Ashlyn Haack, Leo Hernandez, Payton Hyde, Trevor Moodhe, Lily Nelson, Alice Nevtonenko, Oliver Niemeier, Vasiliki Sampalis, Katie Schmidt, Elli Serrano, Arjun Sharma, Jaima Siddiqua, Brooklyn Smith, Violet Smith, Margaux Smith, Jethro Woodard, and Katie Yarbrough.

“Avenue Q: School Edition” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.

Seating is general admission. Tickets are $15. Online tickets for any of the shows include a service charge and may be purchased at GoFan.Co. The box office opens 60 minutes before curtain time. Cash, checks and credit/debit cards are accepted at the door. For information, call house manager Debbie Jacks 847-718-4011.