RIP Gary Coleman

When I heard yesterday that Gary Coleman had passed away, I knew I had to get tickets to off-broadway's Avenue Q IMMEDIATELY. Avenue Q -- an R-rated version of Sesame St., puppets and all -- has been a guilty pleasure for the past few years. One of the main characters is, yep, Gary Coleman (played by a woman who at times sings songs like "It Sucks to Be Me" and "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"). I wanted to experience the show on an emotional night for the cast, and wanted to see it before they changed anything.

Before the show began, I took my seat in the very last row of the theater. New World Stages is relatively small so I still had a great view, but something was particularly special about my seat last night. I noticed a man coming in right before 8:00 -- it was Jeff Whitty, one of the writers/creators of the Tony award winning show that I was just about to see. He took a seat at the very back and the lights went down.

The show was scream-with-laughter funny, second only to The Producers in my opinion. The first time Gary came on, there was a mixed audience reaction of cheering, nervous laughter, and a few "ooooohs". I chose to cheer, and it caught on. For the rest of the performance, Gary was Gary -- a funny character the audience loved, not an awkward joke that I think the actors and creators were fearing he'd become.

At the end of the show, the lights stayed up and Jennifer Barnhart gave a straight-from-the-heart speech in honor of Gary. She said that although they joke a lot in the show and poke a lot of fun at him, sharing laughter and fun is what Gary loved about life. She said she'd continue being the best damn Gary Coleman she could be, and wished Gary goodbye ("but only for now...").

As the audience shuffled out of the theater, I pushed past the crowds to where Jeff Whitty was still sitting alone at the back. I tapped his shoulder and asked if he was the writer of the show -- he turned around, eyes red, a few tears coming down, and nodded. I said thanks for making me laugh so hard, and we went on to talk about what would become of the show. He said he wants to leave it as is, that Gary is so part of the show it would feel wrong to change it.

I'd say I have to agree.

By then, more people were starting to swarm around us, so I said another quick 'thank you' and took off out the theater. It was great to meet such a down to earth guy (not everyone with Tonys are stuck up divas!).

I expect most of you readers hadn't heard of Avenue Q before this blog post. That's ok, I can't say I'd heard of Mr. Coleman (I had, but barely). So instead of making up some stranger's salute to Gary, I'll let the insert I got in my playbill have the final word here. I think it says it best.

Aveunue Q: The creators, producers, and company of "Avenue Q" fondly dedicate this performance to the memory of Gary Coleman, whose tremendous gifts brought delight to audiences around the world. While everything in life may be only for now, we suspect that Gary's legacy will live on for many years to come. Gary's memory will certainly endure in the hearts and minds of those of us who live on "Avenue Q".