for use by a left handed puppeteer. History Jeff Marx met Robert Lopez at a songwriting class at the BMI Workshop. As part of the workshop, the two decided to write songs for a speculative Muppet movie based on "Hamlet" called Kermit, Prince of Denmark. Encouraged by the class response to their songs, they decided to have someone actually performing a puppet present a song, since they were writing them for puppets. Through mutual friends, they contacted Rick Lyon, who agreed to perform Kermit singing a song in their class. He performed a Kermit replica puppet while sitting on a stool in full view of the audience. This visible puppeteer approach became a key component of Avenue Q. "Kermit, Prince of Denmark" was pitched to, but was ultimately turned down by, the Henson family. The duo then decided to create a new show, with original puppet characters, which was a parody of Sesame Street. Lyon created the puppets. Avenue Q was originally conceived as a show for television, but following a public reading presented for potential producers/investors in 2000, Broadway producers Robyn Goodman and Jeffrey Seller expressed interest in developing it into a theatrical property. Productions Off-Broadway Avenue Q ran Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre for 72 performances from March 19 through May 4, 2003. The musical won the 2003 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical and Outstanding Sound Design (Brett Jarvis). It was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director (Jason Moore), Outstanding Choreographer (Ken Roberson) and Outstanding Scenic Design (Anna Louizos). It won the 2003–2004 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Puppet Artistry and the 2004 GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and Off-Broadway Broadway The musical opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre on July 31, 2003, following previews from July 10, again directed by Moore and choreographed by Roberson, with set design by Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, musical direction by Gary Adler, and puppet design and execution by cast member Rick Lyon. It was produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller. The show was nominated for six Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. After 22 previews and 2,534 regular performances, it closed on September 13, 2009. As of June 21, 2009, the production had grossed