Korea may not be the most gay-friendly country in the world, but the cast of adult-themed Broadway musical “Avenue Q,” which deals with homosexuality along with racism and pornography, says they are regardless very excited to premiere the show in Seoul.

“I think what we know is that some of the subject matters will certainly push the envelope and be somewhat challenging (for the local audience),” Paul Warwick Griffin, the upcoming show’s associate producer, said during a press meeting last week in Seoul.

“I think the joy of the show is that it’s done in such a wonderfully kind of warm, lighthearted, thrilling, joyous way. I think it’s a great vehicle to address some of these subject matters and I think it is one of the reasons that the show is as successful as it is. 

“It’s precisely because it does deal head-on with some pretty real issues and in spite of the fact that yes, there may not be the tolerance of the issues such as homosexuality ― we know that they exist, we know that everybody knows that.

“And I think the show has a positive attitude, a good attitude,” he continued. “But I think it’s healthy and I think it will raise some interesting debate in a certain way that is entertaining and funny.”

“Avenue Q” is a coming-of-age tale highlighting the anxieties and struggles associated with entering adulthood. It premiered on Broadway in 2003 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in the same year. The musical’s upcoming Seoul premiere is being organized by the prominent Seol & Company, the producer of “Wicked” and “The Phantom of the Opera” in Korea.

The young, struggling characters of “Avenue Q” include Brian, an aspiring comedian recently laid off from his day job; Princeton, a recent college graduate; Kate Monster, a hopeless romantic and a kindergarten teacher; Rod, a Republican investment banker with a secret, and Lucy the Slut, a skanky chanteuse with a “dangerous edge.”

“The characters in the show are all conflicted; life hasn’t quite worked out the way they thought it might,” said Griffin. “So you have an empathy with almost all of them. You do sympathize, understand and relate to them. And (among all of the characters) it’s Kate that who sort of kills me. It’s because she’s so normal and she’s just a regular girl who lives next door. And she expects to have this fairy tale story (and it does not quite work out for her).”

The show is also famous for its use of Sesame Street-inspired puppets alongside human actors. “You might wonder whether you should see the puppet or the actor at first,” said Griffin. “But you will quickly forget about it and whole-heartedly focus on the puppet, as it is a part of the absolute thrill and magic of the show.”

The show’s numbers ― such as “It Sucks to Be Me,” “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?” ― humorously deliver the real-life problems that contemporary young men and women go through while entering adulthood.

“It sucks to be broke and unemployed and turning 33, it sucks to be me,” says one of its characters, Brian, in the show’s famous number “It Sucks to Be Me.” Kate Monster then replies: “I like romantic things like music and art. And as you know I have a gigantic heart. So why don’t I have a boyfriend? It sucks to be me!”

Scottish actress Carly Anderson is playing two roles ― the hopeless romantic Kate Monster and the sultry Lucy ―all at the same time for the upcoming Seoul run.

“I play the roller coaster emotions that Kate goes through,” the actress told reporters. “And it’s something that I think every girl goes through at some time in their lives. And if they haven’t, then they will. So from that perspective I love to relate to her. And my favorite character to play and to watch is Lucy. She is so unapologetically forward, and promiscuous and trashy and she’s a thrill to watch and she will shock you to your core.”

“Avenue Q” runs from Aug. 23 to Oct. 16 at Charlotte Theater in Seoul. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 130,000 won. For more information, call 1577-3363.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)