Rod (Avenue Q)
Encyclopedia
Rod is a puppet
and fictional character from the Tony Award
-winning Broadway
musical Avenue Q
. He was originally played on Broadway by John Tartaglia
and then Barrett Foa
, and on the West End of London
by Jon Robyns
. On Broadway, Foa was replaced in 2006 by Howie Michael Smith. Jonathan Root alternated with Tartaglia in the Las Vegas
production of the show, and was the understudy for Smith on Broadway until June 18, 2009, when Seth Rettberg (from the first national U.S. tour) took over. Daniel Boys
replaced Robyns on the West End in 2007. On the first national U.S. tour, he was played by Robert McClure, who was later replaced by Seth Rettberg (McClure's understudy during the tour).
Rod is an extremely well-groomed, obsessively clean, and slightly hysterical closeted
homosexual
. He is secretly in love
with his former college
roommate and best friend, Nicky, and is an investment banker (in the show, he reveals that he works on Wall Street
). He is also a conservative
Republican
. He is very uptight (Nicky complains about him "ironing his underwear" in "It Sucks to Be Me"). Rod and Nicky are parodies of Bert and Ernie
from Sesame Street
. In one of the musical's most popular songs, "If You Were Gay", Nicky, who is straight
, encourages him to come out of the closet
.
The musical indicates many times that Rod is gay before he comes out, including one of the numbers, "Fantasies Come True," in which we find out he is in love with Nicky, and the scene at Brian and Christmas
Eve's wedding, in which Nicky admits he thinks Rod is a closeted homosexual. This causes one of Rod's denial streaks, trying to prove he isn't a "closeted homo-whatever" by talking about his imaginary
girlfriend
, Alberta, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia
, Canada
("My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada"). After this, he evicts Nicky from the apartment they share. However, at the end of the show, he comes out of the closet and wants Nicky to move back in with him. Nicky had found him a hunky, muscle-bound boyfriend named Ricky, who looks exactly like Nicky.
In 2004, Rod and puppeteer John Tartaglia appeared on the syndicated game show Hollywood Squares
. On the afternoon before one of the 2004 U.S. presidential debates
, Rod (played by Tartaglia) moderated a mock debate in Times Square
between puppet versions of George W. Bush
and John Kerry
(played by fellow Avenue Q puppeteers Rick Lyon
and Jennifer Barnhart
).
Whitney Matheson
of USA Today
described Rod as "New York's most famous (and perhaps only) gay Republican puppet."
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
and fictional character from the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
. He was originally played on Broadway by John Tartaglia
John Tartaglia
John Nicholas Tartaglia is an American singer, actor, dancer, puppeteer.Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade, New Jersey, U.S.. He joined Sesame Street's puppetry team at the age of 16 part-time, performing as a right hand and many minor characters, including Phoebe and being the backup for Kevin...
and then Barrett Foa
Barrett Foa
Barrett Foa is an American actor. He portrays Eric Beale on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:...
, and on the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
by Jon Robyns
Jon Robyns
Jon Robyns is a British stage actor, who is perhaps best known for playing the roles of Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q the musical in London's West End. He left the show in December 2007, and appeared as Marius in the London production of Les Misérables.-Early life:Robyns grew up in Liverpool,...
. On Broadway, Foa was replaced in 2006 by Howie Michael Smith. Jonathan Root alternated with Tartaglia in the Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
production of the show, and was the understudy for Smith on Broadway until June 18, 2009, when Seth Rettberg (from the first national U.S. tour) took over. Daniel Boys
Daniel Boys
Daniel Boys is a British musical theatre actor, best known as a contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do in 2007.-Acting Career:...
replaced Robyns on the West End in 2007. On the first national U.S. tour, he was played by Robert McClure, who was later replaced by Seth Rettberg (McClure's understudy during the tour).
Rod is an extremely well-groomed, obsessively clean, and slightly hysterical closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. He is secretly in love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
with his former college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
roommate and best friend, Nicky, and is an investment banker (in the show, he reveals that he works on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
). He is also a conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He is very uptight (Nicky complains about him "ironing his underwear" in "It Sucks to Be Me"). Rod and Nicky are parodies of Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie are two muppets on the popular U.S. children's television show Sesame Street. The two appear together in numerous skits, forming a comic duo that is one of the centerpieces of the program. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by Muppeteers...
from Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. In one of the musical's most popular songs, "If You Were Gay", Nicky, who is straight
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
, encourages him to come out of the closet
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
.
The musical indicates many times that Rod is gay before he comes out, including one of the numbers, "Fantasies Come True," in which we find out he is in love with Nicky, and the scene at Brian and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
Eve's wedding, in which Nicky admits he thinks Rod is a closeted homosexual. This causes one of Rod's denial streaks, trying to prove he isn't a "closeted homo-whatever" by talking about his imaginary
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
, Alberta, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
("My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada"). After this, he evicts Nicky from the apartment they share. However, at the end of the show, he comes out of the closet and wants Nicky to move back in with him. Nicky had found him a hunky, muscle-bound boyfriend named Ricky, who looks exactly like Nicky.
In 2004, Rod and puppeteer John Tartaglia appeared on the syndicated game show Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
. On the afternoon before one of the 2004 U.S. presidential debates
United States presidential election debates, 2004
The United States presidential election debates were held in the 2004 presidential elections. Three debates were held between Republican incumbent George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry, the major candidates, and one debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, incumbent...
, Rod (played by Tartaglia) moderated a mock debate in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
between puppet versions of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
(played by fellow Avenue Q puppeteers Rick Lyon
Rick Lyon
Rick Lyon is a puppeteer, actor, and puppet designer and builder originally from Rochester, New York, who has worked for the Jim Henson Company as one of the operators of Big Bird...
and Jennifer Barnhart
Jennifer Barnhart
Jennifer Barnhart is a puppeteer, American actress and voice-over talent, with a portfolio of television and theatre performances...
).
Whitney Matheson
Whitney Matheson
Whitney Matheson in Fredericksburg, Va. is a writer and the author of Pop Candy, a popular entertainment blog which is posted on USA Todays website, and also writes entertainment and pop culture features for the newspaper....
of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
described Rod as "New York's most famous (and perhaps only) gay Republican puppet."
External links
- Rod at AvenueQ.com
- "'Avenue Q' Star Comes Out Of Closet and Into the Ring", The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- "Avenue Q's (gay) Republican puppet speaks his mind", Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- "Avenue Q's Tartaglia (and Rod) to Kick Off Kids' Night Event Oct. 29", PlaybillPlaybillPlaybill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...