AVENUE Q: The Tony Award-Winning English Musical!
Thank you, Zurich, for a sold-out run!
Hilarious. Heartfelt.
Definitely not for kids.
SYNOPSIS
Welcome to Avenue Q, the hilarious and heartfelt puppet-filled musical about life after college, searching for purpose, and figuring out how to “adult”. Set in a whimsical New York neighborhood, this irreverent comedy follows Princeton, a recent college graduate, as he navigates friendship, love, and the challenges of finding his place in the world.
With a cast of colorful human and puppet characters - including the cynical roommate Nicky, the feisty Kate Monster, and the lovable slacker Trekkie Monster - Avenue Q tackles the big questions of adulthood with sharp wit, catchy songs, and a generous dose of heart. It’s a laugh-out-loud, tender, and sometimes surprisingly profound look at life’s awkward transitions.
All performances are in English and will be accompanied by a live band.
Note: Recommended for mature audiences due to language and adult humor.
PERFORMANCE INFO
DATES:
MAY 7th-9th & 12-16th, 2026 @ 19:30
(All performances are sold out.)
RUN TIME:
Approximately 2 hours plus one 20-minute intermission.
VENUE:
Theater STOK
Hirschengraben 42, 8001 Zürich
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
MEDIA
Get to know Avenue Q.
Look behind the scenes at rehearsals with exclusive interviews with the cast and creative team.
Exploring Zurich
Follow the puppets as they explore Zurich.
It’s fun to be a tourist…even if things don’t always go as planned.
CREATIVE TEAM
Heather Cavalet Hsieh
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Heather is a director, actress, and teaching artist transplanted from New York City, where she co-founded You Do You Theatre Co. before relocating the company to Zurich. Her professional career spans Off-Broadway, national tours (U.S. & Canada), film, and television. When not in rehearsal, Heather is a vocal and acting coach with certifications in The Singing Athlete and Meisner in Music. Recent creative highlights include leading roles in tick, tick...BOOM! (Susan), The Last Five Years (Cathy), Dogfight (Rose), and The Bridges of Madison County (Francesca), as well as choreographing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Zurich English-Speaking Theatre). Heather also originated the role of Rhona in the world premiere of SmallTalking at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Heather holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from AMDA/The New School and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Avenue Q marks her Zurich directorial debut. She is deeply grateful to the incredible cast and YDY team for bringing this quirky musical to life.
Oli Pont
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Oli is excited to be back in the driving seat as Musical Director for this production of Avenue Q. A versatile creative and performer, Oli’s recent musical leadership includes directing and musically directing ZEST’s productions of Dogfight and The Bridges of Madison County. On stage, his recent acting credits include playing Jon in tick, tick... BOOM! (You Do You Theatre Co.), Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (ZEST), Mark in SmallTalking (You Do You Theatre Co.), George in Spring Awakening, and Angel in RENT. His broader creative work includes directing A History of Falling Things and The Other Room, as well as serving as Creative Director for The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Frankenstein. As a founding member of YDY Theatre Zurich, Oli also frequently contributes to set, lighting, and sound design. Oli trains vocally with Kabok Voices and balances his theatrical passions with his career as a software developer in the semiconductor industry. He is thrilled to be working with such a talented cast to bring the witty and irreverent world of Avenue Q to life.
CAST
Tim Hupf
Karen Sarmiento
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Tim is overjoyed to bring Princeton to life in this wonderful musical. Previous acting credits include: Bernstein in Dogfight (ZEST), Michael in The Bridges of Madison County (ZEST), Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (CET), and Ernst in Spring Awakening (CET). Most recently he directed tick, tick…BOOM! with You Do You Theatre. At Close Encounters Theatre, where he also trained and developed much of his artistic foundation, Tim worked as a stage manager and assistant director, experiences that sparked his passion for all things theatre. Outside of the rehearsal room, Tim works in a medical laboratory. In his free time, he enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, reading, and learning the guitar.
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With a great love for the arts and theatre, Karen has been fairly active recently. Her favourite recent credits include: Elizabeth Lavenza in Frankenstein (ZEST 2025), Jessica in Hand to God (ZEST 2025), Jackie-O in House of Yes (Insieme Theatre 2024), Poopay in Communicating Doors (ZEST 2024) and Carolyn in The Bridges of Madison County (ZEST 2022). Karen is so delighted to be part of You Do You Theatre's inaugural large-cast production. Not only is it one of her favourite musicals, but she is also grateful to get to work on it with so many of her favourite people.
Tony Wichowski
Daniel Heidland
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Tony Wichowski is delighted to bring the important life lessons of Avenue Q to Zurich. A native of California, Tony set out for NYC ten days after graduation with a BA in Music and dreams of the stage. Favourite roles include Father in Ragtime (National Tour), Harold Hill in The Music Man, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Barfee in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Julian Marsh in 42nd Street. Tony has sung at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall, hawked Christmas cheer in the World Trade Center lobby, and developed a new stage show for Disney Cruise Line. Fate led him to Burning Man, where he met his wonderful Swiss husband, Daniel, to whom this performance is dedicated.
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Daniel has been at work as an actor for a very long time, because really: all the world’s a stage. His favourite performance spaces include (but are not limited to) family functions, the shower, a circle of tipsy friends, and a rickety greenhouse at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He took part in a number of plays, and an even greater number of musicals, throughout his time at university, and did not want to give up on this passion when moving to Zurich in April of 2024, taking part in two ZEST productions, Hand to God and Dogfight. His love for the stage is firmly rooted in the love for the people he gets to share it with! This will be his first time performing in a You Do You Theatre production.
Marie Nearing
Geraldine Roth
Tomi Gustaf
Robin Morrison
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Tomi is delighted to make his debut with You Do You Theatre Co. in Avenue Q marking his first musical production. Active in Zurich's theatre scene since 2013, he most recently took on the role of Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein. Selected performance credits: Cyrano de Bergerac (Le Bret), A Night in Provence (Maurice), A History of Falling Things (Jimmy), A Bird In a Pocket (various roles), Vanya, Sonia and Masha and Spike (Spike), Discord (Leo Tolstoy) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with White Rabbit Theatre, Macbeth and Oberon for Shakespeare Online (COVID) with The English Theatre Düsseldorf. Directing credits: Berkoff’s Lunch, Dogfight, and Parfumerie. He is a proud member of the Zurich Improv Comedy (ZIC) ensemble. He has honed his craft through three decades of workshops and experience, holding acting certificates from LAMDA and RADA.
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After greatly enjoying You Do You Theatre Co.’s productions as an audience member, Robin is delighted to be joining the team for Avenue Q as a cast member. This represents her third appearance in the Zurich theatre scene, after playing Mrs Shears in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (ZEST) and Ruth in Dogfight (ZEST). Off-stage, Robin works as an evolutionary biologist studying the social behaviour of wild gorillas, and has spoken on British, Canadian, American and Australian national radio about her research. She is excited to lend her expertise in animal behaviour to her role as a bear but would like to emphasise that it may not be entirely scientifically accurate.
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Geraldine Roth is excited to be making her You Do You Theatre debut in Avenue Q.She previously appeared as Marcy in ZEST’s Dogfight (2024) and was also part of the ensemble in CET’s Little Shop of Horrors. Her musical background began in high school and continued at university, where she sang in an a cappella group. Since 2008, Geraldine has been a featured vocalist on numerous house music tracks, all of which are available on major streaming platforms.
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Marie is thrilled and honored to play the role of the endearingly blunt Christmas Eve on Avenue Q! Marie is a recent transfer to Zurich, and is delighted to participate in the city’s vibrant theatrical community. She is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such talented local artists and looks forward to many more creative ventures in her new home. Favourite past roles include Hope, Little Sally, and Little Becky in Urinetown, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act, Jan in Grease, and Greebo in Wyrd Sisters. Eternal love and gratitude to her husband for his support.
BAND
AVENUE Q
MUSIC AND LYRICS
By
ROBERT LOPEZ and JEFF MARX
BOOK
By
JEFF WHITTY
BASED ON AN ORIGINAL
CONCEPT By
ROBERT LOPEZ and JEFF MARX
Puppets Based on Design By Rick Lyon
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.MTIShows.co.uk
Avenue Q has not been authorised or approved by the Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content.