Cat Chat is a Theatre Arts Department speaking series that brings distinguished theatre professionals to Catawba to share their experiences and expertise with students. Cat Chats are an informal and easy-going opportunity to interact with innovative theatre artists.
In addition to Catawba Theatre’s Cat Chat, Lyon will be working with the cast of Catawba’s production of Avenue Q for three days of intensive workshops on puppet techniques.
“We are excited to be performing with Rick’s beautiful puppets, and we are even more excited to have Rick himself teaching a master class to our students,” said David Pulliam, Director of Avenue Q.
Originally from Rochester, NY, and now based in the New York City area, Lyon studied theatre at Penn State University and puppetry at the Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts in Connecticut and the Institut Internationale de la Marionnette in France.
It was while he was studying in Connecticut in 1986 that Lyon first met the late Jim Henson, which later led to him working for Henson as a puppeteer with the Muppets and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Lyon has also worked on television and film projects for Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema, ABC, CBS, PBS, The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, and Fox.
In addition to performing, Lyon designs and builds custom puppets, including the puppets for the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q. Other projects have included puppets for Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, puppets and props for Nickelodeon's Stick Stickley, television pilots for VH1, Nickelodeon, PBS, numerous industrials, and the live national tour of PBS's The Magic School Bus. Lyon was also a cast member of Sesame Street for over 15 years on PBS.
When time permits, Lyon performs live shows with his troupe, The Lyon Puppets. Performances by The Lyon Puppets feature a colorful cast of bright, eye-catching puppets, which he designed and built himself. Lyon also writes his own scripts and composes the music for his shows.
Three of Rick’s original Avenue Q puppets are now part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.
"When they're not on display, Kate Monster, Rod, and Nicky will be sharing storage lockers with some of popular culture's most famous puppet denizens, such as Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy, Mister Moose and Bunny Rabbit for 'Captain Kangaroo,' and Jim Hinson’s original Kermit,” Lyon said.
Lyon's puppets became an overnight sensation when Avenue Q opened on Broadway in 2003, winning three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Avenue Q played 6,569 performances from its first Broadway preview on July 14, 2003 to its final performance at New World Stages on May 26, 2019.
Avenue Q includes music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and book by Jeff Witty, and is directed by Jason Moore. It is based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with puppets conceived and designed by Lyon and musical supervision by Stephen Oremus.
Avenue Q is the fresh and funny tale of 20-somethings just out of college who move to the city with big dreams and tiny bank accounts, with puppets and people living as neighbors on a rundown street in NYC. Other puppet characters in the musical and the Smithsonian inductees are Trekkie Monster, Princeton, Lucy, and the Bad Idea Bears.
In addition to having created all the Avenue Q puppets - built at his studio, The Lyon Puppets - as a performer, Lyon has created the roles of Nicky/Trekkie/Blue Bear in the original cast, appearing On and Off-Broadway. He has provided puppets for the New York productions of Avenue Q and productions in Las Vegas, London, the first American national tour, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, France, China, and numerous other countries.
Although the children's favorite Sesame Street inspired the show, the puppets in Avenue Q deal with adult issues. The show contains language and humor geared more towards an older audience.
Parental Advisory: Adults love Avenue Q, but they seem a little ‘fuzzy’ on whether it's appropriate for kids. We'll try to clear that up. Avenue Q is excellent for older teenagers because it's about real life. It is not appropriate for children because Avenue Q addresses issues like sex, drinking, and surfing the web for porn. It's hard to say what exact age is right to see Avenue Q - parents should use their discretion based on the maturity level of their children. But we promise you this - if you DO bring your teenagers to Avenue Q, they'll think you're really cool.
Catawba College’s Shuford School of Performing Arts and the Theatre Arts Department present Avenue Q on April 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 7th at 2:30 pm.
