One might say that the musical "Avenue Q" has a cult following, except that with three Tony Awards, a theater in Las Vegas devoted to its production and a five-year Broadway run, the title isn't exactly under the radar.

The "cult" might be those wayfaring, post-college, entry-level workers who have a peculiar affinity for puppets.

The musical comedy by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez is, literally, a puppet show for grown-ups that takes place on a fictional street in New York, not unlike the set-up for a certain iconic show for kids by the Children's Television Workshop.

We spoke with Marx on how the idea of a Broadway puppet show came about.

Q: You once had a job working for "Sesame Street?

A: Yeah, I was an intern there for about two months, until they fired me because I wanted to be a composer. I was trying to meet the people in the music department. They just wanted me to be a coffee fetcher.

Q: Was "Avenue Q" a way of getting revenge?

A: No, I love "Sesame Street." I gave up practicing law to become a songwriter for the show. That didn't work out, so my collaborator and I wrote a new Muppet movie, which we thought we would pitch to the Jim Henson company. They didn't buy it. So we thought, "Muppets? Why are we writing for other people's characters? Why don't we just make our own show and then nobody can stop us?" The puppets are based on ourselves and our friends.

Q: The puppets look a lot like "Sesame Street" characters. Were you concerned about a lawsuit?

A: I'm a lawyer, so I know the rules regarding parody and fair use. When we had our first reading, we invited Jim Henson's widow and daughter and their lawyer. They loved it. They said that Jim would have loved what we were doing. They said there wouldn't be a problem as long as we made clear that it's not "Sesame Street" so parents don't bring their kids and boycott Elmo.

Q: Adult material for puppets: uncharted territory?

A: We started out as a grown-up version of Ernie and Bert. But then we wanted to take it to our level and have it say something about our generation. As far as adult puppets, that's been done since the Dark Ages.

Q: There's a lot of politically incorrect humor in the show. Any surprise reactions?

A: We knew it would appeal to us and our friends just out of college, but we were really shocked when grandparents told us they like it. As far as being offensive, we make fun of Jews and Asians and gays and blacks and everybody, but the only people who have ever voiced any objection to it has been Republicans. We have a joke about George (W.) Bush, and we've actually had people storm out and say it's un-American.

Q: A central character in the show is Gary Coleman (the former star of "Diff'rent Strokes"). Why him?

A: "Sesame Street" always had adult celebrity guests, and we wanted to have our version of the celebrity guest. But since our show is about how tough it is to find your way in the world, we thought the poster child for life being great when you're a kid and sucking after you grow up is Gary Coleman. Everybody knows his story.

Q: Did you have to invite him to the first reading as well?

No, he's a public person. We can make fun as long as we don't slander him. We're actually working on the movie of the musical, and want him to come play himself.

-- Christopher Blank: 529-2305

"Avenue Q"

Opens Tuesday at the Orpheum theater. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Oct. 3; 2 and 8 p.m. Oct. 4; and 1:30 and 7 p.m. Oct. 5. Tickets are $15-$70. Call 525-3000.