Interview With Howie Michael Smith

At 28, Howie Michael Smith is enjoying the break of a lifetime. After more than a year as an understudy, he took over the starring role in the hit, Tony-winning musical Avenue Q in July 2006. An irreverent, PG-13 take on a certain beloved educational children's TV show, Avenue Q — through song, comedy and puppetry — offers life lessons about such adult concerns as paying the rent, fear of commitment, and secretly falling in love with your same-sex roommate.

Smith has his hand in two main puppet characters: Princeton, the recent college graduate who comes to Avenue Q searching for his purpose in life, and Rod, the musical-loving Republican who fantasizes about his roommate, Nicky, but tells his friends he's actually got a girlfriend who lives in Canada.

Although Smith is the man behind these puppet co-stars, he is visible onstage throughout the performance and brings so much energy, talent, and charm to the part — and is so darned adorable — that audiences can't help but be won over by him. I recently met up with Smith in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood shortly before he was off to a voice lesson and then that evening's performance. Rod himself made a surprise appearance toward the end of our interview.

AfterElton.com: Starring in a Broadway show must pretty much be a dream come true. Was this something you always thought you'd do?
Howie Michael Smith: Absolutely — ever since I was a little kid and we took a family vacation to New York City, when I was in third or fourth grade, and I saw Into the Woods with Bernadette Peters. I just knew then that I was going to end up doing this myself.

AE: And did you think you'd be singing and dancing with puppets?
HMS: That was kind of like a bonus because I loved Sesame Street and The Muppets growing up. I had always made puppets and put on puppet shows for my mom and dad. To put musicals and puppetry together — I mean, when I found out about Avenue Q, there was just no way I'm going to miss doing this show.

AE: Avenue Q seems like a show that's as much fun to be in as it is to watch. What's it like performing in it?
HMS: Not only is it a great show, but the bonus is that everyone is great to work with. We're like a big dysfunctional family backstage. That for me was a nice surprise coming into a Broadway show. Everyone is just kind and fun.

AE: Other than caffeine, what do you do to maintain the energy level you need to do all those shows every week?
HMS: Lots of going to the gym helps relieve the stress. And you have to have a massage like once a week. You have to, especially with the puppetry.

AE: With that kind of schedule, do you have time for a social life and dating?
HMS: [Laughs.] Not really. I try. I'm dating somebody right now, and it's really hard. He's also in a show, and we both do all these extra things in the daytime, and by after show time we're exhausted and don't go out. So it's only like once a week we see each other. But that's all part of it. You have to make these sacrifices.

AE: It must help that you're both in theater.
HMS: Yeah, it does. It would be really hard — and I've tried — to date somebody with a nine-to-five job. It's almost impossible.

AE: Do you have theater groupies [other than certain AfterElton.com editors who were charmed by your performance]?
HMS: There are a handful of people I see over and over again. Especially in the front row. We do a lottery for $25 tickets every night. There are some guys that I see there like once a week. It lets you know people really love the show.

AE: When I saw the show, knowing about the more adult content, I wondered if some of the audience members around me knew exactly what they were going to see. But everyone clearly loved it. What do you think makes Avenue Q such an audience favorite?
HMS: It's partly the puppetry. I mean, everybody knows The Muppets. Everybody knows Sesame Street. So as soon as you put a puppet in front of somebody, they're not going to be miserable.

AE: Unless they had a traumatic puppet experience in childhood …
HMS: [Laughs.] Yeah. What's that movie where the dummy kills people? Maybe if they've seen that. But everyone can relate to the theme of the show: finding your purpose in life. Everyone can relate to that no matter what age. And I think it's different than going to see Oklahoma. It's more modern, and it's just fun.

AE: As far as people relating to different themes, gay audiences are going to be drawn to Rod and his experiences. The show tells a kind of coming-out story in a very funny, very sweet way. Do you draw on your own coming-out experience to play that part?
HMS: Yeah, I tap into that. Especially when Rod comes out to [Avenue Q character] Christmas Eve in Act 2. He's not really fully coming out to her. He's kind of beating around the bush, but she gets it. It's the same way I came out to my parents. I tap into that a little bit — just feeling that nervous and excited, but also "How are they going to take this?" and "I don't want to say too much." Every night I try to get there.

AE: Which can't be easy to go through night after night.
HMS: It's fine, really. But as much as I'm running around, that — emotionally — is exhausting. Because, yeah it's a puppet, and yeah, it's funny, but you've got to be really honest with it or it's not going to work.