Interviews and photo-op available—Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 12:00pm

Bronx, NY – July 9, 2012 – Stars of the long-running musical Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q -- including the beloved puppets Trekkie Monster, Princeton, Mrs. T, and their fellow human actors -- will travel from Broadway to the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo on Thursday, July 12 in support of Wildlife Conservation.

Among their activities that day will be to attend a performance of the zoo musical AVENUE ZOO in which AVENUE Q star Kate Monster is making a special appearance this summer at the Bronx Zoo, lending her own star power to the wildlife conservation effort. Afterwards, the cast of AVENUE Q will meet the join the cast of AVENUE ZOO in meeting the children and adults in the audience and learning more about the importance of wildlife conservation.

Running each weekend on the Bronx Zoo's Asia Plaza Stage, AVENUE ZOO is an educational musical tale in which Kate Monster meets exotic animals -- lions, pythons and vultures -- and discovers that they though they may seem strange and different, they are not so scary if you take the time to understand them.

Photo-op and interviews available:

Who: Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo

Cast of Tony Award-winning AVENUE Q

Kate Monster, Trekkie Monster, Princeton, Mrs. T,

What: Green Carpet Event

Special performance of AVENUE ZOO, featuring Kate Monster

Where: WCS’s Bronx Zoo

2300 Southern Blvd.

Bronx, NY

When: Thursday, July 12, 2012

12:00 p.m. Green carpet for puppet celebrities

12:30-1 p.m. Avenue Zoo performance

1 – 2 p.m. Avenue Q and Avenue Zoo meet-and-greet;

Photo-op with actors, puppets, and audience

MEDIA NOTE(S): Media who wish to attend the event should contact Max Pulsinelli 718-220-5182 or Steve Fairchild 718-220-5189 so that parking and park transportation can be arranged.

AVENUE Q is the Tony Award-winning musical about 20-somethings fresh out of college -- people and puppets alike -- who live as neighbors in an outer-borough in NYC, trying to find their way in the big city and discover their purpose in life. The musical is in its 10th year in New York, playing at New World Stages in midtown.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Adult general admission is $16.95, children (3-12 years old) $11.95, children under 3 are free. Parking is $14 for cars and $16 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit www.bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to www.wcs.org.