Rod

Rod is a character from the Tony-award winning musical, Avenue Q. He is a parody of Bert from Sesame Street. He was originally performed on Broadway by John Tartaglia, who was Tony-nominated for his performance. Later performers on Broadway in the role include Barrett Foa, Howie Michael Smith, and Robert McClure. Rod is a (assumed Log Cabin) Republican Wall Street investment banker who makes $125,000 a year according to the Avenue Q Book.

Despite being a Republican (Republicans generally believe that marriage is and has always been a sacred covenant between a man and woman for the purposes for romantic and interpersonal companionship; a covenant between one man and one woman as the basis for family and society), he is a closeted homosexual, and is very uptight. Nicky, his roommate, and Rod are based on Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Despite Princeton being the main character, Rod has become the show's breakout star, appearing at the Tony-awards and other Broadway award shows. He also spent a week on Hollywood Squares once.

Several different versions of Rod were used in the show, one for each costume change (pajamas, tuxedo, etc). All the Avenue Q puppets were created by Rick Lyon.

The performer who plays Rod also performs the character Princeton.