Many say their jobs come with strings attached, but Rick Lyon's doesn't -- and neither do his puppets.

Rick Lyon, who attended Penn State in the mid-1980s, started designing puppets when he was a kid, but he never thought of puppetry as a career. It wasn't until college that he realized he could make a living at it.

After working with Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, and performing with puppets for several decades, Lyon designed the puppet cast for the Broadway show Avenue Q.

The musical was first conceived in 1999 by Bobby Lopez and Jeff Marx, Lyon said. He had worked with them on previous projects and was then asked to design the puppets for Avenue Q.

"Since I was already working with them, I was just a de facto part of the show," Lyon said, who had been working for Sesame Street for 14 years and the Muppets for 12 years when the idea of Avenue Q was conjured up.

When the show first started, Lyon built all the puppets himself. As it expanded and needed a larger cast, he took on other people to help.

"The off-Broadway puppets were all built in my home -- that's how humble my beginnings were," he said. "Now I have a full-time shop where I build everything."

Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a college graduate who goes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account, soon discovering the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q. Princeton and his new friends struggle to find jobs, dates and a purpose in life.

The musical has nine characters, but each one has six or seven versions, Lyon said. The show includes 46 puppets total and travels with 56 in case something happens to them. Lyon does not travel with the show, so there would be no one to fix the puppets, he said.

Lyon said he has put the faces on almost every single puppet to this day -- "that's where the puppet lives," he said. Each puppet takes a lot of time to make, and although some puppets can wear kids clothing, most have their clothes made from scratch.

"It's a very labor-intensive process -- everything has to be done by hand to specific measurements," he said.

Lyon started at Penn State as a music major and then switched to theatre before ultimately leaving the university in 1985 to pursue a professional career. While he was a student, he directed and performed in shows with Penn State Thespians and was also involved in Boal Barn Playhouse, a summer theatre program in Boalsburg. He said he also had an internship at Eisenhower Auditorium -- where the musical will be performed.

Lyon said Avenue Q started off-Broadway in March of 2003 and was well received -- it sold out and was extended three times. It opened on Broadway just four months later, which Lyon said is a very quick turnaround for a show.

"It became apparent that, 'wow, this show could be bigger than it is -- let's move it to Broadway,' " Lyon said.

Avenue Q won several Tony awards in 2004 for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

CPA director GeorgeTrudeau saw the show on Broadway a couple of years ago and said it was funny and entertaining.

"I was interested in bringing the best of Broadway here, and Avenue Q has been playing on Broadway for quite some time, but they have not been to Penn State," Trudeau said. "I'm really pleased that we've arranged to have them come here for two performances."

Though the musical includes colorful puppets inspired by Henson's creatures, the storyline is aimed at a more mature audience than that of the Muppets or Sesame Street.

"It certainly is a little risqué, I think it should be noted," Trudeau said. "It might not be for everyone -- there's a parental advisory."

Trudeau said while there are still tickets available, there has been a good response and students should get tickets as soon as possible.

"I think we're going to have full houses here both Tuesday and Wednesday night," he said. "We're going to have a lot of fun."