Avenue Q Review

Greetings all!

While in New York this December, I thought it appropriate to check out a Broadway show...and what other show could a puppeteer see in New York, than Avenue Q (I saw Lion King AGES ago!!).

Avenue Q takes place in a fictional outerborough of New York City, sometime in the present. This fictional outerborough has the intentional feel of a run down Sesame Street--Sesame Street gone to seed if you will. The show opens with a bang! A fun introduction of characters with a string of songs; The very Sesame Street feeling "Avenue Q theme" and the traditional sounding Musicial theme "What do you do with a B.A. in English" then POW! Tradition goes out the window with "Sucks to be me", I loved this song and it's use in the show. It was a great immersion into this world of crazy singing puppets! The show maintains its strength through the next group of numbers as well. The audience lost their minds over the 'Purpose' number-the use of animation was exactly what you didn't know you needed. The show is not in any way affiliated with Sesame Street, the producers of Sesame Street, or the Jim Henson Company, and yet, it is steeped in the shared memory of a generation of Sesame Street kids who watched the Muppet Show. So much of the early part of the show dings that little part of us that really goes silly at the first chords of the Sesame Street theme song. The downside of the show is that this feeling isn't carried throughot. The second half fell into the traditional broadway musical 'boy-meets-girl-then-messes-up-and-has-to-get-girl-back-again-with-a-really-keen-idea-and-the-help-of-all-his-friends' ending. The songs were good throughout but, were almost too sweet during the second half. The bitting satire of the beginning disapated during intermission. Still enjoyable, still hilarious (especially the first half), and you will walk out of the theater with a huge smile on your face. Go see the show (it's still playing in New York and in Las Vegas).

Let's take a moment to talk about the great cast;

The performance I saw (Dec. 14th 2005) featured Barrett Foa as Princeton and Rod, Jordan Gelber as Brian (he's an original cast member), Stephanie D' Abruzzo as Kate Monster and Lucy (she's original too), Matt Schreiber as Nicky, Trekkie Monster, and Bad Idea Bear #1, Jennifer Barnhart as Mrs. T, and Bad Idea Bear #2 (she's also an original cast member). The gal that originated the Gary Colemen role, Natalie Venetia Belcon, was performing that evening and Sala Iwamatsu was brilliant as Christmas Eve. The actors were fabulous! Natalie Venetia Belcon was a scream as Gary Coleman (the Schadenfreude number was a highlight), Jordan Gelber was jolly and fun, and Christmas Eve was a joy! The puppeteers were all amazing! Jennifer Barnhart wasn't featured in many key performances but, watching her effortlessly slip in and out of puppets so the key performers could switch characters was a revelation! Matt Schreiber was fantastic as Nicky and Trekkie Monster. I thought his Steve-Whitmire-as-Bert-sounding Nicky was one of the best parts of the show (sidenote: I saw Matt after the show in the bitter NY cold and told him how much I enjoyed the show and his performance in particular and he told me that his performance that evening was his first as Nicky! His first! I gotta tell ya, the guy looked like a pro! Not a trace of jitters came through that performance. Matt has nerves of steel! and a really charming performance style. I hope he continues with puppetry). Stephanie D' Abruzzo was really the heart of the show (I know it's supposed to be about a young man searching for purpose in this world and yes, that is the plot that drives this bus...but, Kate Monster is the kind-hearted soul of the show). Stephanie plays Kate the way many a young women see herself; as a sweet and sassy lady with great potential and not luck. She's totally identifiable as the every-girl. It did, however, take me a moment to adjust to her performing style. She had great eye contact and lip-synch (my personal obsession) but, there was an added trill to the end of many of her words. This is just nit-picking and something most folks a.) wouldn't even notice and b.) would think I was crazy to care about. Once I got used to this, there wasn't a thing I didn't like about her. Barrett Foa was the performer I was most concerned about, as every time I mentioned I was going to see Avenue Q, folks would say 'Oh, too bad you missed John Tartaglia. He's the best part of the show' and 'it won't be as good without the original cast' (and it turns out that most of the cast is still origninal!). So, I was apprehensive. Not detracting anything from the brilliant John Tartaglia's peformance abilities but, Barrett Foa was just fantastic! His performances were great and so different from each other. Princeton had that aww-shucks needed to really sell the role, to drive the plot, and be a perfect foil. And Rod....oh...Rod...instead of playing him as the very gay Bert to Nicky's quasi Ernie, he was played as a bundle of pathos! This tiny, repressed, neurotic, buttoned up, bundle of nervous energy! Rod was always a breath of fresh air whenever he came on stage. I loved the way he delivered his lines as Rod and his "key frame" puppet poses (meaning he moved Rod into these great, extreme poses that reminded me of Key Frame animation). My last quibble has nothing to do with the performance or the performers themselves, it's the direction. I really found it distracting to have the puppeteers move exactly like their puppets did. Meaning, whenever Nicky moved his head, Matt's moved the same way. If Rod dipped his head down then so did Barrett, Kate and Stephanie both shake their heads "no" or nod, etc. and instead of this working to make me believe the performers and puppets were one being, it reminded me that there were people standing behind, beside, and beneath the puppets and it made me have to work hard at forgetting they were there.

Now, go and see it for yourself! Or...at least listen to the soundtrack!