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The normal fare for reviews here on Collector Times are comics, games, and movies. As such, a stage play like Avenue Q isn't what you typically expect to find being reviewed, but that's precisely what I plan to do.
Let me start off by stating clearly: If you have no tolerance for bawdy humor, innuendo, sexual situations, and occasional vulgar language, then stay away from Avenue Q. The play contains all of that. Although the play involves Muppet-like puppets, it is neither affiliated in any way with the Jim Henson Company or Sesame Street, nor it is billed as "Family Fare". It is an adult comedy with adult humor, and parents are encouraged to use discretion when considering whether to allow their children to see the play.
The premise of Avenue Q is rather simple; the play takes the concept of a Sesame Street type cast and places it in the context of an adult world rather than the idyllic children's world. The play opens with the puppet Princeton (performed in the traveling company by Robert McClure) arriving on Avenue Q as a newly graduated BA in English. Needing a place to stay and having no prospects (hence the song, "What Do You Do With a BA in English?"), he's welcomed to one of the vacant apartments by the other residents, who are a mix of puppets and human actors, and thus begins the ups and downs of friendship, romance, triumphs and failures in this make-believe world.
Part of the plot includes the sometimes rocky romance between Princeton and another puppet, Kate Monster (performed by Kelli Sawyer), an aspiring teacher whose dream is to build a school especially for monster children. As my son and I watched the play (yes, I used my discretion; at 23 years old, if he's not old enough to handle the humor of this play, I've already failed miserably as a father), we looked at each other and said something to the general effect of, "This is just wrong on so many levels," and then laughed our proverbial butts off. At least a couple of the scenes made me wonder just how many times the performers had needed to rehearse before they could get through the scene without losing their composure.
Despite its irreverent humor, though, Avenue Q is also replete with thought-provoking concepts embedded in the jokes and music. The song, "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" compels us to look at the ways we view others because of race, even as it makes us laugh. "If You Were Gay" addresses an issue that has faced many people, as one character tells his roommate that they'd still be friends and he'd still be there for him if the roommate were gay.
Perhaps Avenue Q's most famous song, though, is "The Internet is for Porn", which has found its way to greater fame through such amusing videos as the World of Warcraft animation to the tune, found on several popular video sites. While the WoW version is funny, the song is best experienced in the context of the play, particularly since the Gary that Kate Monster addresses in one of the lines of the song is Gary Coleman, former child star. Sadly, the part of Gary Coleman is not played by Mr. Coleman in either the Broadway or traveling production (Carla Renata plays him on the tour), but the character is specifically supposed to be the former star of "Diff'rent Strokes", which makes Kate's line of "Gary, you sell your possessions on Ebay," funnier than if it were just an average guy without the huge success in his past.
Avenue Q is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy seeing themselves in the mirror of some off-color humor, it is well worth the price of admission for a night of live theater. It will make you laugh; it will make you think; it might even surprise you in ways you'd never expect. Most of all, it entertains with a creative twist on old-fashioned puppetry. If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Bert and Ernie lived someplace outside their innocent Sesame Street, you'll find out with Nicky and Rod on Avenue Q.
Avenue Q has tour venues posted through August of 2008. Information about both the Broadway production and the Tour production can be found on the official website, http://www.avenueq.com.
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