With three major Tony Awards and a 12-year run—half of it on Broadway—under its belt, Avenue Q has the credentials to make it one of the Theatre District's most popular musicals. But the real staying power of this uproarious Sesame-Street-meets-Sex-and-the-City show that features puppets and humans in equal measure is demonstrated by how well it holds up year after year. Case in point, I was lucky enough to see the show with the original Broadway cast during its initial run at the Golden Theatre and now, seeing it again a decade later at New World Stages, I’m impressed by how well-written, funny, and relevant Avenue Q still is, even for someone who has risen above her “useless” BA degree in English. There’s very little that needs to be updated, save a timely political jab during the song “For Now.” The new cast, under the direction of Jason Moore, is game for living up to the original’s enthusiasm and pep and has the same punch and unexpected raunchiness. The book (Jeff Whitty) is witty and fast-paced, and the music and lyrics (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) are crazy good, catchy and hum-worthy.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Avenue Q yet, you’re in for a treat. The play follows young Princeton (Ben Durocher), a puppet fresh out of college and seeking to begin his life in New York City. He finds an apartment on Avenue Q, which is run by superintendent Gary Coleman (Danielle K. Thomas) of Diff’rent Strokes fame. Among the colorful residents of Avenue Q are unemployed comedian Brian (Nick Kohn) and his therapist fiancée Christmas Eve (Grace Choi), slovenly Nicky (Jason Jacoby) and his uptight roommate Rod (Durocher), porn-obsessed Trekkie Monster (Jacoby), and sweet Kate Monster (Elizabeth Ann Berg). Did I mention that all but Brian, Christmas Eve, and Gary Coleman are puppets? The humans interact with the puppets as though it’s the most normal thing in the world to talk to a piece of felt attached to an arm. The effect is seamless and quite hilarious, as all the characters eventually show their quirks and share their wisdom about life.
The puppets, designed by Rick Lyon, who also originated the roles of Nicky and Trekkie Monster, are clearly inspired by Jim Henson’s Muppets. Although, I don’t think Henson ever envisioned Muppets having sex. Or maybe he did, who knows? In any case, yes, there is puppet nudity and puppet sex. So bring your children at your own discretion. It’s actually pretty fun watching puppets misbehave, hearing them curse, drink and talk about doing drugs. It’s like letting your inner child run wild and eat candy at midnight when you should be asleep in bed on a school night.
Aside from the debauchery, Avenue Q actually has a lot of heart. The show sends a nice, heartwarming message about friendship, acceptance of others different from you, and doing right by your fellow man (or puppet). The performance I saw was the culmination of a month-long breast cancer awareness campaign where $5 from each ticket sold in October went to the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center. The issue hits close to home for the Avenue Q community, as producer Robyn Goodman has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer since early this year. The audience had a surprise guest after the evening’s performance: Fran Drescher came onstage to talk about her own battle with cancer and her charity, Cancer Schmancer, which promotes early detection and prevention of cancer. Overall, a wonderful melding of art and activism.
