Review: Politically Correct Or Not, 'Avenue Q' Is Quintessential Theater
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
In most entertainment the sex scene usually is not supposed to be funny – except in this musical the couple are puppets.
And one is a human puppet while another is a monster puppet.
And it’s during a musical number titled “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You’re Making Love),” sung by “Different Strokes” actor Gary Coleman (Tanisha Moore).
But you either find it hilarious and stop worrying about whether it’s politically correct and/or appropriate, or you get up and leave. I stayed and laughed throughout the show.
In fact, my friends and I laughed a lot during Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts’ production of the hit Broadway musical “Avenue Q” opening night Tuesday.
The adult humor wasn’t just for the sake of being lewd or vulgar, as the show did have a couple of good messages. And if those messages came through by means of some cheeky humor – good for the Wagon Wheel to take a chance with something those between the ages of 18 and 50 might want to see.
Between the superb actors on the stage – those with puppets and those without – and Scott Michaels’ direction, “Avenue Q” is a hit in my book whether or not the theater fills its seats during the musical’s week-long run.
In the story, Princeton (Matthew Janisse) is a fresh college graduate looking for a cheap place to live and a job in New York. He finds Avenue Q where he meets, among others, Kate Monster (Carolyn Anne Miller). Princeton and Kate are the couple referred to earlier who end up making love as their relationship develops beyond friendship.
Princeton also meets real human Brian (J. Preddie Predmore) and his Japanese girlfriend, Christmas Eve (Emily Bailey); messy Nicky (Christopher Robert Duffy) and his Republican, uptight closet-case roommate Rod (Javier Ferreira); porn-loving Trekkie Monster (Duffy); the Superintendent of Avenue Q, Coleman; singer and seductress Lucy (Kira Lace Hawkins); and the Bad Idea Bears (Jennifer Dow and Duffy).
Obviously, Duffy is kept pretty busy managing three puppets, but he does it so well. Each character he handles has its own voice and personality. Duffy really has a talent for puppets and he brings them each to life. I would love to see another similar show with Duffy working his magic. Trekkie Monster is phenomenal and one of my favorite characters, and will remind audiences of Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street,” but kudos to Duffy for doing him so well.
For hours after “Avenue Q,” I had Trekkie’s theme song stuck in my head – “The Internet is for Porn.”
If none of the actors on the stage ever worked with puppets before, it doesn’t show. It’s like the actors have infused themselves into the puppets and audiences will forget they’re even there.
Miller really puts emotions into Kate Monster. If Kate is upset and crying, you can feel it and see it thanks to Miller’s performance. I was really blown away by Miller’s emotions that came through the puppet, and I loved her singing, especially on songs like “A Mix Tape” and “Fantasies Come True.”
All the characters in the show have a dream of some sort. For Kate, it’s to open up a School for Monsters. For Princeton, it’s to find his purpose.
Janisse is always great when he takes the Wagon Wheel stage, whether I like the show or not. So it’s not surprising that Janisse brings out a lot in an inanimate object like Princeton. Anyone who ever graduated college probably at some point in their life after that asked themselves, “Now what?” Princeton is that guy and you can identify with him because of Janisse’s all-around talent in handling him.
Ferreira has shown his talent through a number of shows at the Wagon Wheel over the past couple of years, but he can add puppet master to his resume with his handling of Rod. Rod deals with emotions like sadness, anger and frustration and Ferreira brings it all out perfectly. When Rod yearns for Nicky, who isn’t gay, in “Fantasies Come True,” you can feel Rod’s heart thanks to Ferreira.
And when Nicky tells Rod that he likes him and always will no matter his sexual orientation in “If You Were Gay,” it feels sincere.
And, yes, Rod and Nicky will remind you of Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street.”
And if you’re going to have a seductive puppet delivering innuendo in song, Hawkins can more than handle it and well as Lucy. Occasionally, I would look at Hawkins to see if her facial expressions related to what the puppet was supposed to be doing, saying or feeling – and they were. If Hawkins was telling Princeton in a direct manner that she didn’t want a relationship, Hawkins’ facial expressions conveyed just that.
If you saw Dow as Puck in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” this summer, you witnessed how much fun she had. She’s having a ball again as one of the Bad Idea Bears who are like two devils sitting on Princeton’s shoulders. They get him to spend his money on beer instead of bills, and convince him and Kate to get trashed one night even though she has to teach early the next morning. The Bears just want the characters to have fun, and Dow is definitely having fun on stage with the puppets.
The three actors not handling puppets were Predmore, Bailey and Moore.
If you can’t have the real Gary Coleman, Moore comes pretty darn close. She’s funny and right on top of line delivery, but she’s also got some amazing rhythm when she sings songs like “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want” or “Schadenfreude” (look that word up in Google). I’d love to see Moore perform in more shows.
Christmas Eve is Japanese, and perhaps the portrayal relies a little bit on stereotypes of Asian women, but Bailey did a great job in the role. (Cue the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” here.) When she says things like men like aggressive women, she backs those words up with action. And Brian, as her unemployed heavy-set boyfriend, loves her all the same. Predmore and Bailey are a good duo in their roles.
The production does incorporate some use of video, which has a purpose. And Michael’s commitment to using it does work out well.
In the end, I am sure someone may be offended by at least a thing or two in “Avenue Q.” But everyone’s offended at something anymore, so just go see the show, leave your hang-ups at the door and just let yourself laugh for two hours.
My rating of the show (out of four): 4.
Tickets are on sale at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts or can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org. Admission is $32 for adults, $24 for seniors, $18 for students and $14 for children up to age 12. Call the box office at 574-267-8041 with any questions.
The show runs Tuesday through Sunday. Times vary by day. Presented by Parkview Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]
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In most entertainment the sex scene usually is not supposed to be funny – except in this musical the couple are puppets.
And one is a human puppet while another is a monster puppet.
And it’s during a musical number titled “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You’re Making Love),” sung by “Different Strokes” actor Gary Coleman (Tanisha Moore).
But you either find it hilarious and stop worrying about whether it’s politically correct and/or appropriate, or you get up and leave. I stayed and laughed throughout the show.
In fact, my friends and I laughed a lot during Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts’ production of the hit Broadway musical “Avenue Q” opening night Tuesday.
The adult humor wasn’t just for the sake of being lewd or vulgar, as the show did have a couple of good messages. And if those messages came through by means of some cheeky humor – good for the Wagon Wheel to take a chance with something those between the ages of 18 and 50 might want to see.
Between the superb actors on the stage – those with puppets and those without – and Scott Michaels’ direction, “Avenue Q” is a hit in my book whether or not the theater fills its seats during the musical’s week-long run.
In the story, Princeton (Matthew Janisse) is a fresh college graduate looking for a cheap place to live and a job in New York. He finds Avenue Q where he meets, among others, Kate Monster (Carolyn Anne Miller). Princeton and Kate are the couple referred to earlier who end up making love as their relationship develops beyond friendship.
Princeton also meets real human Brian (J. Preddie Predmore) and his Japanese girlfriend, Christmas Eve (Emily Bailey); messy Nicky (Christopher Robert Duffy) and his Republican, uptight closet-case roommate Rod (Javier Ferreira); porn-loving Trekkie Monster (Duffy); the Superintendent of Avenue Q, Coleman; singer and seductress Lucy (Kira Lace Hawkins); and the Bad Idea Bears (Jennifer Dow and Duffy).
Obviously, Duffy is kept pretty busy managing three puppets, but he does it so well. Each character he handles has its own voice and personality. Duffy really has a talent for puppets and he brings them each to life. I would love to see another similar show with Duffy working his magic. Trekkie Monster is phenomenal and one of my favorite characters, and will remind audiences of Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street,” but kudos to Duffy for doing him so well.
For hours after “Avenue Q,” I had Trekkie’s theme song stuck in my head – “The Internet is for Porn.”
If none of the actors on the stage ever worked with puppets before, it doesn’t show. It’s like the actors have infused themselves into the puppets and audiences will forget they’re even there.
Miller really puts emotions into Kate Monster. If Kate is upset and crying, you can feel it and see it thanks to Miller’s performance. I was really blown away by Miller’s emotions that came through the puppet, and I loved her singing, especially on songs like “A Mix Tape” and “Fantasies Come True.”
All the characters in the show have a dream of some sort. For Kate, it’s to open up a School for Monsters. For Princeton, it’s to find his purpose.
Janisse is always great when he takes the Wagon Wheel stage, whether I like the show or not. So it’s not surprising that Janisse brings out a lot in an inanimate object like Princeton. Anyone who ever graduated college probably at some point in their life after that asked themselves, “Now what?” Princeton is that guy and you can identify with him because of Janisse’s all-around talent in handling him.
Ferreira has shown his talent through a number of shows at the Wagon Wheel over the past couple of years, but he can add puppet master to his resume with his handling of Rod. Rod deals with emotions like sadness, anger and frustration and Ferreira brings it all out perfectly. When Rod yearns for Nicky, who isn’t gay, in “Fantasies Come True,” you can feel Rod’s heart thanks to Ferreira.
And when Nicky tells Rod that he likes him and always will no matter his sexual orientation in “If You Were Gay,” it feels sincere.
And, yes, Rod and Nicky will remind you of Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street.”
And if you’re going to have a seductive puppet delivering innuendo in song, Hawkins can more than handle it and well as Lucy. Occasionally, I would look at Hawkins to see if her facial expressions related to what the puppet was supposed to be doing, saying or feeling – and they were. If Hawkins was telling Princeton in a direct manner that she didn’t want a relationship, Hawkins’ facial expressions conveyed just that.
If you saw Dow as Puck in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” this summer, you witnessed how much fun she had. She’s having a ball again as one of the Bad Idea Bears who are like two devils sitting on Princeton’s shoulders. They get him to spend his money on beer instead of bills, and convince him and Kate to get trashed one night even though she has to teach early the next morning. The Bears just want the characters to have fun, and Dow is definitely having fun on stage with the puppets.
The three actors not handling puppets were Predmore, Bailey and Moore.
If you can’t have the real Gary Coleman, Moore comes pretty darn close. She’s funny and right on top of line delivery, but she’s also got some amazing rhythm when she sings songs like “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want” or “Schadenfreude” (look that word up in Google). I’d love to see Moore perform in more shows.
Christmas Eve is Japanese, and perhaps the portrayal relies a little bit on stereotypes of Asian women, but Bailey did a great job in the role. (Cue the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” here.) When she says things like men like aggressive women, she backs those words up with action. And Brian, as her unemployed heavy-set boyfriend, loves her all the same. Predmore and Bailey are a good duo in their roles.
The production does incorporate some use of video, which has a purpose. And Michael’s commitment to using it does work out well.
In the end, I am sure someone may be offended by at least a thing or two in “Avenue Q.” But everyone’s offended at something anymore, so just go see the show, leave your hang-ups at the door and just let yourself laugh for two hours.
My rating of the show (out of four): 4.
Tickets are on sale at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts or can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org. Admission is $32 for adults, $24 for seniors, $18 for students and $14 for children up to age 12. Call the box office at 574-267-8041 with any questions.
The show runs Tuesday through Sunday. Times vary by day. Presented by Parkview Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]
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