Avenue Q: Grade A puppetry
Avenue Q is at Wyndham's Theatre in Charing Cross. Photo credit: AndyRob/Flickr
“If you have to watch a musical you might as well watch Avenue Q”. Praise indeed from a theatre hating friend of mine who had recently seen the musical comedy at West End’s Wyndham’s Theatre. The show, which first hit the stage in 2003, tells the story of Princeton, a newly graduated twenty-something puppet who embarks on his new life away from home.
I had been promised the production would include plenty of lewd jokes and I had not been lied to. The show starts with the protagonist’s amusing but rather tame rendition of “What do you do with a BA in English” before coming into its stride with “It sucks to be me”. During the song the characters all moan about why their lives are terrible before they are all trumped by former child actor Gary Coleman and all agree that it does suck to be him.
The inclusion of the recently deceased Gary Coleman in the play has been a source of controversy. The creator’s of Avenue Q claim the former child star is the personification of the show’s themes, namely children being led to believe they are special and growing up to find life is not that simple. Coleman, who died in 2010, once said of the production; “I wish there was a lawyer on earth that would sue them for me”.
Original, amusing humour
The comedy goes from strength to strength in the first hour peeking with the amusing “The Internet is for Porn” and the downright hilarious sex scene between Princeton and Kate Monster. A 15 minute intermission gives you the chance to grab a very small, very expensive bottle of beer before Act Two kicks off.
Although not as good as the first half, the second act does have its highlights including the “Schadenfreude” song and “I Wish I Could Go Back to College”. In the later the characters fantasise about going back to university but imagine what losers they would be on account of being older than everyone else. Themes touched on include racism (“Everyone’s a little bit racist”), homosexuality (“If you were gay”) and coming of age (“Purpose”). Each is tackled in an original and often eyebrow raising way.
All in all the production is great fun although at two hours long it does tend to run out of steam towards the end. The cast is brilliant, particularly porn-addict and recluse Trekkie Monster, whose love of the internet provides a running joke. Not for the squeamish or the very young as full-puppet nudity and swearing are very much part and parcel of the Avenue Q experience.
Tickets range from £10, which will get you a seat on the 3rd floor balcony, to £26 which grants you access to the stalls directly in front of the scene. Avenue Q is currently being staged at Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London.
Tickets can be purchased here or at the box office if you get there early enough.
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