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An Avenue Q Review
updated: Jan 27, 2010, 11:09 AM

By Keith Moore

The internet is for porn. I learned this, and other such wicked revelations at last night's opening of the Broadway musical Avenue Q. With a masterful young people-and-puppets cast, undeniably infectious music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and a cantankerous collection of doesn't-life-suck-sometimes skits, this production is an adorably dirty bomb of wit aimed directly at the post-college creative underclass. Channeling such disparate influences as "Will and Grace" and Milton, the show opens like "R.E.N.T." but takes a sharp left turn onto a very dirty "Sesame Street". As an homage to the latter, video screens come down at intervals for humorous, mixed-media-savvy visualization of a concept. Hilarious and obnoxious social commentary, often directed at the audience directly, recalls the verve of Punch and Judy shows. Watching the cast deftly play off each other with irreverent motifs of racism and lasting friendship, of jealous passion and utter apathy, of life's purpose and existential masturbation -- it becomes clear that there is real poignancy to be found here.

Avenue Q is the fictional borough of New York City where Princeton, our puppet protagonist, moves to begin his adult life. As the newcomer to this decidedly lower-rent suburb, he enlists the help of his new neighbors in finding his "purpose" in life. After a few flameouts in his love life and career, he begins to understand, quite existentially, that he alone is the architect of his path in life. He finds that helping his girlfriend Kate Monster open a school makes him feel good, teaching Princeton that good deeds need not be selfless -- a sentiment echoed by that old windbag Rand.

Other denizens of Avenue Q step forward by turns to add their voice to the show's thematic crescendo, which struck me as unusually brave for the writers of a musical. Unable to arrive at a concrete resolution for the characters' existential quandary, the writers instead leave us with an unexpectedly Zen ending number. "It's Only For Now" is, true to it's title, an extremely alacritous summary of the lessons our friends on the Avenue have learned. Not a very uplifting (or darkly dramatic) message to leave us with. No, the rousing enthusiasm perceived by (and lauded by) the audience here is due to an unrelenting lack of irony in the cast's performance. These actors, many of whom have experience in children's television, know that integral to the show's message is their emotively earnest delivery. Their candor -- coupled with the undeniably slick writing, Broadway-perfect sets and technical direction -- make Avenue Q an undeniably meaningful, yet uproariously entertaining musical masterpiece.

Thanks to all at Edhat for allowing me to attend this incredible show, I am proud to be a subscriber.

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