You remember that little show called “Sesame Street” that taught you all the lessons you needed to get through the early years of your life?
Remember how happy it made you to hear the opening song and know that you were in a safe place where people loved you and cared and all that crap?
Well, now there’s a musical that will give you similar lessons for when you enter the real world, that scary place where you may not get a job when you get out of college and find yourself working at the gas station just to keep your dilapidated studio and get a few White Castle burgers a day.
That musical is called “Avenue Q,” a six-year-old, three Tony Awardwinning show that is now in its final weekend at the Fisher Theatre — seriously a must see!
The show is basically in the world of “Sesame Street” but takes place on the slum street of Avenue Q, where it sucks to be everyone, especially Gary Coleman (the landlord).
After the opening song, we are introduced to the puppet character Princeton who is wondering what you do with a B.A. in English (wait, I’m going to have a B.A. in English) and finds himself only being able to afford an apartment on Avenue Q (aww, life is going to suck).
Oh yeah; and all his neighbors have degrees too and are living in their own little ruts. Throughout the play we are hilariously taught valuable lessons like coping and accepting homosexuality, the politics of sex, the realities of racism (it’s okay; it’s written by a Jewish and Hispanic-American team and stars Asian-American, African-American and white people) and, most important, that the Internet is for porn.
This all happens while Princeton is searching for that thing we will all be searching for, a purpose. Of course, when puppets cover such taboo subjects it is automatically hilarious.
I challenge you to not laugh when a puppet talks about oral sex. However, the best artistic aspect of the show is the visual stimulation.
For instance, the little side segments that had nothing to do with the Sesame Street characters (number/letter of the day) are mocked on televisions suspended over the stage.
Also, the way the set can be opened to see inside certain apartments is great. There is also a giant puppet that comes up over the back of the set that’s really cool.
The whole show is focused on shock and awe. You have to see it to believe it.
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