On Thursday evening, I went to see Avenue Q at Her Majesty’s Theatre. I enjoyed this experience immensely. Having heard all the music before (courtesy of it being my brother’s WoW soundtrack for a while) I already knew it was amusing, witty, and catchy. What I wasn’t counting on was it being side-splittingly funny and moving, and nor was I counting on being mesmerised by the puppets. By the end of it, I was barely looking at their handlers except for brief facial queues. After the break, the justification for my immense enjoyment of Avenue Q.
So, Emma; was it really that amusing? I hear you ask. Well, with songs like “What do you do with a BA in English?” you laugh a little. With songs like “Schadenfreude” you giggle. With “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” you laugh and then think Oh my word, it’s true. Then the Bad Idea Bears come out and you find yourself gasping for air, because you’ve told yourself these things before (You have to buy a carton! If you buy a six-pack that’s uneconomical!!) and that’s what makes it so funny. The dialogue was tight and believeable, and the performers were incredibly present (it’s the only way I can describe it), made all the more impressive by the fact that only three of the characters weren’t puppets.
Moving, though? How is a musical like Sesame Street for the Southpark hipster-set moving? For me, it was during a beautiful song (“It’s a Fine, Fine Line”) which is the pivotal point in the emotional story of Kate Monster and it broke my heart. It also made me think that Princeton was a bit (or a lot) of a jerk. It helped that Natalie Alexopoulos had a most achingly beautiful voice, previously been hidden behind cutesy characterisation (which I loved), that just socked you between the eyes. It also helped that the simple, wide-eyed puppet only had one neutral expression, and you could read all the power of Natalie’s voice into that face. Seeing and hearing Kate Monster pour out her bitterness was the most beautiful thing I’d heard in a while, strangely.
Other props go to: Mitchell Butell playing the puppet Rod, the incredibly fabulous closeted Republican financier (he also played Princeton, the “leading man” who breaks Kate Monster’s heart, but I thought that Rod was a larger poerformance) and Luke Joslin playing the puppet Trekkie Monster (“The Internet is for Porn”) (also played puppet Nicky, Rod’s slobby housemate). Everyone in the cast and every role was great, but Kate Monster, Trekkie Monster, and Rod stood out for me.
Overall, I thought Avenue Q was an immensely entertaining experience. I got to laugh at myself (“Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist§”, “Schadenfreude”, “What do you do with a BA in English”), laugh at others (“The Internet is for Porn”) and come home with entertaining new quotes (“I’m not wearing underpants today!”). I got a photo with Luke Joslin, and saw a former Playschool presenter on stage (David James as Brian).
§If you tell me you’ve never judged a person based on race or appearance before, you’re lying. I do it all the time, especially when Fully Sick cars are involved – I have a tendency to assume that if you have a sports kit and a turbo, you’re probably an idiot. I’m not proud of it, but there it is.
Posted on February 1st, 2010 by Bosun McShiny
Filed under: Uncategorized
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