Avenue Q

Musical performed at New World Stages, produced by The New Group. May 9, 2015.
Review written and edited by Peter Buller

Children shows promise much for their target audience. Worlds where big red dogs and goofy green aliens join us on zany adventures introduce big cities as vast jungles of entertainment, boring desk jobs as fun interludes, and solemn strangers as people deprived of joy. Moreover, children watching should never doubt that the harsh realities beyond their TV set will never impede their dreams; nor doubt the meaning of their lives. Perhaps in the surreal utopia of shows like PBS' Sesame Street, these conceptualizations of human civilization add up; but someday its younger audiences will grow older and sober up to the cruelty of an indifferent universe. The realization of this proved harsh for Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who later soon after would spawn their Broadway-famous debut: Avenue Q, a musical transposing Sesame Street's naïveté on to New York City's cold attitude.

Lopez and Marx's musical flows with a similar bubbling excitement as its spiritual predecessor; yet where Sesame Street offers childlike education, Avenue Q doles out mature social commentary. The musical opens with its colourful cast arguing over whose life sucks the most: one character complains about their failed love life; another elaborates upon their failed career; then cuing the entrance of Gary Coleman with his own financial woes. If Sesame Street is an idealistic drug trip up the stairs to Paradise, Avenue Q is the sobering descent to earth. The former sings educational mnemonics to catchy rhyme schemes as the latter contemplates if "everyone is a little bit racist," or how life would be "if you were gay." Characters break any reservations held against using swear words and discussing "adult" subjects. One scene depicts the protagonist and his love interest engaged in loud sexual intercourse--complete with seizure-inducing party lights, tenants filing complaints with the superintendent, and Coleman cheering as the couple shriek and screw with ecstasy. The contrast jabs at the careful censorship children's programs nominally endorse. Avenue Q delights in the dissonance of its clownish characters cursing with shit and fuck rather than shucks and fiddlesticks. One of its musical numbers even offers an ode to schadenfreude as one character enters homelessness.

Musical numbers immerse the audience in a fantastic multimedia performance; though not every musical number in Avenue Q delivers. "The Internet Is for Porn" stands out as the latter. Most skits draw morals from independent scenes, tuning them into catchy show pieces. "Everyone Is a Little Bit Racist" handily connects its characters' prejudice to liberating commentary on racism. Narrative context intensifies the show's clever showmanship with compelling subtext. In contrast, "The Internet Is for Porn" offers no reason for its audience to follow along beyond the regurgitation of its message. As a result, one feels more inclined to join the furious Kate Monster--who wanted to teach children of the internet's utility--than empathize with a porn-addicted Cookie Monster.

Still, clever writing and media installations prevent the musical from growing stale. One such occasion features a counting game of night stands zooming out to reveal a hotel bedroom and a couple making love on a one night stand. The witty pun inspired giggling fits throughout the audience, drawing away their attention as stagehands changed the set. Although this sleight of hand proved clever, the visibility of the actors felt decidedly less intuitive. Being able to view actors puppeteer the characters breaks one's suspension of disbelief, frequently robbing one of the synaesthetic performance transpiring onstage. Visibility of the puppeteers could have illuminated the ridiculousness of its predecessor's childhood dreams by revealing the lifelessness of their puppets. How "authentic" can a character's dream be without a human voice and hand to guide their actions? An interesting query for those invested in experimental theatre; however, its implementation in Avenue Q smacks of tackiness. Casting Elizabeth Ann Berg and Jason Jacoby to voice characters often held by other actors comments more on the production's understaffed nature than anything. That Lopez and Marx allowed such a discrepancy on the show's Broadway run only worsens the matter.

Despite its flaws, Avenue Q's thematic goals remain strong. Numerous attempts have been made to satirize the outrageous idealism children's media endorses. Unlike SNL's unapologetic satire, Avenue Q maintains love for the targets of its punchlines. SNL's puppets strike one as harsh caricatures, transforming Sesame Street's outlandish cast into stuffy hipsters and post-college losers. Avenue Q manages both without venom for its characters. Those sparks of humanity in Princeton's romantic fumbles, coupled with his futile search for purpose, deepen his character beyond mere caricature. Lopez and Marx's cynical glaze never deigns to narcissistic pessimism. Instead, they bounce along life's winding roads with childlike gaiety. For even in the twilight of our idols, loves and dreams have their place--if only "for now."