Nicky (Chris Thatcher), Gary (Matthew J Henry), Princeton (Sam Lupton)
Avenue Q is the Tony-Award-Winning Broadway musical that has seen itself become a hit in London’s West End, and is now on its second national tour of the UK. It follows the lovably hopeless characters on a downtown New York street, as they try to make sense of all life’s burning issues: love, work, relationships and above all – just how are you supposed to pay the bills with a BA in English?
This week Avenue Q is in Cambridge’s Arts Theatre on St. Edward’s Passage. Cambridge 105 were lucky enough to be given two pairs of tickets to give away on Cambridge 105 Breakfast, and also a set of press tickets for myself and 105 Drive presenter Tim Willett.
I was very excited about seeing the production in Cambridge. Having missed it at the Cambridge Arts Theatre during the first 2011 tour, and already having some knowledge of the musical via clips of its hilarious soundtrack (which are easily found on the internet), I just had to go see the whole show for myself.
When the curtain rose, I was initially impressed by the set design which was fully kitted out with slides and hatches to easily meet the needs of any scene. From the bedroom of Kate Monster, to the top of the Empire State, each scenario was effortlessly deployed. The addition of television screens to display the show’s adult-friendly parodies of Sesame Street’s educational animations, were also a nice touch. The animations whilst simple, never failed to make the whole audience laugh.
Gary (Matthew J Henry), Bad Idea Bears (Chris Thatcher & Daniella Gibb)
The soundtrack was brilliantly executed on stage. Almost all the songs are led by the leading puppet characters. The puppeteer’s voices never betrayed the characters they were depicting, and all the puppets had fantastic choreography. The puppets really come alive in the songs, and in many instances failed to notice points in the show where they switched between the puppeteers. Even on some of the most animated puppets like Trekkie Monster and Nicky, where two puppeteers are required.
The human characters Brian, Gary Coleman and Christmas Eve, all found their places in the show. If it hadn’t been for the satirical theme, you could’ve criticized the roles as being racially stereotyped – which they are. But, with songs like “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” in the score, it shows a no-holds-barred approach to the delicate subject of race, and makes sure every background on offer, even monster, is having fun made of them. However, it does mean if you’re easily offended, that this might not be the show for you.
With a fabulous cast both of humans and puppets tackling adult themes with a hilarious twist, this show is definitely worth seeing. You’ll never look at Sesame Street the same way again, and will think twice about the advice offered by your own Bad Idea Bears.
Review by Stewart Paske