Puppet sex. That should be enough to get you out to see Metro Theatre’s mounting of the musical Avenue Q. But there’s a lot more. This is an excellent production.
Avenue Q looks very much like Sesame Street, but with a skewed Gen X slant. In his opening lyrics, Princeton, the main character, sings, “What do you do with a BA in English?” Almost all of Princeton’s neighbours are in their late 20s and trying to figure their lives out, but they don’t learn the lessons you’d get from the Children’s Television Workshop. These run more along the lines of “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “The Internet Is for Porn”.
In the main plot, Princeton and Kate Monster (a fuzzy kindergarten teaching assistant who advocates on behalf of “people of fur”) stumble haphazardly in the general direction of commitment. And there’s a subplot that features a Bert-and-Ernie-ish pair of friends. Nicky desperately wants Rod to come out. Rod is terrified.
As on Sesame Street, regular humans share space with puppets.
With one exception, this is a non-Equity cast, but everybody in the company delivers at an impressively high level. Everybody can sing: you can hear that in their solos, but also in the tight harmonies they glide through together. Under the musical direction of Arielle Balance, the six-piece orchestra is flawless.
Richard White, who plays Princeton and Rod, and Leah Dubbin-Steckel (the innocent Kate, and Lucy the Slut) are knockouts. Their vocal chops are outstanding, and they nail their contrasting pairs of characterizations through their skilled manipulation of their rod puppets, and the nuanced, committed physical and vocal performances with which they back that up. (Stephanie Elgersma acted as the puppeteering consultant.)
I also particularly appreciated Liam Reitsma’s work as Trekkie Monster, Nicky, and one of the Bad Idea Bears (a cute little pair of teddies, who spit up a string of poor life options, including joining Scientology).
The songs (music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) are witty and hummable. My husband and I both left the theatre singing.
Director Christopher King demonstrated excellent taste in casting this show and has overseen a production that fires on virtually every level. Some lighting cues got a little funky at the performance I attended, but Starlynn Chen’s set is handsome, the little bits of choreography are charming, and the puppets are clever foam portraits.
I encourage you to take the trip to this Avenue Q.
AVENUE Q Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Book by Jeff Whitty. Directed by Christopher King. A Metro Theatre production at the Metro Theatre until October 10. Tickets.
PHOTO CREDIT: Richard White and Leah Dubbin-Steckel could both be pros. (Photo by Moonrider Productions)
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