We left the restaurant for the theater. First we were trapped in the Horton Plaza elevator with a guy in his bathrobe; then, upon exiting the elevator, there were other strange visions: sparsely dressed young ladies, weirdly costumed males, possible vampires, and other totally indescribable beings, possibly homo sapiens, assaulted our eyes. It is always a bit disconcerting to go downtown during Comic-Con.
Alas, once the show began inside that grand old dame, The Spreckels Theater (Thanks, sugar baron), we are met with more strangeness. Avenue Q is before us, replete with strange puppets who revile us in language and in song, such as "The Internet is for Porn." These are furry beasts vaguely familiar, sorta like Muppets; however, they act, sing, and talk like no Muppets from my past.
These puppets, with their adolescent foul language and raucous behavior, are delightfully shocking. The top-notch cast is led by Kelly Sawyer as the star Kate Monster (she also plays other roles) and Robert McClure as Princeton (desperately in love with Kate).
Combining the black-suited puppeteers and their charges with real humans works brilliantly. The characterizations become so real that the puppets bring their own believable reality to the stage. Angela Ai, as Christmas Eve, and Cole Porter, as Brian, make for an interesting couple of real humans. Carla Renata is hilarious as a sort of emcee, Gary Coleman. Minglie Chen and Christian Anderson round out the principals in multiple roles. The ensemble, Maggie Lakis, Seth Rettberg, and Danielle Thomas, appear everywhere on the stage as well as in the audience.
Avenue Q, under Jason Moore's direction, is definitely not Saturdaymorning fare. Anna Louizos' set is some rundown tenement on Avenue Q. The design allows for both interior and exteriors simply by opening a window to reveal an interior. At one time, a player is atop the Empire State Building. The set is further enhanced by Howell Binkley's inspired lighting. Two large video screens fly in to help the characters with definitions and other subject matter. Mirena Rada's imaginative costume designs are colorful; her costume for Angela Ai's Christmas Eve is sparkling.
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's music and lyrics include such songs as: "It Sucks to be Me," "If You were Gay," "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today," all proving that in this musical, nothing is sacred. The dialogue is laced with profanity including multiple explosions of the "f" bomb. Muppet love can be beautiful; however, with this group, it usually ends up with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When the romance escalates to the final phase, the lights dim only slightly, the blanket never really stays on the bed, and it is truly a marathon experience worthy of an Olympic event.
Avenue Q, once you accept its raunchiness, is hilarious. Many a line is missed because, even with the cast holding for audience laughter, the laughter just doesn't die down. You have been fairly warned. This is a very funny, fairly ridiculous, obscene bit of theater. But, hey, they're only puppets.
Opened:
June 30, 2007
Ended:
August 5, 2007
Country:
USA
State:
California
City:
San Diego
Company/Producers:
Tour w/ The Old Globe
Theater Type:
Touring
Theater:
Spreckels Theater
Phone:
(619) 23-GLOBE
Running Time:
2 hrs
Genre:
Musical
Director:
Jason Moore
Review:
Parental:
profanity, adult themes
Cast:
Angela Ai, Christian Anderson, Minglie Chen, Robert McClure, Cole Porter, Carla Renata, Kelli Sawyer, Maggie Lakis, Seth Rettberg, Danielle Thomas
Technical:
Puppets: Rick Lyon; Set: Anna Louizos; Costumes: Mirena Rada; Lighting: Howell Binkley; Sound: Acme Sound Partners; Animation: Robert Lopez; Incidental Music: Gary Adler; Musical Director: Andrew Graham; Music Coordinator: Michael Keller; Tech Dir: Brian Lynch; Choreog: Ken Roberson
Critic:
Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
July 2007
