'AVENUE Q' A HILARIOUS, RIBALD MUSICAL STREET WORTH TRAVELING.Byline: EVAN EVAN Expandable Van HENERSON> THEATER WRITER Leave it to the puppets and their brightly smiling handlers to deliver those simple basic truths about life, love, happiness and the way we treat each other. There is, after all, a precedent -- thank you Kermit, Elmo, et al. -- for this kind of social exampling. Granted, the puppets of "Avenue Q" are a slight click away from the iconic Muppets of "Sesame Street Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ," physical resemblance notwithstanding. And their home is perhaps a few subway stops beyond neighborhoods where you might want to be hanging out past 11 p.m. And, OK, our furry friends are a bit off color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour their speech and behavior. Why impart counting or ABCs when there's wisdom like "You Can Be As Loud As the Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love") to pass along. Life's messy that way. On "Avenue Q," it's also funny beyond belief. Equal parts satiric and from-the-heart, "Avenue Q" remains proof positive that an original idea can be triumphant. The national tour of "Q," with book by Jeff Whitty Jeff Whitty is an American playwright who lives in New York City. He was born September 30, 1971, and was raised in Coos Bay, Oregon. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1993, and received a Master's degree from New York University in 1997. and music, lyrics and concept by Robert Lopez Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Avenue Q, for which he won a Tony Award. and Jeff Marx, has finally arrived in L.A. Boy, howdy, is it a welcome sight. We should, in fairness, qualify the term "original idea." Whitty's account of a college graduate named Princeton, and Kate Monster, the kindergarten assistant he woos, then dumps, is conventionally "boy meets girl" (or in this case, "puppet meets monster"). The "Q" residents -- slacker Nicky, investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. Rod, Trekkie Monster Trekkie Monster is a character in the Broadway musical Avenue Q who lives in a second floor apartment in a building on Avenue Q, which is a run-down street situated "somewhere in an outerborough of New York City. and the rest -- are artfully and lovingly spoofed from the world of Jim Henson Noun 1. Jim Henson - United States puppeteer who created a troupe of puppet characters (1936-1990) Henson . Any musical that takes this many shots at the foibles of Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (born February 8, 1968) is an American actor. Coleman is best known for his role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes has no qualms about trolling (1) Surfing, or browsing, the Web. (2) Posting derogatory messages about sensitive subjects on newsgroups and chat rooms to bait users into responding. (3) Hanging around in a chat room without saying anything, like a "peeping tom." the world of pop culture and aiming low. Still, "Q" is utterly unique. Even with their handlers both fully visible and doing double duty, these puppets (designed by Rick Lyon) are masterful. We do not, for one second, question what they're doing living and interacting among human actors. We get that they swear, bleed, have sex and live complicated lives. Because so do we. Princeton (Robert McClure) comes to Q with his bachelor's degree in English and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a purpose in life. Kate Monster (a hugely winning Kelli Sawyer) desperately wants a boyfriend and dreams of opening a school where monsters won't face discrimination. Rod (McClure again), a fussy Republican, is about the only guy on Avenue Q who is not aware of his sexual leanings. Then you've got an entirely id-driven beast like Trekkie (Christian Anderson), who spends his days trolling the Internet for porn. The humans aren't exactly models of stability either. Would-be therapist Christmas Eve (Angela Ai) has no clients, and her comedian fiance, Brian (Cole Porter), has no job. Gary Coleman (Carla Renata) -- yes, that Gary Coleman -- is the building superintendent. He's come down a few rungs in life, but the man is nothing if not upbeat. Directed by Jason Moore, "Q" is structured such that the cast feels larger than it is. Puppet performers handle more than one role, often within the same scene, handing off one character to a silent performer while voicing two. So it goes that Sawyer can navigate both ends of a near catfight cat·fight n. 1. A fight between or among cats. 2. Informal A vociferous dispute: a catfight between farmers and the government over subsidies. between Kate Monster and man-hungry Lucy the Slut, another rival for Princeton's affections. Anna Louizos' vaguely slummy brownstone brownstone, red to brown variety of sandstone. Its unusual color is caused in some instances by the presence of red iron oxide which acts as a cement, binding the sand grains together. set is full of compartments and surprises. The use of video screens and some special lighting effects by designer Howard Binkley are playful enhancements (love those flying jet-propelled beds in Rod's dream sequence). Perhaps deliberately, the program does not list the titles or running order of Marx and Lopez's songs, which are the lifeblood of "Avenue Q." A case could be made that these tunes tend to string scenes together and impart "Q's" lessons more than they advance the plot or establish character. Yet it's hard to take issue with a little masterpiece like "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" or "Schadenfreude." Several of the "Q" tour cast members have played the show on Broadway and at the Wynn Las Vegas, where the musical had an exclusive booking before it could tour. While original cast members -- and "Sesame Street" veterans -- Lyon, John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo have long since laid down their rods (or Rods), in the touring "Q" we see actors previously untrained in puppetry puppetry Art of creating and manipulating puppets in a theatrical show. Puppets are figures that are moved by human rather than mechanical aid. They may be controlled by one or several puppeteers, who are screened from the spectators. bringing this art form deliciously to life. They should be seen. So should "Avenue Q." But don't bring the little ones. Evan Henerson (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson@dailynews.com AVENUE Q - Three and one half stars >Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. >When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 14. >Tickets: $25 to $90. (213) 628-2772, www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. >In a nutshell: Establishing the benchmark for dirty puppet shows. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Kate Monster, left, Kelli Sawyer, Princeton and Robert McClure get up close and hilariously personal in "Avenue Q," through Oct. 14 at the Ahmanson Theatre. While the puppets are based on Jim Henson's Muppets, its kid appropriateness ends there. |
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