Avenue Q

Review By: Chris Boccard
ChrisBoccard@TheCinemaSource.com

Walking up to The Golden Theater the other night I noticed a huge mob outside of the theatre. I thought to myself, “Wow! What a turnout for a Tuesday night." We entered the theatre and realized that there wasn’t an empty seat. People were chatting away talking about all the good things they had heard about the show and how eager they were to see it. The stage curtain was up showing us a small little neighborhood in a made up part of the New York Metropolitan area, Avenue Q. While the lights went down the theatre went wild in anticipation for the show to begin.

We are introduced to Princeton, a recent graduate with a BA in English, played by Barrett Foa, who comes to Avenue Q looking for a cheap place to live. There he meets Brian, an out-of work comedian, played by Jordan Gelber, and his lovely fiancée Christmas Eve, a therapist with no clients, played by Ann Harada. They introduce Princeton to the superintendent of Avenue Q Gary Coleman, yes the Diff'rent Strokes Gary Coleman, played by Natalie Venetia Belcon. Other characters he meets are Rod, a Republican investment banker who has a big secret, played by Barrett Foa, his roommate Nicky, played by Rick Lyon and Jennifer Barnhart, Kate Monster a kindergarten assistant, played by Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Trekkie monster, the porn addict, played by Rick Lyon.

Once Princeton moves into Avenue Q he attempts to find his purpose in life. Does his life have a meaning? Rest assured, throughout his struggles, Princeton’s new friends will be there to help him along the way.

It’s hard to talk about this show without mentioning Tony award winners, for best music and lyrics, Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, the geniuses behind Avenue Q. There catchy tunes and unbelievably clever lyrics leaves the audience crying from laughing so hard. Some songs include: What do you do with a B.A. in English?, If You Were Gay, Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist, The Internet is For Porn and much more.

Everyone from the original Broadway cast is still in the show except for the up and coming new star Barrett Foa, who took over the part of Princeton and Rod on February 1st after their creator John Tartaglia left. He has a beautiful voice and an adorable personality which radiate on the stage. His puppetry is good but you can tell that it’s a new obstacle he has never worked with before.

Stephanie D’Abruzzo plays Kate monster and Lucy the slut. What can I say about her other than she is awesome. Her puppetry skills are flawless and her singing and acting are fantastic. D’Abruzzo lives and breaths the characters she plays and gives the puppets a heart and soul which is really hard to do. D’Abruzzo will make you feel things you never thought ...