Taking on taboos with zany puppets
Avenue Q, Nelson Musical Theatre, November 22–December 8
What a fun, perceptive, and zany evening of entertainment.
The opening night of Avenue Q at Nelson Musical Theatre was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. There were bursts of laughter at waggish lyrics, gasps of delight at the piercing of PC culture, a delicious wee shock at schadenfreude exposed, and puppet rumpy-pumpy. One elderly patron was overheard saying: ‘‘I didn’t quite expect that. It was wonderful.’’
Clever use of puppetry (Sesame Street? Not quite), along with human characters, gives a hilarious insight into young adults rudely thrust into real life, searching for purpose, a salary and love.
Starting at Avenue A, the only affordable rent is in Avenue Q, in a rundown building managed by Gary Coleman. (I know, it’s weird, but with believable puppets pulling you into their lives, it maybe not so odd after all.)
The show delves cheekily (and sometimes shockingly) into taboo subjects such as internet porn, homosexuality, racism and guilty pleasures. The songs are catchy, the dialogue off-the-wall, and the characters compelling.
The cast is made up of very talented young actor/singers, plus several more worldly thespians who were having a ball along with their puppet characters. Special mention must be made of Kyle Aitken (Nicky), Ollie Bellis (Rod), Sam McIlroy (Princeton), and Zoe Rousselle (Kate Monster), who inhabited their puppets and personas with aplomb. Kudos also to musical director Chris Lukies and the band, and to the slick tech crew.
Apart from a few pitchy moments and a couple of blackouts that could be even faster, director Ross Benbow can be justly proud of this terrific production.
Avenue Q will be performed at the Nelson Musical Theatre every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm, from November 22 to December 8, with dinner/show and show only ticket options. Tickets via nmt.net.nz. The R16 show deals with adult topics and themes.