by Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman
Each day theaters all across New York City are abuzz with performances that involve cute, cuddly puppets and marionettes who sing sweet songs and teach about accepting yourself for who you are and Avenue Q at New World Stages is no different. Um, actually, that’s not really true. Sure, Avenue Q, winner of the Tony award for best musical, score and book does involve adorable puppets. And they do sing songs about self-acceptance. But they’re really not that sweet. In fact, they’re pretty raunchy. Yup, these puppets have no problem belting out four-letter words and singing songs about porn. I recently attended Avenue Q’s 11 year anniversary performance and was swooned by the side-splitting performance.
Avenue Q deals with issues many young people face today: trying to make it in the real world, figuring out jobs, friendships and relationships. At the heart of the story is a character who, fresh out of college, is the new kid on the block and the relationship he develops with his attractive next-door neighbor.
The book in Avenue Q is surprisingly current and is equally funny as thought-provoking. The music, written by Jeff Marx, we well as Robert Lopez (of Frozen fame) is just as raunchy and funny as the dialogue. It’s also very catchy but because of the content you might not want to have it blasting out of your car or singing along when you’re at the gym. Just to give you an idea, some of the song titles are “Everyone Is a Little Bit Racist” and “I’m not Wearing Underwear Today”.
But there’s more to the show than just raunchy humor. There’s a real element of nostalgia when you look at the puppets and see yourself 10 or 15 years ago struggling with similar issues. The incredibly talented cast uses their entire body to bring the puppets to life and this, along with the content of the show and the dialogue makes them almost come to life in an eerie yet entertaining way. I admit, there were times I was forgetting these were just puppets with only half a body.
There’s a reason Avenue Q is one of the longest-running shows currently playing. It’s relatable, funny, quirky and has fun, catchy songs. Just be careful because you might catch yourself singing “The Internet is for Porn” when you’re washing dishes.
Avenue Q is currently playing at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, NY. Click here to purchase tickets.
I was not compensated for this post. I received tickets to the show.
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman is the owner of Mama’s Bites and has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for thirteen years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 7, 5 and 1) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier.
Leave a Reply