Sometimes luck swings my way and so was the case when I was fortunately provided with an opportunity to review 'Avenue Q' at The National Theatre in St Kilda, presented by AG Theatre.
I am (as they might say) the uninitiated, having never seen the musical beyond clips on social media. I knew it was funny, had songs, puppets and a message – so sign me up!
I was eager to attend and am so glad I did because AG Theatre delivered and then some. Needless to say, 'Avenue Q' is a top-notch, fur-tastic must-see!
AG Theatre this past weekend returned to Melbourne to present 'Avenue Q', which, as pointed out in the programme, 'has no affiliation to 'Sesame Street''. On that note, if you think you’re getting 'Sesame Street', you’re not. This show has more in common with 'Euphoria' than a kids show. There’s full-frontal puppet nudity, sex scenes, and mention of porn – in fact an entire song dedicated to the topic. At the heart of this musical is a message of love, hope and tolerance, particularly around the character of Rob and his journey to the queer community.
In short, a young puppet (Princeton) arrives in the big smoke to live his dream, and you can guess the rest from there. Stand-out performances for me included Rod played by Jonathon Shilling, who had a beautiful balance of dramedy with some truly hilarious moments and then equally sad. The Bad Idea Bears played by Darcy Harris and Perri Espinoza were fantastic and very funny, bringing a lot of laughs along the way. The Bad Idea Bears felt so relatable to anyone who has struggled with what they know they should do and what they really want to do. I also really loved Harley Dasey’s performance as Princeton along with Zoe Crisp as Kate Monster. The naivety coupled with a sense of hope they brought to their characters was really special. Chiew-Jin Khut as Christmas Eve was also excellent. It has to be said that really everyone in this cast was amazing and delivered outstanding performances, vocally and acting wise.
Special mention goes to Alexandra Byrne as Musical Director. Alex really is a multi-talented force of musical nature and her direction on this work was outstanding. Direction from Pip Mushin was also excellent, with what I felt was a really beautiful balance of all the elements from staging to lighting to performance and message. The animated backdrop by Robert Lopez brought a modern element to the story telling whilst the orchestrations and arrangements by Stephen Oremus really complemented the performances. Special mention goes to Adriana Pannuzzo, Choreographer and Assistant Director – I can only imagine the complexity of choreographing puppets!
Overall, the show is definitely worth a night out at the theatre and deserves every single star.
★★★★★
Reviewer's note: I just want to point out that there is a particular etiquette we follow as theatregoers. It’s about being empathetic to others around us. Some rules of this etiquette include not talking at full voice through the entire show, repeatedly getting up and out of your seat to get past people, standing up for a long period impacting the audience’s vision of the stage and generally having a sense of others around you and their needs. The biggest rule is no phones! I am beyond surprised when, even after being told not to get your phone out, people still do! It’s like being on a plane; phone no go, no go phone. This part of the review is for anyone who has ever thought it’s okay to have a full-blown conversation through a show, even if it’s about the show. News flash: that’s what intervals are for, and also, perhaps give some consideration to your performers, who might also be able to hear you talking through their show.
