Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Avenue Q - Theatre Review
I hate using the lazy superlatives in reviewing any piece of theatre but in the case of Avenue Q, I can't find any other words suitable to explain how incisive, clever, funny and, yes, fantastically, wonderfully brilliant this show is.First conceived in 1999 as a musical theatre workshop project, it opened to rave reviews in March 2003 and won the Best Musical Tony in 2004. It’s still running on Broadway and now in Las Vegas and London. Music and lyrics are by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, book is by Jeff Whitty.
A friend explained the concept of the show as “Sesame Street for grown ups”, but it’s much more than that. A sharp script, memorable songs and yes, those engaging puppets come to life in this two hour laugh-in-cum-love-in which makes you feel good, even if it's sometimes at the expense of others (Schadenfreude). Elsewhere, refreshing takes on Political Correctness (Everyone's A Little Bit Racist, If You Were Gay) blend seamlessly with a love song of sorts (There's A Fine, Fine Line) to deliver a delightfully twisted musical even the most hardened LesMisaphobe will love.
Daniel Boys, one of the finalists on Any Dream will Do, delivers a virtuoso performance in two of the male leads with brilliant manipulation of the puppets. After the first five minutes I couldn’t take my eyes off the puppets but somehow was able to follow Daniel's facial expressions which are in turn eerily matched by the puppet he controls.
Joanna Ampil's over the top performance as the formidable Christmas Eve is perfectly judged as is the salacious Julia Atherton who impressively breathes innocence and naughtiness into Kate Monster and Lucy Slut respectively. Tom Parsons played Nicky, porn-mad Trekkie Monster and Bear and captured the outrageous nonsense of it all perfectly.
If you don't see any other West End show this year, make sure you take in Avenue Q before it's current run ends in the spring, you won't be disappointed.
Avenue Q runs at the Noel Coward Theatre, St Martins Lane, London.
www.avenueqthemusical.co.uk
