“Avenue Q” is A-Okay

HARTFORD — For anyone who was grew up with Sesame Street and Jim Henson’s Muppet show, “Avenue Q” hits the sweet spot.
The 2004 Tony-award winning musical’s sweet and straightforward story teaches lessons in how to live a meaningful life full of purpose and direction.
Although not sanctioned by either The Jim Henson Company or Sesame Street, the similarities are unmistakable, with the floozy Lucy filling the Miss Piggy roll, Trekkie Monster, played by the fine David Benoit, filling Cookie Monster’s spot, and Bert and Ernie represented by Rod and Nicky, played by Robert McClure and Benoit.
The story follows the life of college graduate Princeton, also played by the energetic and upbeat McClure, who moves to an outer borough of New York City, to the low-rent district along a street called Avenue Q There he finds other good-natured losers like him who are just trying to make ends meet.
The plot such as it is, follows Princeton’s life as he tries to find what his “purpose” is — just the kind of quest an English Literature major would be searching for.
Some of the actors, like the Holiday-named “Christmas Eve,” played by Sala Iwamatsu and her husband, the near-do-well comic Brian, played by Cole Porter, have no puppet characters. Danielle K. Thomas plays Gary Coleman, a parody of the same-named child actor who in this musical is reduced a building superintendent.
In case anyone is wondering, the real Coleman is not too happy with the musical’s characiture of him.
Iwamatsu has a heavy Japanese accent that is part of her character, but is difficult to understand at times.
The other actors, dressed in black, play multiple puppet roles, with half-bodied puppets — a conceit that takes a little getting used to, and is probably more effective from the balcony seats.
In addition to Benoit and McClure, Anika Larsen was outstanding as the puppeteer and voice of both the innocent kindergarten assistant teacher Kate Monster and the sexy Mae West-like Lucy.
The opening song “It Sucks to be Me,” is definitely the show’s best musical number and the funniest, while the song about racism is an interesting examination of the everyday stereotypes that hurt, told with humor.
While the program notes say that the show is appropriate for children as young as 13, that may be pushing the envelope some.
There is lots of profanity, which is amusing to hear from puppets, but there are also naked puppets having graphic puppet-sex, so perhaps 16 years old would be the youngest age that should attend the show.
The musical also uses two projection flat screens that flash cartoon images along with little lessons, like the meaning of the word “Schaudenfreude” — a German word for experiencing happiness at the misfortune of others. The screens showed its proper pronunciation, etymology, and even examples of how it is used in a sentence.
“Avenue Q” offers grown-up lessons in tolerance and matters of the heart that go down more easily since they are told from the perspective of puppets.


AVENUE Q
Three Stars
Theater: The William H. Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Memorial Center
Location: 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Book by Jeff Whitty. Directed by Jason Moore. Choreographer Ken Roberson. Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. Set design by Anna Louizos. Costume design by Mirena Rada. Lighting design by Howell Binkley. Puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon.
Running time: 2 hours, plus one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through Jan. 18.
Tickets: $20 — $65. Call 860-987-5900 or visit their Web site at www.bushnell.org. Recommended for ages 13 and up.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Robert McClure … Princeton, Rod
Anika Larsen … Kate Monster, Lucy, and others
David Benoit … Nicky, Trekkie Monster, Bear and others
Sala Iwamatsu … Christmas Eve
Cole Porter … Brian
Danielle K. Thomas … Gary Coleman
Maggie Lakis … Mrs. T., Bear, and others