avenue q

On Thursday evening, after our day with Al and our visit to the Empire State Building at dusk, and after our second visit to Yum Yum Too Thai restaurant for a second really yummy Thai supper, we saw Avenue Q at the New World Stages.

This was our fifth of five musicals during our week in New York. The New World Stages is "off-Broadway," not because the other theatres are on the street called Broadway and it is on a different street. It's "off-Broadway" because of the size of the theatre. So it was in a smaller venue than the other shows we saw that week.

You have probably heard about this show. It's touring and in Vancouver right now. There was an article about it in the Sun yesterday. If you haven't heard of it, imagine Sesame Street for grown-ups. Definitely not for children. In the way Sesame Street addresses all of the stuff kids go through, with frank, funny and concrete illustration, Avenue Q looks at the lives of 20-somethings. There are songs like "It Sucks to be Me," and "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." There are lots of references to sex. There is sex (with puppets). When I watched it I felt uncomfortable, and I laughed, and I said, "OK, I can relate." In the show, there are people portraying characters with puppets and people portraying characters as actors, and a strange feeling that everyone is portraying his or her own self. It was weird and wonderful and had some surprising layers of experience and meaning.

Don't take your kids, but if you get a chance to see it, I recommend Avenue Q.

question: Q?

mompoet - Q