Review: Avenue Q @ WMC
Avenue Q
Wales Millennium Centre
Tuesday 14th June 2011
In short, Avenue Q was sensational.
If you’re interested in the in-depth analysis however, then you’re in the right place. I have been eager to see Avenue Q for a very long time now but due to school and work, and then uni, I never seemed to have the time to trek all the way up to little ol’ London to see it. How fortunate I, and indeed the collective you, are that this great West End show is now touring the UK.
Set (as you might expect) on Avenue Q, New York, the story follows a young man named Princeton as he leaves college with a BA in English and no plans for the future. After starting off at Avenue A, he finds himself in the only place he can afford, along with a financially unfortunate interracial couple, a porn addict, a closeted homosexual and his lazy, unemployed flatmate. Oh, and Gary Coleman. What could be worse than that?
Well, seeing as you asked, Princeton doesn’t have a lower body as he is a puppet. Oh yes! The large majority of the characters in this musical are puppets! The puppets themselves are something to applaud as each one was crafted masterfully and looks superb. Each character has numerous variations of their puppet form and I dread to think what the backstage area must be like.
The (human) performers handle them wonderfully and often you become so absorbed in the puppets that, due to slick and flowing pupperteering, you can easily forget the performers are there at all. The cast do much more than just control the puppets though. They give the characters voices, and very impressive voices at that. The entire cast have strong vocal abilities although I feel special mention must be given to Rachel Jerram who played Kate Monster, Princeton’s love interest as well as a character called Lucy who is… um, let’s say sexually loose and an unrestrained tart. In many a scene, Rachel’s two puppets meet and watching her change voices so rapidly really was very entertaining and she pulled it off excellently. Her singing voice was beautiful and during certain numbers such as There’s a Fine Fine Line, she had me on the verge of tears whereas when performing as Lucy she had me in stiches singing the brilliant Special.
Another performer who deserves recognition is Adam Pettigrew who did a marvellous job as Princeton and also as Rod, a closet homosexual doing his utmost to ensure nobody suspects his “dark” secret. Again, his vocal ability is superb singing some really heart-warming songs such as What Do You Do with a BA in English? and Purpose as Princeton and had my sides splitting as Rod singing My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada. His characterisation was something that was very apparent to me. Adam’s portrayal of naïve and cautious Princeton was just as convincing as his portrayal of defensive and scared Rod.
I’ll refrain from mentioning how wonderful the whole cast was, because I could talk for a very long time. The whole ensemble piece was wonderful, but I feel I must mention two performers in particular for their team work. Katherine Moraz and Chris Thatcher make a wonderful double act with their pin-point precision promenades across the stage as Nicky all the way to their comic timing as the Bad Idea Bears. They, for me, were two performers who stood out dramatically for their sheer workmanship. They must have spent many an hour rehearsing together.
The show deals with many coming of age issues and issues that we all face in life such as racism, bills, sex, sexuality, porn, alcohol, love, heartbreak as well as many others. It tackles them head on and doesn’t hold back. The show is stupendous.
The music is tremendous, witty, heartfelt, and overall fun. Actually, that goes for the whole show. I thoroughly enjoyed Avenue Q and would like to sincerely thank everyone who is involved in the show. You made my Tuesday night much more interesting than it would have been.
Avenue Q will be in the Wales Millennium Centre until this Saturday 18th June. If you can’t make it… follow them to the Grand Opera House in Belfast, or the King’s Theatre in Glasgow. It matters not how far you have to travel, just so long as you see this brilliant show! Otherwise get tickets here.
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2 Comments – Postiwch sylw
Sam (Sub-Editor)
Rhoddwyd sylw 11 mis yn ôl - 18th June 2011 - 00:16am
Saw the 5.30pm showing and was on the ROFLcopter by 5.33pm
Stormer007
Rhoddwyd sylw 11 mis yn ôl - 18th June 2011 - 11:23am
Ah I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I thought it was great! I hope they come back some time soon!