‘Avenue Q’ Is Puppetry Of The Purpose!

In this neighborhood, puppets and humans live together on a not so luxurious street in the heart of the Big City. Sound familiar? Well on Avenue Q there is no green grouchy guy in a trash can and there is no yellow bird with a friend with a big snuffle. Instead, this street's puppets include a porn addicted monster, a slutty cabaret singer, a gay investment banker, devilish ‘Bad Idea Bears', a newbie college grad, a kindergarten teacher who wants to open a school exclusively for monsters and of course Gary Coleman, the human who manages the building.

Four years after winning the Tony award for Best Musical (beating out Wicked), Avenue Q has finally arrived in Chicago for a limited run at the Cadillac Palace. This little show took Broadway by storm and created much controversy when, instead of initially mounting a touring company, the show opened in Las Vegas to not so great box office returns. With a hilarious and biting book by Jeff Whitty (Tony winner) and music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (both Tony winners), Avenue Q puts a mirror up to our society covering such topics as racism, sexism and homophobia.

Las Vegas' loss is the country's gain; as the national tour of Avenue Q has an amazingly talented and tight ensemble puppeteer and human cast that immerse themselves in the characters they are playing. The touring cast includes Robert McClurg (Princeton and Rod) who has such amazing stage presence and personality that you totally forget his hand is up the puppet's @$$. Kelly Sawyer (Kate Monster & Lucy The Slut) has an amazing alto belt and her solo (Kate's solo I mean), ‘It's A Fine, Fine Line' is breathtakingly gorgeous. David Benoit (Trekkie, Nicky) is just as fun to watch as his puppet alternates. For the humans on Avenue Q, Angela Ai (Christmas Eve) steals the show every time she takes the stage; Carla Renata (Gary Coleman) has more talent in her little finger then Mr. Coleman has in his entire four foot body and stops the show with ‘Schadenfreude' while understudy Cullen R. Titmas (Brian) resembled Dana Carvey in both his delivery and looks.

Jason Moore's direction is absolute perfection and his ability to move the action along with the humans and puppets is a feat which very few can accomplish. Andrew Graham's musical direction is spot-on and the Avenue Q band, all which travel with the show, are some of the most talented musicians ever put in a pit.

As in the children's television shows that Avenue Q parodies, there is a lesson that the characters learn; that of finding one's ‘purpose' in life. There are not a lot of shows out there that have the ability to make you leave the theatre so uplifted. With the problems we are facing as a country, it is and absolute joy that for two hours in a theatre all problems seem to disappear and we can laugh and learn with furry little puppets with huge hearts. This would be the perfect sit-down show for Chicago!

Avenue Q plays through June 7, 2008 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. For show times and tickets please visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com or www.avenueq.com Avenue Q is also on Facebook;
http://www.facebook.com/people/Avenue_Q_Tour/1188897205