Avenue Q: Laughter rules on this street

Wander over to 9-eyes.com and you can scroll through a swag of various curios that have been photographed by Google Street View.  It’s a safe bet, however, that they ain’t ever come across a street as odd and as wonderful as Avenue Q.

Whether human, puppet, or monster, the tenants of Avenue Q explore life, love (with wonderful and graphic exuberance), and search for their purpose in life.  Princeton (Andrew Hodgson), fresh out of college, is the new puppet on the block, but unsure what he wants to do next.  On the other hand, his neighbour Kate Monster (Alexia Clark) knows what her dream is – opening a school for monsters – but just can’t quite get close to it.

Local and Republican investment banker Rod (Hodgson again) has a seemingly good life, yet harbours a difficult secret underneath his puppet-fabric exterior.  Taking care of the upkeep of these and the other residents is Gary Coleman (Sera Devcich), while Trekkie Monster (Sam Gordon) resides above all of them.

To be sure, actors walking around working puppets will have a level of inbuilt funny, but the guffaws found in Avenue Q are more richer and rewarding than that.  The writing – about discovering that the adult world is a lot more difficult than it seems, or is promised to us as a child – is strong, and the performances superb.

Andrew Hodgson did a spiffing job juggling multiple puppet duties, while Alexia Clark was incendiary with her energy and terrific singing voice.

There were some close-fought battles between the volume from those singing and the music levels but the cast did great work regardless.

The pace is fantastic and the transitions sharp.  If laughter is the best medicine then Avenue Q would easily win in a knife fight with Florence Nightingale.  Admittedly, that’s a rather strange metaphor, but to be honest I’m still giggling from the show and in no fit state to be typing.  It’s simple:  Go see it!