Avenue Q show clever, colourful and quirky

Anyone who grew up with Sesame Street, The Muppet Show or the Care Bears will get a real kick out of this.

Last year's regional theatre award-winning director Phil Anstis works his magic on this classic alt-Broadway musical comedy, with its mixed cast of humans and puppets exploring what it means to be a grown-up in an uncertain world.

This adult homage to childhood TV makes no attempt to hide the puppeteers as they infuse their felt furbies with presence and personality in full view.

Now that he has a degree, cloistered college grad Princeton finds the only rent he can afford is down the alphabet at Avenue Q.

The superintendent of the rundown tenement block is Gary Coleman, a character based on the actor who played Arnold "Wha'chu talkin' about, Willis?" Jackson in 80s TV sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes.

Princeton's new neighbours include fur babe Kate Monster, humans Brian and his partner Christmas Eve, puppet flatties Nicky and Rod, and the porn-addicted Trekkie Monster.

Parallels with kids TV shows add to the irony of a bright promise-filled, anything-is-possible childhood and adolescence rubbing up against an uncompromising and uncaring world.

Mind you, this stage version of the mean old world is pretty sanitised. While there are Bad Idea Bears, racial prejudice, sexual uncertainty and a rental crisis, there are no drugs, prostitutes, pimps, gangs, shootings, stabbings, rapes or taggers and in traditional romantic musical comedy style, there's a warm fuzzy ending.

As Kate Monster, Jessie Feyen pours herself into the role whole-heartedly, capturing and conveying its emotional essence in a performance notable for its vocal and facial expressiveness.

Newcomer Tom Sawade is equally immersed in the character of Princeton, articulating the puppet and his voice with clarity and panache.

Supported by Kieran Murphy and Lorna Stanley, together playing Nicky, Leon Bristow adds a distinctive vocal signature to Rod as the obviously closet gay puppet.

Brightly-shirted Chris Thompson features as Brian the wannabe comedian, with Erica Ward as Lucy the Slut, Sharon McCann as Christmas Eve and Maggie Malone as Gary Coleman.

It's a great cast and this clever, colourful and quirky production sung to a sound-track is smooth, fluent and hardly puts a foot wrong.

(Richard Mays)