Avenue Q

This is an attempt to knock some of the long-run Broadway shows off the list. I desperately want to say that I have seen almost all of the plays/musicals listed in the back of the Playbill, merely for the joy of being able to say it to a neighboring theater goer one night. So, I found myself racing to the theater on a recent Friday night to put my name in for the $20 lottery of which I was one of fourteen lucky winners (and last minute contestant--sorry tourists) for front row seating for the hit Broadway musical Avenue Q.

Very tight front row seating, I might add. We're talking about some of the smallest seats I have yet to sit in, maybe ever. I was sharing space with my neighbors and not by choice, either. So, future lucky winners beware, your $20 will amply cover the amount of space you can call your own for the evening.

That said, the appeal was obvious after about an hour. Any time you place innocent against raunchy, it's funny. Southpark is a good example. The Simpsons even qualifies a little bit. With Avenue Q, you have a double innocent factor working, though. You have the Sesame Street like puppets and you have the Broadway musical factor, both of which are played to somewhat racy extremes moderated by their context.

It seemed overperformed, though. I was in the front row, but I've been in the front row quite a bit. The puppeteers seemed to have memorized a tough routine and were working their way through it. Nothing seemed natural or spontaneous, this is what I mean by overperformed.

The strongest feature was the book. The lyrics were tight and interesting. The songs were catchy. I'm thinking now of "Everybody's a little bit racist" and "He made me a mixed tape," and I could go on.

It was an entertaining enough evening. It was a highly marketable idea, well-executed. It probably wasn't for me, though, in the true sense. It's just not my taste or style. I left a little bit disappointed, and I can't remember why right now. I would certainly never go back again. If it's something you think you will enjoy, you should see it. If you innately know it isn't for you, I'd skip it because it isn't. It's as you think it might be.

Summary: Well executed. Good book. Overperformed. Not for me.