Avenue Q

Do you live on Avenue Q? "Your friends do, too."


Yesterday a group of us went in to the city to watch Avenue Q, a musical that is widely described to be like Sesame Street but for adults. There is a definite truth in that, but it still surprised my friend with its explicitness. So be forewarned: Avenue Q does not just contain adult language but also adult themes. And an adult scene. Accompanied the whole time by an adult song. So yes, Sesame Street for adults.


But I did enjoy it. It was exactly what I expected - funny, cute (at times), vulgar (usually)... I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite, perhaps because I didn't really feel an emotional connection to the characters. Initially I thought the reason may be because the comedy aspect of it was so large in the whole musical that it overshadows serious, emotional parts of it. But then my sister brought up a good point about the whole thing being about puppets. Did that affect the experience? I mean, we all know that the characters we watch on stage are usually fictional, but having actors hold in their hands the main stars of the show is something else entirely. It's metafictional and thus too self-conscious about how realistic the whole musical is.


Don't get me wrong though. I liked the songs and had a great time. But I'd take Wicked or Next to Normal over it.