Avenue Q

Many thanks to Preston Musical Comedy for inviting me to see their production of Avenue Q on Friday 15th July 2023 at the Preston Playhouse. This show, written by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, is a laugh-a-second comedy combining puppetry with musical theatre in a style au fais with Sesame Street & uses humour to hold the mirror up to the audience on some really controversial, & still topical themes, such as Racism, Mental Health & LGBTQ+ matters. It tells the story of Princeton, a fresh-out of University Graduate who finds an available apartment on fictitious Avenue Q. Here we meet his new neighbours, & his future love interest, Kate Monster. Along the way, we follow this love story, as well as sub-stories from the other characters, all while Princeton tries to define his life’s purpose.

Directed by Hannah Bates & Mark Howard, I was reminded of how I fell in love with this production when I first watched it in 2006. There was such a genuine rapport between all of the cast, who blended well & worked as a strong unit to deliver an epic night’s entertainment. There was an awesome pace to the production, but with so very clever interjections of long pauses which allowed for the characters’ thought processes to be resolved, & also, gave the audience time to rest. Both of these made the next punchline hit harder. The choreography was interwoven into the fabric of the production, & it was hard to define the parts I would call choreography versus staging, either way, the piece was constantly moving & finding unique ways to fill the space, keeping it constantly visually intriguing. For those who performed as puppets, it was very clear that they were comfortable & confident with acting with them, for the most part, I found myself watching the puppets, as opposed to the actor behind them, which is where the focus should be. I think what made this performance stand out to me was the attention to detail added to the production that was surplus to the script. During the entire production, we had a flickering light up in Trekkie’s bedroom, simulating the adult movies he was watching, this did not stop for the entire production (the filthy monster!). Immediately before the overture, a light in one of the upstairs turned on & we had a toilet flush. These details added additional layers to the production, which truly were the cherry on top, especially for those who are quite familiar with the show.

Ed Rugman did a terrific job as Musical Director for the production. He led a 6 person-strong band to this epic score. Some of the band must have been playing multiple instruments as the richness of the music was much more than 6 instruments & there was not a note misplaced. What Ed undertook with the vocals was nothing short of outstanding, Personally, I have had this soundtrack playing on repeat for the past 15 or so years, from many different cast recordings. Ed took the music to places that were unique to this production, with a blend of harmonies, heightened dynamics, & long pauses in the same vein as mentioned above. I particularly loved the soundscape which was inserted whilst Trekkie Monster made his way down from his flat, which provided me an almost visual image of every step he took whilst making his way from his flat to the street, before appearing onstage. One of my favourite numbers in the whole show is ‘Go Back to College,’ a trio sung by Princeton, Nicky & Kate Monster. I had tingles as this was delivered onstage. The vocal arrangements were perfect with the harmonies sliding with the chord progressions perfectly.

The set was a detailed construction of the front of 6 apartments on Avenue Q with functional front doors & windows upstairs. Trucks were used throughout to depict different locations, including vertical made-up beds,  a bar for the Round the Clock Cafe, & the interior of Princeton’s apartment. Props were of similar quality, looking authentic & of a high standard. Lighting & sound was also to a high standard, for the most part, the stage was thoroughly washed with a flood. & then poignant moments were highlighted with thematic hues with gobos to add texture. Costumes were black for the actors using puppets & costumes fitting to the characters for the actors who were not. I loved that the blacks were in the style of the characters, such as a figure-hugging dress with lace sleeves for Lucy the Slut, & a buttoned-up shirt for Rod, again, great attention to detail was provided across all design & technical elements.

Now on to the cast, what a talented bunch of humans Preston Musical Comedy found to cast this show. As a general comment, to me, Avenue Q is very much an ensemble piece,  there was so much solidarity & cohesion between the cast, and the work drove forwards with everyone together; each moment was executed with precision, and there were no weak links. 

Princeton was played by Charlie Drury who led the musical very well giving a solid, charming version of the character throughout. His voice was impeccable & each musical number was delivered with ease. Kate Moster was played by Oliva Humpage who provided a version of this character I have not seen before, almost. Kate probably has the biggest emotional ride throughout the show, & she took this in all directions possible, often flitting between emotions within the space of a breath, providing a very layered, hysterical characterisation, with lots of depth. A stunning vocal performance which flip-flopped between vocal techniques throughout, showing her range, skill & control.

Nicky & Rod were played by Aaron Owen and Jack Price who showed off their skill sets in these roles. Both were played with high energy and brought great animation to manipulate their puppets. Lucy the Slut was played by Nikee Rolfe who delivered a stunning, sultry version of ‘Special.’ I loved how the puppetry extended through her physicality as she glided and sashayed through the stage with slinky hips. Trekkie Monster was played by Bruce McLaren who delivered very well and almost gave a modest version of this character. Trekkie is au fais with Cookie Monster, so speaks with a low-pitch-gutteral, gravelly sound, which Bruce created well. On top of which, his vocal skill in song shone through providing a nice undertone to this.

Christmas Eve was played by Joyce Foster who provided an extremely skilled version of this character.  It was captivating to see how she progressed this character from her previous run in the role. I felt she took the character to greater dimensions of polar emotions, giving more charge to the character. Her voice is stunning and she demonstrated her versatility throughout the show. Opposite her played by Daniel Haresnape as Brian who did a great job at creating a loveable, relatable character, he provided some comical moments and showed us some funky dance moves during his number 'I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today.' Gary Coleman was played by Shannon Michelle who was outstanding in this role. From start to finish when Shannon was onstage she truly radiated. I loved the way she embodied every piece of dialogue, utilising her who body throughout, enabling this human character to match the animation qualities of the puppets. She truly is a triple threat to watch, although there was little dance in the production, each movement she made was very articulate and defined. A note of technique, at one point I noted her holding an attitude arabesque which resolved in a kick to the front, I thought “Wow, she is very good,” I believe in Schadenfreude, which was another highlight of the show for me, Her vocals skills are also en pointe, belting some sweet high-top notes on descant with ease. 

The Bad Idea Bears were played by Kirsty Chapman & Jake Pulley who were radiant in these roles. They brought both the innocence and the troublesome qualities of these bears to life. They were both very animated throughout. Finishing the cast were Abigail Bolton, Miranda Rutherford, Sheena Orchin & Hattie Pridmore who played all other smaller roles and ensemble parts, including being a second-hand for some of the 2 person puppets.

Thanks again for this wonderful performance Preston Musical Comedy, I had a great night. I’m very much looking forwards to the Panto season to watching their version of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs.

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