Puppets in search of Purpose (Pandora Productions)

Apr 8

4 min read

Avenue Q Music & Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

Book by Jeff Whitty Director: Gil Reyes A review by Beth Beck

*Disclaimer: Avenue Q incorporates topics of sex, pornography, crude language, race, and other mature content.

Welcome to Avenue Q! Pandora Production's current offering is an R-rated musical that invites you into a Sesame Street-style parody of the world at large. Get ready to meet the monster next door, the grumpy neighbor, the one that got away and, well... puppets singing comically lewd songs. If you liked Team America: World Police, you’ll love this.

It’s a musical that won the Tony Award for Best Musical for good reason: it’s relatable! We follow the main character Princeton (played by Tony Smith) as he moves to New York and forms new relationships. Tony Smith is a well-known entertainer around town who is multi-faceted and never fails to impress as Princeton.

Princeton begins the show asking,

“What do you do with a BA in English?”

Well, what do any of us do with our life skills? See? Relatable.

While initially wide-eyed and innocent, Princeton inevitably learns how to empathize with others while doing some significant soul-searching. He represents the path we all inevitably follow in life. We grow alongside him and the rest of the neighborhood. The struggles of finding work, love, autonomy, and “Purpose” in life are what this show is all about. Luckily, the tough stuff is followed up with empathy, compassion, and well-placed dark humor.

This modernized adaptation flourished as a result of the entire cast's creative choices. It was remarkable to see how the performers were able to make a joke within a joke. They utilized the puppets to perform one role while simultaneously putting their own spin on a different topic. The set is reminiscent of Rent, which Pandora produced in recent seasons, and the lighting crew properly paid homage to previous adaptations of Avenue Q.

The ensemble pulls together every loose tie in life with intentional poetic justice. The Bad Idea Bears (played by Sean Turley and Kate Holland Ballowe) represent the bad thoughts that egg us on to making poor choices in life.

Those bears will haunt my dreams, that’s kind of the point though. We all have little demons and angels on our shoulders, metaphorically speaking. “They did a great job!” is what I’ll earnestly tell my counselor.

"There's a Fine Fine Line” between a lover and a friend as Kate Monster (played by Shelby Allison Brown) informs us. This theatrical production manages to help you find both if you simply look up and smile at the person next to you. Have you ever heard someone perform a song so well that you can’t help but get it stuck in your head? Just wait for Shelby Allison Brown’s version. You will want to listen to the Original Cast Recording of Avenue Q after hearing Brown and wish it was Pandora's cast singing it again.

Christmas Eve (played by Kristina Nguyen) gave a particularly spectacular performance with “The More You Ruv Someone.” They were able to switch between their own artistic skills for the role and the role's necessity for unilateral identity.

On Avenue Q, various characters pop in and out to voice their opinions and add comedic effect to the main plot line as the show progresses. If you don’t know what “Rule 34” means, I’d recommend looking it up after Trekkie Monster (played by David Galloway) pops out the window to inadvertently enlighten the audience and neighborhood.

At one point I thought the mic was turned off as a slipup for Lucy (played by Louisa Lauren). Golly, was I wrong! Lauren has such a stellar vocal range and ability to project that a mic was simply not needed for that scene. This cast and crew nailed the performance!

Theater offers us the opportunity to get out of our heads. Avenue Q wholesomely comments on our society in a manner that we all can sympathize with. It invites humans, monsters, puppets, and the few and far between to take an introspective look at uncomfortable topics we face daily. They do this by flavoring it with a healthy dose of absurdist humor.

Kermit taught us: It’s Not Easy Being Green.

Avenue Q teaches us that “Everyone's a little Bit Racist” sometimes. It also allots you the opportunity to learn, live better, love more, and grow.

This show is going to sell out so get your seats before someone else does. That being said, you’d find a chair or standing room regardless because, in all fairness, you got out of the house! You went there. So did that new friend you’re about to make. After all: “There Is Life Outside Your Apartment.”

Avenue Q Pandora Productions April 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 at 7:30pm

April 27 at 5:30pm

April 13 at 2:30pm

Henry Clay Theater 604 S 3rd Street Louisville KY 40202

pandoraprods.org