Avenue Q

Formerly Chatswood Musical Society, the recently re-named North Shore Theatre Company’s production of the hilarious musical with puppets, Avenue Q, was a laugh a minute, with a great cast performance, allowing for some technical difficulties opening night.

The 2004 Tony Award winner for Best Musical is an R rated show and the announcement to begin the show alerted the audience to this. Definitely not a show for kids, the content, language and graphic imagery throughout proved this. Set aside the rating and the show itself is one you can just relax and not have to think too hard about, with characters like Princeton - the new fresh face just out of college puppet - who opens the show looking for a place to rent on Ave Q. Meeting Garry Coleman the superintendent (yes the same role from 80’s Diff’rent Strokes) is a bit left field, but just seems to work. Princeton moves into the vacant apartment and encounters many other puppets and two other human characters. These include Kate Monster - who’s looking to find love, Rod and Nicky – two puppets who share an apartment, Trekkie Monster, the Porn addict, and humans Christmas Eve and her fiancé Brian.

Smaller roles of significance that drop in and out of the show are Lucy, “the star” singer/night time entertainer puppet, and The Bad Ideas Bears who play on both Princeton and Kate’s consciousness.

The musical score has some hit songs that you can’t help tapping your feet along to including “It Sucks to be me”, sung brilliantly by the company, with a very Sesame Street tone to it.  “If you were gay” by both Nicky and Rod (Cam Ralph and Issac Downey) was a standout vocally and acting-wise – with a ‘have to be seen’ side splitting dream sequence. There were also some not be forgotten harmonies in “There’s A Fine Fine Line”, performed by Laura Dawson and Suzanne Chin as Kate and Christmas Eve.

The score was played by a small band that sounded a bit light on at times, but didn’t falter a note the entire show. Lead by MD Philip Eames as conductor and keyboard player, the band deserve to be commended for the way they played but could have had better supported by placement of speakers and sound operation.

First time Director Peter Meredith’s staging of the show in the small but beautiful theatre at The Independent was in patches a stroke of genius. Stated in the programme, some things worked and others didn’t in the rehearsal space, more blocking worked in performance than not. The box set that never changed apart from props on and off could have been more eye catching and the use of the TV screen onstage amongst the set – instead of at sides - hampered actors’ movements especially in full company numbers.

The art of the actors moving the puppets etc was highly entertaining and all working them did great jobs.

Choreography by Laura-Beth Wood was terrific and gelled together nicely with the movement of the puppets; all cast seemed to handle the chorey, well with two specific numbers - “There Is Life Outside Your Apartment” and The Finale “For Now” - having high energy and memorable steps.

The company as a whole excelled in their performances, stronger performances shone. Suzanne Chin as Christmas Eve (the racist/ therapist role) had some of the best one-liners in the show and delivered them all perfectly and with great timing. She had one of the more powerful voices in musical. Master voice work and puppet handling brilliance was evident most from Cam Ralph as Nicky. The main romance in the show stems from the Princeton/Kate Monster relationship and while Laura Dawson as Kate kept trying to boost the chemistry in scenes, more was needed from Peter Davidson’s Princeton to make it seem more real. With not a lot of stage time, Miriam Gonzaga as Lucy commanded attention and her number “Special” had just the right amount of brashness the number needed.

Sound was a real let down as at times the band were too loud for cast to be heard and at other times not loud enough. One moment in act two, where cast were heard off stage, was terrible and just shouldn’t happen. Hopefully this was sorted after opening night.

The entire company have done a wonderful job with this tricky show, with the added element of puppetry. Get out to see it whilst it’s still playing in North Sydney.

James Russell

Photographer: Alan Roy