LIFE ON AVENUE Q! / SEPT. 15,2007

If you do not have tickets to Avenue Q in your possession at this very moment, drop everything and get one now! With word-of-mouth travelling at the speed of light, it would probably be a feat in itself to get one (let alone two if you're going to take a date =)).

The local adaptation is brought to us by the same group that staged the much-applauded RENT almost eight years ago, and may I say, Bobby Garcia is once again in top form as he draws out the best performances from his actors--real-life human beings and puppets alike. Haha!

I admittedly did not know much about Avenue Q, but I have--quite honestly--never met a musical I didn't like. Still, when Pao (my officemate) started peddling tickets at the office, I had to think hard about going. First off, the tickets are not exactly cheap at P1,250 a pop. Second, Hubby Sweet has yet to meet a musical that he liked! I suppose, he just did not see the point in people breaking out into song when they can just, heck, converse like normal people do! Hahaha. Still, the fact that it was awarded Best Musical @ the 2004 Tony Awards ought to count for something. It did not take much for me to decide to reserve tickets. I would, of course, want to see it with the Hubby, but if push comes to shove and he decided to just spend the night playing tennis instead of watching some puppet sing, I'm pretty sure I can goad some of my girlfriends (or even Sister Pusjing) to watch it with me. Thankfully, it only took two words to convince Hubby Sweet that the play may be worth watching.

Tony Awards? Nope.

Best Musical? Uh....no.

Rachel Alejandro. Yes! HAHAHA! =D

Thankfully, as soon as the play started, it stopped being about Rachel and it started being about the entire play. Avenue Q is a relatively simple story about the ups and downs of life and love. It's a deceptively simple story about the characters' search for meaning as they navigate through the choppy waters of life after they leave the relatively structured confines of "the university". For the first time in their lives, they have no schedule to follow, no particular direction they are required to take. For the first time in their lives, they are free to go where they want to go. The flipside of the coin, however, is that for the first time in their lives, they also realize that they do not know exactly where they want to go, and what exactly it is that they really want to do. All of us know this story. We have, after all, lived through it at a certain point in our lives. I suppose that's where the charm of Avenue Q lies. All of us, at one point or another, have lived on Avenue Q. To a certain extent, a lot of us, on certain occasions, still probably do.

Still, Avenue Q does not dwell on the dark side of such uncertain times. If any, as we are all wont to do, it takes a humorous look at the adventures and misadventures of the main characters as they experiment with life. I mean, I'm fairly sure the audience was gagging up with laughter not only because they thought the lines were witty and that the actors were hilarious. I'm fairly sure I speak not only for myself when I say every laughter I blurted out last Saturday was an offshoot of me seeing a little bit of myself and my friends in each of the characters. I laughed because I remembered going through what the characters are going through, and realized that although those years can undoubtedly be classified as the worst-of-times as far as life direction is concerned, they are also decidedly the best-of-times for cultivating lifelong friendships and exploring just how far in life one is willing to go.

Hubby Sweet's eyes lit up, shining like those of a kid in front of a Christmas tree, as soon as the ensemble launched into the opening track. I suppose no long reviews would be necessary if you heard him say, "Tweet, I'm glad I came. I was all set to sleep. I never thought I can actually enjoy a musical!" Hahaha! =)

That's because Avenue Q is not just a musical. It's great fun! The PR blurbs say "Rent meets Sesame Street". No description could have been more apt. Although the human actors lend their voices and their emotions, the puppets are the true stars of the show. Still, I can't help but applaud the performers. I've always liked Rachel Alejandro. Lending her voice to two characters, Kate Monster (a teacher's assistant with a sweet, sing-songy tone) and Lucy the Slut (think Asia Agcaoili as a puppet with a smoky, seductive voice), Rachel once again confirmed my belief that she has one of the best and most versatile voices in the industy (except that her voice is not as hyped up as...uh...the vocal screeching of Asia's songbird, hehe). Felix Rivera was a delight in another "dual" role as Princeton (the man-puppet caught in the middle of Kate and Lucy) and as Rod, the closet gay puppet who is in love with his straight best-bud, Nicky. Joel Trinidad was equally impressive as he navigates and stretches his vocal chords to voice out Nicky, Rod's straight roommate (shades of Bert and Ernie =)), Trekkie the Monster (think Cookie Monster hooked on internet porn) and the cutesy-seemingly-nice-but-cunning "Bad Idea Bears" who are out to derail any attempt by the lead characters to do anything meaningful and productive. (Princeton: "I have to go and look for my purpose..... " Bad Idea Bears: "That can wait! Have a beer. It ain't bad to celebrate! After all, you've earned the right to celebrate!" I'm paraphrasing of course, but at one point or another, I'm sure you've had a conversation with your own bad-idea-bears. Haha!)

The "human actors" were equally impressive. Throughout the entire play, I actually looked forward to the scenes with Christmas Eve (the Japanese clinical psychiatrist who works in a Korean grocery store), hilariously played by Frenchie Dy. Now I've rooted for Frenchie during her Star-In-A-Million phase and knew that she CAN sing, but I didn't know she can be THAT funny. Man, talk about perfect comic timing! Hahaha. =) I can't remember who played her boyfriend or what his character's name was, but I hope I will be forgiven (not!). How can I not remember?! It was probably because I was rolling half the time anyone said his name. Hay! Still the biggest revelation for me was Aiza Seguerra who stepped into the shoes of Gary Coleman (yes, THE Gary Coleman of Different Strokes). I know Aiza from Eat Bulaga and from all the M-Zet B-Movies. I know Aiza as the acoustic singer. That was the first time I met Aiza, the stage actor. She was good! Really, really good! For a good 2-1/2 hours, you forget that she's Aiza, the childstar. (I actually forgot that she was really female!) For a good 2-1/2 hours, you do manage to believe that she is Gary Coleman (even if she was NOT made-up to look like him, even if she still looked like Aiza).

All told, life on Avenue Q is a blast! Get your hands on those tickets. NOW! =)


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ETC. - I was telling an officemate earlier about Avenue Q. Anchief found the creative melding of human actors and puppets interesting and asked, "Do you think it's something that my kids will enjoy?" YES! Hahaha! BUT I suggest you do NOT bring the kids along. As the poster rightfully warned, there IS full frontal puppet nudity. HAHAHA!!! I suppose it's the only way one can get away with a full sex scene on stage without being taken to task by the big-bad-censors. Hilarious! I still have tears in my eyes from laughing. HAHA! 'P