Avenue Q

Peter E.

February 21, 2010 - 8:24 PM

It's pretty scary how well this Broadway musical captures my whole consciousness in song (and foam puppets). Today my roommate Jeff, my girlfriend Melissa, and I went downtown to see Avenue Q. Avenue Q is the story of a puppet named Princeton, a 22 year old recent college grad, that moves into an affordable New York City neighborhood because "Avenues A-P were too pricey." Princeton and his newfound neighbors struggle with matters including love, employment, idealism, racism, and internet porn. As the last struggle may suggest, this is a comedy.

The Hult Center audience was rolling the entire show with the well scripted humor. With songs such as "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "The Internet is for Porn," Avenue Q was very well done. It was absolutely incredible to see the the creators take the Sesame Street/Muppets aesthetic and convert it into adult humor.

Although it was a comedy, the musical does have serious undertones of race relations, coming out of the closet, settling down, and finding contentment with your career. In many ways this hit very close to home. The play both begins and ends with the song "What Do You Do with a B.A. In English?" In 15 weeks I'll have my B.A. in English, and I have many of the same inner struggles as Princeton: moving to a new city, starting a career, maintaining a serious relationship, and finding my "purpose."

Though the musical elicited many feelings of discontentment and confusion both in the characters and myself, it was a realistic snapshot of life that concluded with an optimistic message. Plus, I feel that I'm in a much better position that Princeton: I have a job lined up (that I want), and I have more direction. Nonetheless, it was a great way to confront some of my uneasiness while laughing at puppets portraying my uneasiness and putting it all in perspective. Without a doubt, I strongly recommend getting tickets to Avenue Q if it comes to your city.