Stroll down Mercury's home-grown, Broadway-calibur "Avenue Q."

The cast of "Avenue Q." Photo by Brett Bener.

Cross-posted from broadwayworld.com

A lot has happened since “Avenue Q” defied the odds to beat out a certain heavily-favored, green skinned witch for the Tony award for best musical 10 years ago. Technology and social media sites have come and gone (compact disks have yielded to mp3 players; MySpace and Ask Jeeves are about as relevant as an AOL email account these days). Stock markets have crashed, rebounded, crashed again and rebounded.

With his Oscar earlier this year for “Frozen,” “Avenue Q” co-composer Robert Lopez even claimed his EGOT crown (so named as Mr. Lopez has successfully won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony). It might “suck to be you” as a certain lyric from “Avenue Q” goes, but it certainly does not suck to be Mr. Lopez at this moment in time.  

Is the puppet nudity and adult humor of this homage to “Sesame Street” still culturally relevant? You bet your felt covered butt it is!

You can thank our anemic economy.  While “Sesame Street” gently prepared several generations of preschoolers to navigate the playground, Mercury Theater’s home-grown, Equity  production of “Avenue Q,” remains current as it tackles the difficulties of job hunting, unemployment and the dating pool for twenty, thirty and forty-somethings. 

The emotional heart of the show (book by Jeff Whitty and music and lyrics by Lopez and Jeff Marx) has always been with Kate Monster, who dreams of both the perfect boyfriend and opening a “Monster-sorri” school . Under the direction of L. Walter Stearns, Mercury’s production still thankfully wears its sweet heart on its sleeve. Much like “Sesame Street,” Stearns has succeeded in mounting a Brodway-caliber production that manages to feel somewhat irreverent and good-natured at the same time. 

Leah Morrow as Kate Monster. Photo by Brett Bener.

The original puppets by Russ Walko bear an uncanny resemblance to most of their actor counterparts and you’ll be hard-pressed to tell puppet from puppeteer.

As Kate Monster, Leah Morrow is appropriately sweet and vulnerable. You can almost feel her furry heart break as she sings about the fine line between being lovers and friends.

Jackson Evans as Princeton. Photo by Brett Bener.

As Princeton, Jackson Evans is charming as he stumbles in both love and finding his life’s purpose. 

Adam Fane finds some great comedic moments as the highly-strung, closeted Republican Rod. Daniel Smeriglio is the perfect foil to Rod as Rod’s roommate (and unrequited love) Nicky. Smeriglio, along with Stephanie Herman, has some fine comedic moments as The Bad Idea Bears.

As Christmas Eve, the Japanese therapist with no “cry-ents,” Christine Bunuan deserves a Jeff. Her Christmas Eve is easily my favorite (and I’ve seen both the Original Broadway cast, the replacement cast and the touring company productions of the show). Her rendition of “The More you Ruv Someone” is side-splitting and worth the price of your ticket alone. 

Thom Van Ermen draws some of the other biggest laughs of the night as Trekkie Monster. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise; if there is one thing about the show that is still current, it’s that the Internet is still for porn.

“Avenue Q” is a must-see for teens and adults.

Mercury Theater's production of "Avenue Q" runs through June 29 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport. Tickets $20-$59. www.mercurytheaterchicago.com or 773.325.1700

 

Nightblue's "Avenue Q" a pleasant surprise

The cast of Nightblue Performing Arts Company's "Avenue Q"


Suburban-based Nightblue Performing Arts Company isn't exactly a known commodity in the Chicago theater community, but I suspect that will soon change on the bases of their production of the Tony award-winning musical "Avenue Q." Acting, singing, choreography, production values and orchestration elements were all high, well exceeding the $30 ticket price. The bar has been set high for their next Chicago endeavor, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The show is a loving spoof and homage to children's television programs (specifically "Sesame Street," but there are also jokes referencing "The Electric Company" and others). Naive, wide-eyed recently college graduate Princeton (Adam Fane) finds himself on the Avenue after starting at Avenue A and continuing to move down through both streets and alphabet letters until he finds a neighborhood that he can afford. Q is home to an idealistic teaching assistant Kate Monster (Casi Maggio) who dreams of opening a special school for monsters (a Monsterssori), happy-go-lucky intellectual Nicky (Jason Richards Smith), Nicky's uptight, closeted, Republican roommate Rod (Fane), a would-be therapist Christmas Eve (Kate Garassino), her unemployed, ne'er-do-well fiance Brian (Alex Heika), resident porn sexpert Trekkie Monster (Smith) and the down-on-his luck former child star and now superintendent Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman and played by David Robbins).

Adam Fane as Princton in "Avenue Q"

In the dual role of Princeton and Rod, Fane is equal parts charming, boy next door and repressed, ranging closet case. Fane is able to switch characters quickly and each has their own unique mannerisms, singing voice and speaking voice.

As Kate Monster, Casi Maggio is the heart of the show. She has a lovely voice that is powerful when it needs to be, yet she is able to capture Kate's vulnerability as well.

As Nicky and Trekkie Monster, Jason Richards Smith lands all of the comedic moments. His Trekkie is less creepy and more lovable. Despite his computer addiction, you want to just give him a hug.

As Christmas Eve, Garassino manages to be more than just a racial stereotype for laughs. Her nuanced performance of "The More You Ruv Someone" was both heartfelt and funny.

Heika has less to do as Brian (the fault of the script and not his acting or vocal talent). Double casting him as one of the Bad Idea Bears was sheer genius as it gave him more opportunity to display his comedic timing.

Several other things set things apart from usual productions of this show. The most noticeable is the company's decision to create their own puppets as opposed to renting them. With the exception of Lucy the slut, the puppet designs by Noah Ginex bare little resemblance to those used on Broadway (the same puppets people usually rent). As a result, the production is able to forge its own identity.

The second was director David E Walter's decision to forgo puppets for the Bad Idea Bears (a trio of mischievous minor characters in the show). Actors don teddy bear costumes and we can see their facial expressions (obviously far more expressive than a puppet's).

The third thing is Mike Mendiola's choreography. While the original Broadway production had some dancing, there is more of it here. Though it is the puppeteer whose feet are moving, rather than separating us from puppet, in some strange way it feels like the puppeteer's feet are an extension of the puppet.

The end result was a smaller production that almost rivaled its Broadway counterpart. No easy feat for any company, let alone one trying to establish itself in the competitive Chicago market.

Nightblue Performing Arts Company's "Avenue Q" runs through Oct. 14 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont. Tickets, $27-$30. Call 773-327-5252. nightbluetheater.com