By Keolanani Kinghorn
In West Jordan, Utah, Sanctuary Theatre Company debuts a brand-new unique performing space with the hilarious and irreverent production, Avenue Q, directed by Connie Beaty. This show is a playful take on Sesame Street’spuppet-human interaction weaved together to teach meaningful lessons. Like Sesame Street, Avenue Q’s residents use puppets and music to teach valuable lessons. However, the story this musical comedy teaches is definitely not meant for younger audiences. I have heard Avenue Q described as the “Rated R version of Sesame Street” and I thought this production matched that critique. But I was also delighted by the honest and relatable life lessons taught through laugh-out-loud moments.
The story follows the puppet Princeton (Luke Logan), a recent college graduate with a meaningless English degree, who is trying to find his purpose in life. Princeton goes out into the world to find a job and apartment, starting his search on Avenue A, but doesn’t have much luck, Finally finds something affordable on the less posh side of town, all the way down on Avenue Q. Princeton’s new neighbors include the love interest Kate Monster (Emma Thomas)— the comedian Brian (Mitch-Allen Johnson), — this play’s version of Sesame Street’s Bert, Rod (Tobias Flenderson), This play’s version of Ernie, Nicky (Lorrinda Christensen/Michael Thrall), Christmas Eve (Jason Sin), the apartment superintendent and former child actor Gary Coleman (McKenna Jensen/Rossy Thrall), this play’s version of Cookie Monster, Trekkie Monster (Kevin F. Pope/Robert Johnston) except this monster is obsessed with something more adult than cookies.
While Princeton tries to discover his purpose, he finds himself being distracted by Bad Idea Bears (Cat Norrell, Robert Johnston, Kevin F. Pop) and occasionally by Lucy the Slut (Alysia Tsuyuki/April Tuiolosega). This gets Princeton and others in trouble from time to time, but with the help of his friends, Princeton realizes life is not a destination, it is a journey and he has to accept the things he cannot avoid to find happiness.
Sanctuary Theatre Company is a tiny space that was clearly not meant to be a theater. But I appreciate the creativity that went into making this space into a performing arena. Walking into it was a fun experience for me as a reviewer to observe how they utilized every nook and cranny to maximize their square footage and potential. I particularly enjoyed the unique second level that functioned as an almost roof or outdoor space. This fine device could only be accessed on stage by a metal ladder, but allowed actors to enter and exit the stage through it. In addition to directing, Beaty took on the bulk of the creative work in this show, serving as the Puppet and Costume Designer, Lights and Set Designer and part of the Set Construction, along with Michael Thrall.
For a community theatre show, I was really pleased with the quality of this production. Musical Director Christensen did a great job balancing the sound of the cast. While many of the songs feature one character, this show is really about the ensemble and those full ensemble numbers were probably my favorite, The cast really play off of each other, blend well, and have fun onstage.
Logan and Thomas, who puppet Princeton and Emma, do a phenomenal job both acting and voicing them. Their interactions onstage are some of my favorite moments because they both possess the perfect comedic timing in their awkward flirting and find ways to make their puppet life-like and stand out immediately. Not to mention, they both have killer voices.
Flenderson and Thrall play the puppets Rod and Nicky, or the Bert and Ernie wannabes. Flenderson has a gorgeous tenor voice and is a natural with the puppet. Thrall has the perfect Ernie voice to compliment Flenderson. Together they are delightful.”
The non-puppet/human characters in this show bring the comedic gold: Thrall, who plays Gary Coleman, has the smoothest voice, comedic chops for days and is probably the only character that could get away singing, “You can be as loud as the hell you want when you’re making love.” Johnson and Sin play Brian, who opens the show with “It Sucks to Be Me” and Christmas Eve, an engaged (non-puppet) couple who brings so much comedic relief. Christmas Eve’s attitude and sass is delightful. One of my favorite songs of the show was sung by Sin. it had me rollin’ it was so relatable: “The more you love someone, the more he make you crazy. The more you love someone, the more you wishing him dead!”
Avenue Q addresses real-life themes like losing a job, learning about racism, struggling to find affordable housing, being different, falling in love, promiscuity, avoiding commitment, hangovers, internet porn, and discovering the world. Filled with humor and a delightfully catchy score, and of course, loveable puppets, Avenue Qis a quirky and unique show. This show addresses adult issues, yet it does in a comical, feel-good way. In the end, like Sesame Street, we find that perhaps puppets can be our friends, monsters are good, and life lessons are different than we expected.
A review by Front Row Reviewers. Avenue Q., Book by Jeff Whitty Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
Sanctuary Theatre Company, 1721 W 7600 S, West Jordan, UT 84084
Contact: 385-296-1495, sanctuarytheaterco@gmail.com
Tickets: $12
May 12, 7:00 PM – May 27, 9:30 PM
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Avenue Q. originally produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre, and The New Group. Produced through special arrangements with Musical Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
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