Morally Offensive -Musical- of the Week

"Avenue Q" - This "Sesame Street for grown ups" made had a one night stand at Jesse Hall tonight and my wife and I were lucky enough to score some tickets for this Tony Award winning musical. This musical tells the story of the residents of Avenue Q, both Muppet and human alike. While the show searches for a "Purpose" throughout the length of the performance we take a glimpse into the very real world problems of the make believe Muppets. With numbers such as "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist", "If You Were Gay" and "You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love)" and some gratuitous Muppet Sex it's easy to tell where the morally offensive part of this non-traditional musical comes in. However, along with the modern ideology comes comedy in all forms in this slightly off base critique on modern life, political correctness and love. While the individual songs, in my opinion, may find it hard to stand alone they blend together in a magical presentation entertainment and fun. The strongest stand alone numbers; "Schadenfreude", "There's a Fine, Fine Line" and my personal favorite, "I Wish I Could Go Back to College" blended nicely into the smaller numbers creating a seamless presentation of comedy and movement throughout the show. The performance as a whole was exceptionally well crafted and performed. The relatively small cast showing their technical merit by controlling many puppets, often at the same time, and voicing several characters, and roles simultaneously. In the end the characters lend a hand, find their purposes, come to realize the strengths in themselves and leave you feeling like everything is alright "For Now." 4/5 Remotes