Avenue Q, March 17, 2012, Horizon Theatre

Talk about the little musical that could. This show started out off-Broadway in one of the smallest theaters in that location, and then took Broadway (and the Tonys) by storm. It's easy to see why. Funny, smart, risque, and with a huge heart, this quickly became one of my most memorable theater experiences.

I remember hearing how great this show was when it came out, but since it won its three Tonys back in 2004, that and the puppets was about all I recalled when I bought the tickets. (I did not actually recall the awards.) The central character is a recent college graduate named Princeton with a degree in English. He had a starting job lined up that falls through at the beginning of the show. He then spend the rest of the show getting to know his neighbors in the low-rent part of town (hence the play's title) while trying to figure out what to do next. What with the downturn in the economy being so hard on recent college grads, and the fact that the internet is still used for porn (the subject of one song), this musical remains as topical today as 9 years ago. Each song was as good or better than the last, but my favorites, in addition to "The Internet Is for Porn," were "It Sucks to Be Me," Everyone's a Little Bit Racist," There's a Fine, Fine Line," and "Schadenfreude."

The date of this show was part of an extended run, so it's no surprise that the actors had mastered the puppetry arts. It was a little odd watching the speaking puppets while also looking at the actors for additional facial expressions, but the duality was surprisingly enriching, like watching two faces of the same person at one time. A special shout-out to Nick Arapoglou (Princeton) and Mary Nye Bennett (Kate Monster) as the leads. Dustin Lewis was endearing as the "questioning" Rod. And let's not forget Spencer Stephens as Gary Coleman!