RATED ‘P’ FOR PANACHE: Puppets, profanity and the existential dread of being an adult
There are musicals about finding yourself. There are musicals about falling in love. There are
musicals about overcoming adversity.
And then there’s Avenue Q, which asks: What if all of that happened, but with puppets, who are
absolutely not appropriate for children?
Panache Theatrical Productions brings the Tony Award-winning musical to the Ruth and Bucky
Stein Theatre at Thalian Hall September 17-27, with a cast of humans and felt creatures
tackling the considerably less-than-family-friendly realities of growing up, finding your place and
discovering that adulthood does not, in fact, come with an instruction manual.
The premise is deceptively simple. Princeton arrives in New York City, fresh out of college,
armed with a degree, big dreams, and approximately enough money to purchase a sandwich.
He ends up on Avenue Q, where his neighbors include Kate Monster, Lucy the Slut, Nicky, Rod,
Trekkie, superintendent Gary Coleman and a collection of other people—and puppets—who
are all trying to figure out what the hell they’re doing with their lives.
The show won the 2004 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. It also
contains songs about racism, pornography, homosexuality, the internet, and getting older, so
apparently the Tony committee was feeling adventurous that year.
For Bianca Shaw, the role of Gary Coleman was part of the attraction.
“It’s impossible to resist a Tony Award winning show,” Shaw says. She knew getting to step into
the “iconic, larger-than-life shoes” of Coleman was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up, even
without knowing quite everything the show had in store.
And Gary Coleman is a particularly good fit for Avenue Q’s peculiar brand of theatrical absurdity:
a real-world celebrity turned puppet character, dispensing advice while surrounded by people
who are barely holding their own lives together.
Shaw’s favorite bit? Watching a puppet experience a full existential crisis while Gary Coleman
hands out advice. Stating, “The End.”
It’s a pretty good summation of Avenue Q.
For Ethan Warren, who plays Princeton, the show is familiar in one very specific way. He had
heard “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” since high school, but otherwise wasn’t especially familiar
with the musical before auditioning.
That changed quickly. “This is my first time being a puppeteer,” Warren says,
“and then on top of it all there’s the acting and singing."
He also happens to be in the last stretch of college, which makes Princeton’s quarter-life
existential crisis feel a little close to home. Warren says the show’s biggest takeaway is that life
is short, and the problems we spend so much time worrying about, generally aren’t permanent.
Of course, neither are the good things.
That’s where Avenue Q gets considerably more sincere than its reputation would suggest.
Courtney Rickert, playing Kate Monster, has loved the show since she was 15 and has known
the score for years. Kate Monster has always been a dream role, and Rickert is particularly
excited about getting to perform “The Internet Is for Porn.”
She also offers a useful warning: “It’s not for people who are easily offended!”
Fair enough.
Brandon Harris, playing Nicky, remembers listening to the original cast recording in his car with
friends when the show first came out. Nicky was a “forgotten dream role,” and Harris says he
loves the character’s optimism and genuine belief in people—even when that optimism leads
him into some spectacularly awkward situations.
His favorite theatrical ridiculousness includes Nicky breaking into song and outing his best
friend, followed by an implied all-male threesome.
So, you know. Character development.
Caitlin Becka, meanwhile, is returning to the Wilmington stage after spending the last decade in
Canada. She’s playing Lucy the Slut, the Bad Idea Bear, and Mrs. Thistletwat. Becka had
Avenue Q sitting on her theatrical bucket list and couldn’t resist the opportunity to finally tackle
it. She also couldn’t resist the chance to spend several weeks “arguing with a piece of felt.”
She describes the show as “wonderfully subversive,” particularly because it puts sophisticated
theatrical technique — acting, singing, character work, and puppetry — in service of material
that is, at times, profoundly filthy and completely unhinged.
“The more sincerely you inhabit something absurd, the funnier it becomes,” she says. And that may be the secret to Avenue Q. The puppets aren’t there to make the show cute.
They’re there to make the absurdity work — and to give the audience just enough distance to
laugh at things that might otherwise hit a little too close to home.
Because, beneath the profanity, puppets and questionable decision-making is a story about
growing up and discovering that nobody really has it figured out.Life is messy. People screw up. Plans change. Sometimes your degree doesn’t get you the job you thought it would. Sometimes your best friend is a puppet. And all of it is only for now.
Avenue Q runs September 17-27 in the Ruth and Bucky Stein Theatre at Thalian Hall, with
performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Bring your sense of humor. The puppets may be adorable, but leave the kids at home. Sesame
Street is 6 blocks over on the left.
Tickets are available at: thalianhall.org/pan-avenueq-26
