If you’re a fan of South Park and Team America: World Police, then the stage show Avenue Q should be right up your alley.
It’s an adult send-up of Sesame Street, the children’s television classic where humans and puppets co-exist and life’s problems are acknowledged and solved with humor and song. Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre has a production running at The California through June 7.
Recent college graduate Princeton (Marc Assad) arrives on Avenue Q looking for an apartment and a purpose in life. He rents a room from building manager Gary Coleman (Shanay Howell and, yes, THAT Gary Coleman). He’s welcomed into the neighborhood by wannabe stand-up comedian Brian (Dana Hunt); his wife, Christmas Eve (Elinor Keyes); roommates Rod (Eden James), a closeted Republican investment banker, and Nicky (Dmitri Dene), an amiable slacker; and the sweet Kate Monster (Bethany Cox).
Princeton and Kate hit it off until Lucy the Slut (Cox again) enters the scene and Princeton follows the advice of the Bad Idea Bears (Dene and Katalina Motley).
Various personal crises rear their heads and are addressed through songs by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, like “It Sucks to Be Me,” “If You Were Gay,” “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,” “The Internet Is for Porn” and “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love),” the latter performed after a particular energetic bout of puppet sex.
Director Serena Elize Flores’s cast gets quite a workout running around the multi-level set (by Collin Seeber) as primary or secondary puppeteers. I doubt any of them are experienced in the art form (and it shows), but that just adds to the show’s charm.
Charm is also exuded by the superb vocal and character work of Bethany Cox, who does double duty as Kate and Lucy. I was also quite taken with the work of Dmitri Dene as the genial Nicky and gregarious, porn-obsessed Trekkie Monster. Eden James shines as the conflicted Rod. Their “My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada” was a highlight.
Timing is everything in comedy, and scene transitions were a problem at the opening night performance. Too many moments of darkness and silence interrupted the show’s flow. Hopefully, they’ll be tightened and/or covered better over the run.
Transitions aside, you should have a good time hanging out and laughing with the residents of Avenue Q.
Left Edge Theatre’s ‘Avenue Q’ runs through June 7 at The California Theatre, 528 7th St., Santa Rosa. Wed–Sat, 7:30pm; Sat & Sun, 1pm. $20–$45. 707.664.7529. leftedgetheatre.com.
