Avenue Q

Avenue Q
Music & Lyrics by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx; book by Jeff Whitty. Beaumaris Theatre, Wells Road, Beaumaris, VIC. 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 August; 1, 2, 3 September 2016.

After the headline talent, commercial run of Tony Award winning Avenue Q at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne CBD (closed only 16 August), you might think it’s crazy brave of little, amateur Beaumaris Theatre to mount their production so soon – and you might expect some disappointment.  Not at all.  This is a vibrant, energetic production that delivers all the humour, cheerful cynicism, energy and poignancy – and professionalism - required.  Here people are ‘amateur’ in the original sense of that word: they’re doing it for love – and not getting paid. 

Directed and choreographed by Leah Osburn, working with Musical Director Malcolm Huddle, the show more than fills the small but enjoyably intimate theatre.  Mr Huddle has assembled a great multi-talented band (strangely uncredited) and the cast’s singing ‘sells’ every number – and Avenue Q is a contemporary musical with tunes –tunes you can hum on the way home. 

But Ms Osburn and five of her cast faced another challenge, of course, besides singing and acting: operating puppets.  And four cast members operate and voice two puppet characters.  Ms Osburn called in puppetry expert Andrew McDougal for a workshop.  The result is spectacular: you’d be sure that these people have been puppeteers for years.

The name of the human (no puppet) character ‘Gary Coleman’ may not mean much to younger members of the audience.  Real life Coleman was the child star of 1980s sit-com Diff’rent Strokes.  He hit the skids with the cancellation of the show - a perfect example of the successful child whose adult life is of way lower status and income and that’s therefore completely in keeping with the show’s theme.  ‘Gary Coleman’ is the janitor of the apartment buildings.  The role is usually played by a woman: here it’s Jess Kaplonyi, a natural comedienne with great presence.  She keeps the pathos down to sardonic and ironic sub-text and acts as a kind of world-weary chorus to the lives of the other characters.

Alexandra Avery operates and sings one of the Bad Idea Bears – alongside Chris Hunter as the other.  These mischievous creatures are conceptually the least successful aspects of the show, but that’s not because of Ms Avery or Mr Hunter – like the rest of the cast they bring their puppets to life.  Ms Avery also has to operate the Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut puppets while Amanda Rotberg voices them – plus Kate’s crabby employer puppet Mrs Thistletwat.  Chris Hunter is also the ‘right hand’ of ‘live-hand puppets’ Nicky and Trekkie Monster.  The way everyone handles this complex swapping about is smooth and seamless so there’s not a moment of distraction.  Joel Norman-Hade is the show’s satiric mimic: his Trekkie Monster and his Nicky are perfect reproductions of the Sesame Street originals.  Josh Pratt operates two puppets – the male lead character, naïve, too easily led ‘Princeton’ and closet gay banker Rod.  Mr Pratt is a trained singer and singing teacher who distinguishes beautifully between his two very different characters – vulnerable and idealistic one moment, harsh and up-tight the next. 

Amanda Rotberg takes the female lead, puppet Kate Monster, and the very, very different femme fatale puppet Lucy the Slut, distinguishing between the two in a way that’s delightful and funny.  She’s only 22 and in real life a marketing coordinator, but her singing suggests years of experience.  Dan Bellis as no puppet Brian brings a kind of bear-like, sad sack Louis C K persona to the show that is engaging and real.  A stand-out, for me, is Ebony Erez as the no-puppet character, Japanese-American ‘Christmas Eve’.  Yes, the character could be a cliché ‘Asian Tiger’, but Ms Erez escapes that trap with the killer combo of charisma and wry humour.  Her switches from acerbic bullying to touching self-doubt give her cut-out character dimension.

The set (designer Damien Calvert) is no doubt done on a relatively tiny budget, but collaboration and team effort (Saturday working bees) produces an attractive, suggestive and adaptable Sesame Street street that can open out to interiors, a nightclub and even the viewing platform of the Empire State Building.  Paul Court’s lighting design ensures our attention is exactly where it should be.

Despite the racy language and the ‘adult themes’, there’s a kind of goofy innocence about Avenue Q.  This cast delivers that with energy and complete commitment.  The appeal of this Avenue Q lies in its cast, plus the naughty spoof of the beloved Sesame Street, plus the pop culture references, the childlike delight we all have in the Muppet puppets and a relaxed, funny take on what are actually serious real life problems.  Its rather tacked-on but obligatory happy ending for all the major characters should come as no surprise.  (Shakespeare was prone to much the same thing in his comedies.)  If you’re around Beaumaris or even if you’re not, go see this show.

Michael Brindley

P.S.: Ever ambitious, Beaumaris Theatre’s next show – their 276th – is One For The Pot – and in 2017, AChorus Line, A Night of Dark Intent, August: Osage County and Death By Fatal Murder.  

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