Avenue Q (Caution! Not suitable for little monsters)
16th - 21st May 2016 Milton Keynes Theatre

Avenue Q is the Tony award winning work of author Jeff Whitty and songwriters Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.

The mixing of puppets and humans on stage is quite hard to do, but Avenue Q do it so well.  It's a Sesame Street for adults!  There's even the same little video clips to help you understand the meaning of some of the words...Commitment, Purpose and Schadenfreude!?

It's Princeton (Richard Lowe) fresh from graduating from university, clutching his English BA Hons scroll in his hand, who goes in search of his "purpose" and finds himself on Avenue Q.

When there's nowhere available to live that's affordable, loveable Princeton arrives at Avenue Q...here he meets big hearted Kate Monster (Sarah Harlington) who has a dream to open a school especially for little monsters so they won't be bullied just because they have fur. Will there be romance in the air for these two?

 A "Bert and Ernie" type couple live there too, Rod who's a closet gay and his straight room mate Nicky (who knows he's really gay...) and there's also an out of work would be comedian Brian (Richard Morse) and his fiancé Christmas Eve (Arina II) who both incidentally, are not puppets...with me so far?

You've got to just love the perverted Trekki Monster (Stephen Arden) the lyrics to "The Internet is for Porn" just made the audience howl with laughter!



I wasn't really sure about the character of the superintendent in charge of Avenue Q as it's based on Gary Coleman (the child actor in Different Strokes) Even though  Etisyai Philip had a great voice and acted well - It's really about how long this character can stay as I'm sure there will be many in the audience that won't remember who he was and so won't get the jokes that surround him?

The story of Avenue Q is not an epic, basic boy meets girl - but it's the lyrics to the songs make you not only laugh out loud but think along the way too..."My life Sucks, If you were Gay and Everyone's a little bit Racist"

This show will definitely divide the crowd - Avenue Q relies on shock humour,  not everywhere will you hear puppets swearing like troopers or having puppet sex on stage...

The set is simple but well thought out, the band are a great accompaniment to the fantastic acting, singing and puppetry skills of all the performers on stage. 

If you fancy a chuckle...you will find it on Avenue Q!

Lily B x

Tickets are on sale now!  Book at Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office, call 0844 871 7652 (booking fee) or visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes (booking fee)