Photo Courtesy : AUSTIN BAUMAN
Written by Erin Tobin
School may be out, but there are still a lot of life lessons to be learned at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton. That’s where you’ll find Avenue Q, the Sesame Street parody that won Tony-Awards on Broadway for dealing out the harsh truths of the real world via whimsical songs, colorful puppets and an unapologetic lack of political correctness.
Told in a series of vignettes and performed mostly by actors using hand puppets, this musical follows a young college graduate named Princeton, puppeted and performed by Tyler McGraw, who has no idea what to do with his life now that he has his BA in English. A lack of funds leads him to Avenue Q (he started at Avenue A, but nothing was in his price range) a dingy and worn down collection of buildings in New York City, home to an eclectic group of characters as well as the building’s super, Gary Colman, played by Adair Gilliam and one of three non-puppet characters. Princeton’s new neighbors all agree it sucks being them, but they happily accept it as they figure out what to do with their lives. As Princeton tries to find his purpose, Kate Monster, puppeted by Rachel McLaughlan, tries to get a boyfriend. Nicky, puppeted by both Kevin Garcia and Jilly Pretzel at the same time like a conjoined twin duet, wants to help his roommate and best friend Rod, puppeted by Michael Rodriguez, feel comfortable enough to come out of the closet and Christmas Eve and her fiance Brian, played with brilliant vocal talent by Bachi Dillague and funny man Curtis Anderson, are both struggling to move past their young adult lifestyles and into more mature careers. Along the way, other puppeted characters both help and hinder the residents, such as the sultry Lucy the Slut, puppeted by a sultry Tara Alkazian, and the juvenile Bad Idea Bears. Continue Reading