Vegas part 13 - Avenue Q

I expected to go to Vegas and see some great equipment and great shows - to be entertained and informed, but never did I expect to go and see the best broadway musical I've ever seen. It seems i had heard about Avenue Q somewhere before Vegas, as I knew it was "like sesame street for adults", but I'm not exactly sure where I heard it from. I think it was Andrew that had mentioned it to me in passing. The posters of the characters in line at the ticket booths were what piqued our curiosity on the subject. When we were looking for a show for Thursday evening, the best available show was Avenue Q. I was excited when the guys decided to go, because I thought that this show would really only appeal to me.

I was wrong.

As it turns out, Avenue Q was the best show we saw in Vegas. It's humor, originality, irreverence and artistic flare actually appealed to everyone. The entire show was acted out through a mix of humans and puppets, which made for an interesting interpretation of a Broadway musical. There were 3 human actors - Brian, Christmas Eve, and Gary Coleman (yes, THAT Gary Coleman); and the rest were puppets. Not in the traditional sense of the word, though, as each puppet had at least one actor/puppeteer assigned for motion, voice, and expression. This turned out to be a perfectly produced musical. I came to find out that Avenue Q has won 3 Tony Awards for its still ongoing stint on Broadway, and it was so popular that it branched out into Las Vegas.

The story is one that everyone can relate to on some level, despite its wacky overtones. The music was hilarious and yet oftentimes very insightful. I purchased the soundtrack as we exited the theatre, and it has remained in my CD player ever since. Even with the humor involved, the emotion of the play was palpable, culminating in what is, in short, the best production I believe I will ever see.