BOTTOM LINE: Still as entertaining as it was back in 2004 when it opened on Broadway.
Laughter is an important catharsis, and really good laughter that makes your abs hurt is reserved only for the finest comedy. I am excited to report that Avenue Q, now enjoying an off-Broadway run at New World Stages, still makes me chuckle to the point of tears just as it did six years ago when it opened on Broadway.
Avenue Q (or the dirty puppet musical, as some know it, shown here with the original Broadway cast) has taken an interesting production turn by closing its Broadway run in September only to somewhat immediately open off-Broadway. Obviously, producers thought its success was far from over, at least in a smaller theatre for a slightly cheaper ticket price. Announcements that Avenue Q was closing on Broadway came as a shock, since the show had been a smash since it opened in 2003. Beating all odds, the satirical new musical won the 2004 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score (Wicked lost in an upset).
Now Avenue Q has taken residence at New World Stages, the commercial off-Broadway house just outside the theatre district that offers several theatres and consequently, several shows, at the same time. New World Stages is a cool space, although it feels very sterile, somewhat space-age and mostly like a movie theatre with multiple “screens” and several bars (for both snacks and alcohol). Contrast this with Avenue Q’s gritty, from-the-outskirts-of-Manhattan feel, and all of a sudden the commercial intentions of the production become all-too-clear. It made me wish I had seen the show in its original off-Broadway debut at The Vineyard Theater. But regardless, the medium-sized house provides a comfy space to see this show.
