Avenue Q

I was so excited to get to see a play in London! Since we were traveling with a large group with very different tastes and lifestyles, many more conservative than mine, I figured I would go along with whatever the group decided. I hoped for a musical and quietly expressed my preference, but was not specific, adding encouraging comments whenever a musical was mentioned. I was surprised and delighted when Avenue Q came out as the winning first place choice at the official discount ticket booth, the second choice was Billy Elliot, which I am sure also would have been good. I am happy to be able to casually drop into conversation, "Oh yes, I saw Avenue Q in London. Wasn't it spectacular?"

The play is about a 22-year-old with a BA in English who has recently moved to a low-income area after graduating from college and is trying to find his purpose in life. He runs into love, lust, friendship and confusing realities of life beyond college. The play is a bit of a satire of Sesame Street and the Electric Company, and mixes human and puppet characters, and little educational snippets via a computer screen. Make no mistake. This show is NOT for children, the themes are quite adult-oriented....I have seen the words "bawdy humor" used when describing it and someone in our group who enjoyed the play still felt there was gratuitous sex and profanity useage. Kind of the point, in a way - a commentary about a certain class and way of life.

The music is fantastic! How can you not like a play whose most well-known song, The Internet is for Porn, includes these lyrics:


KATE
The internet is really really great
TREKKIE MONSTER
For porn
KATE
I've got a fast connection so I don't have to wait
TREKKIE
For porn
KATE
Huh?
There's always some new site,
TREKKIE
For porn!
KATE
I browse all day and night
TREKKIE
For porn!
KATE
It's like I'm surfing at the speed of light
TREKKIE
For porn!
KATE
Trekkie!

I MUST get the soundtrack! The Broadway version includes 21 songs by the original cast, including, It Sucks to be Me, Everyone is a Little Bit Racist, and If You Were Gay. Yes, there is a gay character, who is having trouble coming out, even to himself. The soundtrack for the Tony-Award winning musical has been out since 2003, so it should not be hard for me to find it on sale somewhere. I guess I could just surf the web....for Porn!