avenue q hangover

yesterday, my brother and i had the great pleasure of seeing the local production of avenue q. i have been sincerely wanting to see this performed live since the first time i heard about it, rather, the first time i heard the soundtrack.

the story revolves around the protagonist, princeton. as a fresh graduate from college (with a BA in English of all courses) and trying to find his "purpose", he stumbles his way through life and through the lives of the characters who live in his neighborhood, avenue q. the musical feels like "rent" meets "sesame street" since the story deals with very pertinent adult issues like racism and homosexuality, ingeniously dramatized with the use of puppets... yes, puppets.

i greatly enjoyed the show since it felt that it hit marks in my life that i really could relate to. i definitely can understand what it feels like to be lost in a world of unlimited possibilities and still not know what one's purpose is in life. two courses down and a country later, i'm still not entirely sure what i want to do. adding to that also is the story between rod and nic, best friends and room mates. the former a closeted gay investment banker who secretly loves the latter, a sloppy bum. i think it would take me an entirely new post to say how much i can relate to that story! there was actually a part in the show where i caught myself getting teary eyed since the issue addressed hit very close to home.

now don't get me wrong, even if the issues were very serious, the show was definitely far from that. actually, the way the creators of the show were able to drive in their message was through the use of humor, lots of it. also, it does help that we were being "educated" with talking puppets. the similarities of the show with sesame street, only a more current, adult version of it, definitely made the experience more fun and helped the audience engage more. i mean, who wouldn't sympathize with a monster addicted to porn!! hahahahaha....

overall, i definitely would not hesitate seeing this show again, and again, and again. watching it gave me such a high, i was still humming the tunes way after the show was over, a very welcomed "last song syndrome".