Can we talk?

Avenue Q

         I saw Avenue Q Friday night. I knew nothing about it in advance, so when some of the players came on stage with puppets, I wanted them to put the puppets down. It took me a while to get the idea that the puppets were the real actors or characters, not the people operating them and singing, even though they sometimes danced and acted with the puppet.

         Trekie Monster sounded like Cookie Monster, and the resemblance to Sesame Street was not lost on me. Then Gary Coleman shows up. I may be a little slow, but without warning in advance, it took me a while to figure out the theme and why they were doing it this way. Turns out its an award winning Broadway play. The suspension of disbelief that we do at every play, movie or TV show just had to be a little bigger for this play.

         But this was no show for children. It was X-rated. The language is pretty adult, the themes very adult as well. Then there's Lucy the Slut as a puppet, with a EKG that looks like the outline of two boobs. And there is the song "Scream Loud As the Hell You Want" while everyone including the puppets have sex, with as many positions as they could get in the time. Two of the puppets engage in nudity (they have no shape in bodies). And Trekie Monster and several of the male characters are addicted to porn. I can't forget the song, "Everybody's A Little Bit Racist". The "bad idea puppets" encourage drinking, drinking games, missing work, and one night stands.

         The bottom line is that children's shows and programs like Sesame Street encourage children to think they're special, they have a special purpose in life, but reality is the world is a hard place to live, and we're not all special when we have to pay bills, get jobs, and have relationships.

         The show is entertaining, funny, and thought provoking, but not for children or the prudish. I understand that a GP rated version was developed, because they felt the message was important enough for high school students to perform it, and they would have to meet school standards and parent approval.