Some of the life lessons “Sesame Street” never quite taught us are “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Making Love),” but these lessons and songs, and many more, can be found in the Shepherd University Music Department’s production of “Avenue Q,” opening Feb. 7.
“‘Avenue Q’ is so different from anything Shepherd has ever done before. This show is a lot more modern and contemporary than anything that has ever been performed at Shepherd,” said student Shannen Banzhoff who plays Kate Monster.
Directed by Rob Tudor and musically directed by Barbara Irvine, ‘Avenue Q’ is a modern, outrageous musical which tells the story of a group of college graduates and twenty-somethings struggling to begin their lives in New York City.
However, what makes the modern musical truly unique is that all of the human actors are operating puppets onstage and the puppets are the actual characters in the show. While the setting and “Muppet”-esque squeaky voices may seem reminiscent of a children’s television show program used to teach ABCs, ‘Avenue Q’ definitely focuses on more mature life lessons.
“It’s such a mature show with adult language and themes. It creates an ironic setting that these cute, happy puppets and people are singing ‘It Sucks to Be Me’ and ‘Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.’ It will definitely catch everybody off guard,” said student Matt Rothenberg who plays Princeton.
“This show breaks so many boundaries. I mean, where else can you go and see a cute, fuzzy little puppet curse like a sailor or sing about things such as pornography, homosexuality and sexual intimacy—and that’s only in act one! For some reason, having puppets say [inappropriate] things makes them even funnier,” said Banzhoff.
Yes, you did read that correctly. While student actors are seen onstage, the majority of the cast are operating puppets while performing. And these aren’t little sock puppets, these puppets are full size, similar to design and mobility of the famous Jim Henson “Muppets” or “Sesame Street” characters.
“The puppets have definitely been an interesting challenge. Learning to emote through the puppet has probably been the most difficult. The puppeteer can only control certain parts of the puppet while others remain unmoving, so your resources are definitely limited,” said Banzhoff.
“My favorite and the most challenging part of the process is definitely the use of puppets. It’s one thing to be acting yourself on stage, but when you have to act while also controlling a puppet, it is a definite challenge! But it has been so much fun,” said Rothenberg.
The cast has been having a great time in rehearsal and all agree that the show is very funny and will be a hilarious evening of theater for students.
“This show is flat-out hilarious! I guarantee they [students] will have never laughed at a show this hard before. The show is so modern and so relatable for students,” said Rothenberg.
“This is by far one of the funniest shows I have ever experienced and every single member of the cast has brilliant comedic timing within their character. Plus, each character has his or her own comedic personality. No one is funny in the same way as anyone else, which makes this set of characters really uniquely complex. So if nothing else, come see this show to laugh your butt off!” said Banzhoff
The “Avenue Q” cast also features Eduardo Rivera as Brian, Arielle Pizana as Christmas Eve, Yanira Diaz as Gary Coleman, Jordan Bushong Taylor as Lucy, Alora Ray as Mrs. T, Ross Tamaccio as Nicky, Patrick O’Grady as Rod, Nicholas Etheridge as Trekkie Monster and Emily Reinhardt and Mark Adelsberger as the Bad Idea Bears.
“Avenue Q” will run Feb. 7, 8, 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. with one Sunday matinee on Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. Tickets are free for Shepherd students, $5 for faculty, Shepherd alumni and seniors, and $10 for general admission. All performances are held in the Frank Center Theater on the campus of Shepherd University. Due to content, “Avenue Q” is recommended for mature audiences only.
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