A Fun Night Out

I played hooky from work Thursday night and caught Avenue Q with my girlfriend Kellie. The touring company is finishing its run here and moving on. I had tried to see the show in New York a couple of times, but never been able to get tickets.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable show. It was definitely written by and for Gen X and younger. If there is one quality that Gen X will leave the world with, it will be in your face, not for the faint of heart humor. Previous generations of humor danced around making people feel uncomfortable or taking on topics such as sex, homosexuality, or racism. Avenue Q addresses all of them head on. The song titles alone are enough to make you laugh. Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, What Do You Do With a B.A. In English?, Schadenfreude, If You Were Gay, and There Is Life Outside Your Apartment are just a sampling. The show stars both humans and puppets. One of the coolest things about the show is the puppeteers who are visible with their puppets. As a first timer at the beginning of the show, your eyes are drawn to the performer singing. As you continue to view the play, you almost lose the sense of the performer and begin to believe that the puppets are characters themselves. The performers in this show have an enormous amount of skill and talent. Several of them operate some of the larger puppets together during the show and I cannot imagine how many hours it takes to perfect and synchronize their movements.

Avenue Q took home the Tony for Best Musical several years ago. Considering how modern and edgy some of the material is, I would not have thought it would be appealing to the older Tony voting crowd. Throw in puppets having sex and you now have something on a completely different level than Phantom of the Opera. Kudos to them for not being afraid to step out of the box.

Yesterday also marked my dear friend Eliot's birthday. As the days, months, and years pass by in a blur, Eliot is one of those constants in my life that I appreciate, admire, and hold dear. I wish he lived closer, but we are fortunate to see each other often and he is never more than a phone call away. As the saying goes, a best friend is somebody who knows every last thing about you, yet still manages to like you anyway. Glitter and all, my boy Eliot still puts up with me. I could not ask for a better friend. Happy Birthday Mr. Bacolii. What are you? You are fabulous, ba ha ha.



Have a great Labor Day weekend all. Cuidate.