Welcome (Back) to Avenue Q!

Review of Avenue Q at Phoenix Theatre

Avenue Q is an interesting show for me. It was one of the five shows I got to see in my (so far) one and only trip to New York when my sister graduated high school and the two of us went to celebrate back in the Summer of 2005. The other four were Rent, Wicked, Spamalot, and Movin' Out. I have since seen all of these shows at least a second time so comparing one production to another is not particularly new to me.

Phoenix Theatre's Avenue Q, however, is not simply a different production of the show I saw in New York. What makes this unique is that it's a remount of their production from the 2010-2011 season. As such, it might be the first time I have seen both an original production and its remount. It is at least the only instance I can pinpoint. I saw Nearly Naked Theatre's remounts of Shakespeare's R & J and Equus but I had not seen the original productions. Even with Phoenix Theatre's other season-ending remount of Les Miserables, I will be seeing the new production having missed the original back in 2009.

Of course, here's your reminder that I work for Phoenix Theatre so it certainly in some roundabout way benefits me to praise the show as my job security increases when the company does well. But I genuinely had a great time on opening night of this remount which, as I'm sure my co-workers can attest to, is not always the case with me. While there were some elements I preferred from the earlier Phoenix Theatre production, overall this one surpassed both its predecessor and my New York experience.

First up, here's why this show was better than New York: the intimacy of the space. It's especially weird for me because I've read sooooo many comments from the post-show surveys that Phoenix Theatre sends out (yes, we do read them) that are in the vein of "Your show was better than Broadway. I love being so close to the action." But that sentiment is especially true in a show like this. Even moreso than the production in Phoenix Theatre's Mainstage a few years back, Avenue Q (performed this time in the smaller black box Hormel Theatre) benefits from being performed in a venue where everyone can see and appreciate the puppetry. I did not catch the show when it came through Gammage but unless you were in the center section of the first twelve or thirteen rows, you didn't get the experience that this production delivers.

Now onto the performances: Toby Yatso (Princeton/Rod) and Emily Mulligan-Ferry (Kate Monster/Lucy) are the only two returning cast members from the previous production. As the leads of the piece, this was a great choice by director Robert Kolby Harper. Not only to these two deliver the exceptional performances from the previous production, but their roles among the cast as the "veterans" probably made for a smoother remount than if it had been members of the supporting cast returning to a set of new leads.

Mr. Yatso thrives off the one-two punch of Princeton, the heart-and-soul hero of the show, and Rod, the most tightly-wound resident of Avenue Q who may or may not have a girlfriend living in Canada (SPOILER: he does not). Likewise, Ms. Mulligan-Ferry so excels at playing the sweet and adorable Kate Monster that her knock-out performance of Lucy's "Special" floors the audience with its raw power before breaking hearts with Kate's "There's a Fine, Fine Line." These two performers also have great chemistry with one another (which makes sense as they've already had an entire run to develop it before). And one of the best upgrades between the last run and this one is that these two (and the production as a whole) seem to have been let off the leash. As a long-time fan of the show, I remember being disappointed that the last production pulled some punches (likely as an attempt to minimize the damage to the "more sensitive" members of the Phoenix Theatre audience). This is not at all the case in this go around and these two raunch it up during the hilarious "You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want." The whole cast has their NSFW moments and I was so glad to see that the production wasn't watered down.

Sticking with the puppets, you also have Colin Ross (Nicky/Trekkie/Boy Bear) and Aya Nameth (Mrs. T/Girl Bear). First up, Ms. Nameth stole the show for me. Her role within the show has always felt like the most thankless one (she also serves as the silent second set of hands in the multi-puppeteer characters like Nicky and Trekkie Monster) and if you've only ever heard the soundtrack, the role is virtually non-existent. Even during the production I saw in New York, featuring the originator of the role, nothing about that performance particularly amazed me. Not so this time out. Ms. Nameth's performance made we desperately want a sequel/spinoff in which the Bad Idea Bears run wild spreading their special brand of mayhem all over New York.

Mr. Ross gives an excellent performance as well and, had I not seen the show previously, would have joined his partner in crime Ms. Nameth as a production MVP. For me, however, he was living in the shadows of Rick Lyon and David Errigo, Jr. When Mr. Errigo, Jr. played the roles a few years back, I remember walking away from the production thinking, "he just stole a show from Toby Yatso?! What is happening?!!!" So anyone taking that role was going to be an uphill climb in my mind to get out of that shadow. And Mr. Lyon (who I saw in New York) is a former Jim Henson Muppeteer who, in addition to originating the Nicky/Trekkie/Boy Bear track, also designed the puppets of the original production (wisely rented for both of Phoenix Theatre's runs). He also came out to train both Phoenix Theatre casts in the art of puppeteering. Again, Mr. Ross puts on a great performance and will likely be many people's favorite in this production, but I found myself wanting his characters to be more muppet-y to reach the heights of his predecessors.

On to the human residents of Avenue Q: Pete Good (Brian), Marisha Castle (Christmas Eve), and Brittney Mack (Gary Coleman) - all returning to the Phoenix Theatre stage from earlier productions this season (White Christmas, Rent, and Ain't Misbehavin', respectively). During the opening night performance, my side of the house was fortunate enough to have Mr. Good climb up into the audience during the pass the hat plea for cash "The Money Song." When a kind patron nearby pulled out $20 to add to the pot, we all received a hearty (and amazed/surprised) "Daa-yumn!" from Mr. Good. I provide this anecdote as a perfect sampling of the incredible joy and delight he brings to the role of Brian. It's unlikely you'll get that same experience but you'll definitely get that flavor from the rest of his performance.

Ms. Castle does fine work as Christmas Eve, though I will be the first to admit I can't stand the character and always skip through her big number "The More You Ruv Someone" when listening to the music. I get the joke that it's a riff on the Asian stereotypes so often found on Broadway (see next season's Anything Goes, for a prime example) but it's never one I've particularly found all that funny, in part because it often feels like the production doesn't fully commit to the joke. For example, in this run, the substitutions of "R's" and "L's" - a standald tlope of this comedic steleotype - is wirdry inconsistent.

Ms. Mack's Gary Coleman is another one that, for me at least, is living in the shadow of its predecessor. Ms. Mack's performance is great and I wouldn't even want it to change but, like Mr. Errigo, Jr., Yolanda London Dwyer left such an impression on me during the previous production that it was hard not to think of her while watching this new incarnation. Though I will admit that there was certainly some extra comedy mined this time around by the seemingly more drastic height differential between Mr. Yatso and Ms. Mack.

Ultimately, I'm definitely glad Phoenix Theatre decided to bring this one back. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up sticking around late at work here in the next few weeks in order to catch it again.

*Some final, somewhat related thoughts: Phoenix Theatre is using this show, as well as Les Miserables for our annual "bucket campaign" (where we ask patrons to consider giving some additional cash after the performance by putting it in a bucket). If you can give: great! Any help is appreciated! You could even use it as a way to get rid of any loose change like a certain friend of mine did (*cough* Brooke *cough*). If you can't give: no problem. Just please don't be a jerk about it and complain that we're always asking for money. Here's why:

1. Having worked at Phoenix Theatre myself for nearly two years now, I can tell you that they are very careful to avoid bombarding people with too many asks. Personally, I am of the opinion that organizations like ours should be less afraid of making these asks and actually ask more.
2. Ticket prices at Phoenix Theatre (like many non-profit theatres) only cover part of the cost for these shows (as well as community outreach programs). Running fundraising campaigns like this helps us keep ticket prices lower. It also allows us to provide ticket discounts like the Art Card program - where artists can get discounted night-of tickets similar to a student rush offer (which I imagine many of my readers qualify for and take advantage of).
3. You don't ever have to give. And sure: I get that you might feel like we're guilting/shaming you by making this kind of ask in such a public forum. But really, when you're at the theatre is just the best time to get the message out. Emails and letters can be easily overlooked but when you're there, we have your attention so it would be foolish to waste the opportunity.
4. If people were more aware of the Earned vs. Contributed Revenue factors most non-profit theatres deal with, I'd like to hope that people would feel less annoyed when they are asked for money. The industry standard used to be a fairly even 50/50 split between Earned (ticket) and Contributed (donations) Revenue but the decline in recent years of Corporate, Foundation, and Government support have reduced the overall pot and shifted the balance more toward a 60/40 split where ticket prices are having to carry about 60% of the organization (and in some cases, the gap is even wider). Believe me, this is the kind of analysis I get paid to do for Phoenix Theatre so as subjective as the rest of this post is, those are the cold, hard numbers.

But that's enough of my soapbox for now. As always, thanks for reading.

Avenue Q has been extended at Phoenix Theatre's Hormel Theatre through Sunday, May 25th. They have also added a couple Wednesday performances (Insider hint: those Wednesday performances or that 7th week are your best bets for great seats). For more information, visit http://www.phoenixtheatre.com.