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If you've read through several of the past reviews, you'll see that people tend to react STRONGLY to this material -- most think it's brilliant, but some find it trite or offensive, and you may be having trouble determining into which category you will fall.
I went to college with one of the composers, and I knew as soon as I read the song titles on this album that I would LOVE this show -- not only because Bobby is such a talented musician, but because the show's sense of humor is very much based on the experiences that our generation had in college and beyond.
In a nutshell, you will LOVE this show if you meet these two basic criteria:
1) You have a genuine fondness for Sesame Street. If you grew up loving the muppets and enjoying the simple truisms and upbeat tunes of Sesame Street songs, then you will appreciate the music and the style of the show. As a 30-year-old parent of a toddler, I have found myself falling in love with Grover and Prairie Dawn and the gang all over again as I watch the show with her and see it through her (delighted!) eyes. We own a 25th anniversary DVD of the best musical numbers from Sesame Street, and I think my husband and I have even more fun watching it than our daughter does, because as adults, we have come to realize that the musicians who write Sesame Street songs are BRILLIANT composers with strong backgrounds in numerous musical genres. The same can be said for the writers of Avenue Q -- sometimes it takes a very complex understanding of music theory and history to write songs that are so truly simple in their catchy melodies and so simply true in their clever lyrics.
If you are NOT a child of the Sesame Street generation, you may feel that the music of Avenue Q is simplistic or annoying and that the messages are trite or immature. But those of us in the know appreciate that this music is genius. (And the cast members' ability to channel Frank Oz and the other talented actors who have provided years of muppet "voices" is truly astounding.)
2) You can appreciate anti-PC "Gen Y" humor. Like South Park and the Simpsons, this type of humor is meant for people who have had political correctness drilled into them for so many years that they've realized it's time to LIGHTEN UP! If you could write a paper on why one should use the term "Asian-American" instead of "Oriental," then you'll probably be highly amused (and a little relieved) by the simple but true observances in "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." If you spent four years on a liberal campus where homosexuality was not only tolerated and accepted but perhaps even a bit hip and cool, then I bet you'll love hearing "Ernie" try to convince "Bert" that it's okay to be gay. If your women's studies class taught you all about why pornography is degrading to women, you'll likely laugh to hear an exasperated Kate Monster try to dismiss the notion that for most men (and plenty of women!) the Internet is, at least in large part, for porn. And anyone who has been ashamed to admit that they sometimes long for the safety, camaraderie and freedom of college life will instantly identify with a song about just such a sentiment.
Those who should skip Avenue Q include 1) people who think that a show is only worth listening to if the chords and rhythms are as complex as Sondheim, and 2) anyone who hasn't at one time considered Jim Henson a minor deity. (Don't get me wrong -- Sondheim is, of course, also a god -- but I think there is a place on Broadway for music that is less overtly cerebral and more hummable.)
SUMMARY: Politically enlightened, college-educated children of the 70s and early 80s who know the lyrics to the "Rubber Duckie" song and remember life before Elmo and political correctness will most likely adore Avenue Q. Everyone else should probably skip it.
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Top reviews from other countries
- Mummy Loves BooksReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2009
WITTY AND REFRESHING
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