10 Thoughts on Avenue Q

Caught this show at RCBC Plaza w/ Cheryl. Would have taken pictures but both she and the play's production crew were camera-shy. While the latter had more legal grounds to be as such, the excuse of the former--while being a lawyer herself-- was a bit flimsy. And why give away flavored bottled water at the entrance while forbidding food and drinks to be brought inside?

• In hindsight I shouldn't have listened to the official soundtrack before watching the musical, as I was unable to bask in the freshness of the jokes, nor unable to laugh as hard as the rest of the audience upon hearing them.
• And maybe it was just me or my view from the balcony, but I was having trouble separating the puppet from the performer. Maybe that was the point (with performers emphasizing facial expressions the puppets are unable to), maybe not (some of the cast performing dual puppet roles onstage). I do agree w/ Rachel Alejandro's casting as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut, as her wide vocal range was needed to pull of the role. On the other hand there were times Felix Rivera and Rycharde Everley were slipping into their respective Tagalog and British accents. Ah, what the hell. They were supposed to be in New York, anyway, melting pot and all.
  
• The Bert N Ernie gay analogy was out in half-full force w/ Ricky and Rod. I say half because only one of them was homosexual. Too bad Rod look more like Guy Smiley w/ glasses.
• I understand the reason for casting Aiza Seguerra as Gary Coleman. But height notwithstanding, she manages to capture the voice of Gary as a parody of himself, accent and all, w/ the slightest touch of Wanda Sykes. Just wish they found a red-n-blue striped sweater for her to wear underneath that Dutch Boy jumpsuit.
• Judging by audience reaction, nothing gets people howling more that a puppet simulating masturbation. Even more than simulated puppet sex.
• Kate Monster got the best lines ("Is her name... Purpose?"), while the Bad Idea Bears reminded me of Fluffy and Uranus, 2 also annoyingly creepy/cuddly bears who were freqently mutilated by their boss Duckman (another adult cartoon gem). ("Take her home!" "She's wasted!")
• Christmas Eve (played by Frenchie Dy by way of MadTV's Miss Swan) is wearing Crocs!
• Audience Participation came w/ The Money Song, when the cast went to ask for spare change from the people in the orchestra section. Good thing nobody came up the balcony. (Hello!? If we had extra cash we woulda paid for orchestra seats.)
• Nice the see the play's ending didn't go where I expected it. BA in English guy was a complete red herring.
• Shell out the extra dough instead of sticking it out in the P500 nosebleed section. Cheapskate and slowpoke that I am I only managed to get balcony seats for the last row. The balcony railings (and audience members on the first 2 rows) obscured my view of the stage the spotlight guy distracted us w/ his taking directions (from I'm assuming the technical director). It was the equivalent of watching a CAM copy of a movie. (Downloaders would know what I'm talking about.)
  

Side note: If I wanted a "name" cast for the musical I'd get the folks from Clueless. Imagine Paul Rudd as Princeton, Alicia Silverstone as Kate Monster, Stacey Dash as Gary Coleman, etc. Amy Heckerling, gimme a call.