Floral Pavilion Wirral – until 13th April 2019.
Reviewed by Sarah Cockerill
4****
Tony award winning musical, Avenue Q, delighted the audience at Wirral’s Floral Pavilion Theatre last night.
It’s a puppet show for grown ups, a friend once told me and boy was it! With catchy melodies that you can help but tap your feet to, I had to stop myself from singing along to some of the controversial lyrics, written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.
Although I wasn’t a Sesame Street fan as a kid, the references to the classic show were apparent in this musical parody, and each time made the audience laugh out loud, myself included.
Exploring themes such as racism, tolerance and the meaning of life, there were just enough thought provoking moments that meant the show wasn’t completely farcical.
The cast were outstanding, especially the two lead actors – Cecily Redman who played Kate Monster, the girl next door with big dreams, had an outstanding vocal range. Then there was Lawrence Smith who played both Princeton, the naive newcomer to Avenue Q, and Rod, the closet homosexual. It honestly took me until the end of the first half to realise he was voicing both characters.
The whole audience were on their feet by the end, but I suspect this show isn’t for everyone. I would suggest to anyone considering seeing this show to do a quick online search of the song titles and if you’re intrigued, then definitely get yourself tickets.
Avenue Q is at Wirral’s Floral Pavilion until Saturday 13th April before continuing it’s UK tour.