Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT
through October 8, 2017
by Jarice Hanson
For its opening play of the 9th season, Playhouse on Park
has mounted the extremely ambitious “Avenue Q.” Requiring strong actors,
singers, puppeteers, a live band, and a complicated sound system, this play
demands extraordinary ensemble work that either makes it or breaks it. With
this production, the Playhouse has made it, big time!
Photo by Curt Henderson |
Much of the production’s success should be credited to Kyle
Brand, the director/choreographer who brilliantly moved his actors over the
thrust-style stage with some disappearing out one exit only to be seemingly
transported backstage for some of the most magical transitions I’ve ever seen.
The show adds a level of difficulty with some actors voicing different puppet
characters while standing on a different part of the stage—and handing off
puppets seamlessly to other actors in mid-sentence. I watched carefully, and
sometimes missed the hand-offs because they were so smooth.
The casting is perfection and the five-piece band (unseen,
but integral to the show), directed by Robert James Tomasulo is spot-on with
keeping the pacing of the show fast, and sometimes furious. Unfortunately,
there were a few problems with the body mics the night I saw the show, but they
are forgivable in a space this size and with a talented group of performers who
don’t let anything get in their way.
When I saw “Avenue Q” on Broadway the year it opened in
2003, I wondered whether the themes of the show and the values it espoused
would have a long life on stage. The play still works, and its music and lyrics
still capture the “coming of age” story. The Muppet-like puppets are highly
relatable, but a few older audience members were shocked and offended by the
language, which definitely seems a bit more “blue” when attributed to puppets.
“Avenue Q” is a delight on stage, and the clever cast and crew at Playhouse on
Park can be very proud of this energetic, first-rate production.