For those not familiar with this quirky musical, In your words what is Avenue Q about?
I like to describe Avenue Q as ‘R-rated Sesame Street’. Everything about the puppets and the music is reminiscent of what you remember from your childhood, only it’s grown up with you and now they all have the same adult issues. The show manages to be hilarious, shocking, cringe worthy and life affirming, all at once.
Your character is a puppet that you control live on stage – how does that work?
I play Kate Monster, who is a fluffy ‘muppet’ type puppet, which means I control her face and her hand. Being that I am also on stage and visible, I have to think about the way she moves as her own character, as well as think about my own face and voice reflecting her emotions so the audience can draw upon that too. It’s challenging to say the least!
Tell us more about yourself – what do you do outside of the rehearsal room?
Outside the rehearsal room I am a children’s entertainer! I am 1/3 of children’s group The Beanies and run a children’s entertainment company called Glitterbomb Parties. I don’t often perform in shows that are 18+ so this has been a very fun change.
How are rehearsals going – what do you find challenging and rewarding?
Rehearsals have been a blast from the very start. It’s rare to walk into a first rehearsal for a show and be blown away by the talent of every single cast member but that has been the case for the first and every rehearsal since – it’s gone from strength to strength and I can’t wait for an audience to see it!
So if you look at this lead role of Kate Monster that you play – in what ways are you similar to your character and in what ways are you different?
Kate Monster has been a bucket list role for me since this show came out – I find I resonate with her a lot. She’s got big dreams and really just wants to leave the world a little brighter than she left it. I love the fact that although she is happy and full of sunshine most of the time, she definitely has a fiery temper on her and isn’t afraid to stand her ground – I’ve always found it incredible that a character that is written as a puppet can be so human and well rounded.
What can audiences look forward to most – why should people come and see Avenue Q?
Avenue Q is a great show for ‘people who don’t like musicals’. It’s full of humour, unexpected turns and genuine life lessons and this production really does the show justice.
Avenue Q runs from the 24th April to the 4th May at The Independent theatre in North Sydney.
Avenue Q
Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty.
23 Apr – 4 May 2019
Fri 26 April at 7:30pm
Sat 27 April at 2pm and 7:30pm
Fri 3 May at 7:30pm
Sat 4 May at 2pm and 7:30pm
Venue: The Independent Theatre
Theatre Company: North Shore Theatre Company
Duration: N/A
Winner of the Tony Triple Crown for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book, the hilarious Avenue Q tells the timeless story of a recent college graduate trying to find his way in the world.
Set in New York City we are introduced to fresh-faced Princeton as he struggles to find his purpose: meeting friends, finding love, losing love, and finding it again along the way. Inspired by the beloved children’s show
Sesame Street, Avenue Q creates a puppet-filled world that is a little more reflective of the difficult, R-rated realities that we face upon learning that real life isn’t as simple as we dreamed it might be – but perhaps, suggests Avenue Q, life is all the more colourful and worthwhile for it.
Peter Meredith directs North Shore Theatre Company’s production of Avenue Q and said of his vision for the show: “There are few shows that combine such silliness, hilarious and provocative content with heart-felt, genuine emotion like Avenue Q. We are having a lot of fun exploring the possibilities of what you can (and can’t – or shouldn’t) do in this show, so audiences are in for a fun ride come opening night!”
This critically-acclaimed musical is strictly for adults only despite featuring puppets and is R-rated, containing adult topics, offensive language, and an onstage portrayal of puppet sex.
Photos: Alan Roy.
Ticket Prices
$40.00
