Avenue Q 1/14

[chrisshin]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:33pm

i've been lurking on the board for quite some time but i saw avenue q tonight and must post a review. i decided to do the lottery on a complete whim tonight. my friend who was in town came to put her name in for me since she had plans tonight. her name got picked so i got to keep her ticket. walking into the theater, i hadn't realized just how close the front row was. i've seen wicked front row a few times but i felt like it wasn't as close. ANYWAYS. the only understudies were Angela Ai as Christmas Eve and Carmen Ruby Floyd as Gary Coleman. I loved the overture and the whole tv idea. After reading the bio of the composers and how they wanted Avenue Q to be a tv show, it made sense to have the tv screens throughout the show.

John Tartaglia. Amazing. I love the man. From the minute the lights went on him to the curtain call, he had the most amazing open presence to him. He really made me care of the characters and made us feel for those damn puppets. The most touching moment was in the second act when he tells Christmas Eve he misses Nicky. Stephanie D'Abruzzo has this amazing quiet confidence to her as Kate Monster and totally gets the sex appeal down without overdoing it as Lucy. She stood right in front of me so many times and I noticed it mostly with her and John, but their eyes realy sparkle. Maybe it's the lighting. Maybe not. But they really did shine.

The rest of the cast was really strong. I remember seeing Broadway on Broadway on tv and thinking how it must suck for Jennifer Barnhart to share a lot of the puppets but i watched her a lot and she was in the moment as every single puppet she switched off and appreciated her even more than I had thought. As for the understudies..... I feel like the show is so strong and the writing is strong that even a mediocre actor could pull it off. Angela Ai looked uncomfortable on stage. She was really funny at parts and I liked the choices she made especially in The More You Ruv Someone. I just wish she had committed more and gone further. Carmen Ruby Floyd was alright. Her face went expressionless sometimes and looked like someone who had done the part a million times and was tired of it. If I were an understudy, I'd take advantage of the opportunity. Maybe she was just not feeling it tonight.

I really had an amazing time at Avenue Q. So original and CHARMING. I was laughing the entire show but also was into the character's stories. Not to state the obvious but it really is sesame street for young adults. I'd love to see it again. But I'm so glad I got to see John before he left because he really shines and when he came out for his curtain all he looked soooooo appreciate and grateful.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:35pm

YAY!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:37pm

Oh, how I love this show.

And...
Willkommen.
Bienvenue.
Welcome to the boards!

[iheartmark]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:38pm

I've never seen Angela Ai in the part of Christmas Eve (I saw Ann Sanders twice) but I think maybe Carmen was just having an off night, she was amazing both times I saw her. I'm glad you enjoyed the show, it's so awesome! ^-^

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:39pm

I'm so happy you enjoyed the show
It's definately one of my favourites
(<---Note icon)

[TGIF]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:40pm

Glad you liked it! I just got done listening to the OBCR of it. You will love the CD so much more after seeing the show too.

Also, Welcome!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/14/05 at 11:46pm

Glad you enjoyed it

And Welcome

[Jwei123]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 12:09am

glad you had fun!! welcome to the boards, and enjoy your stay :)

[chrisshin]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 12:46am

totally forgot to add this about the lottery. i've only done lottery for wicked several times and hairspray once. but the atmosphere for the lottery at avenue q is soooo different. at least tonight it wasn't threatening or filled with animosity that wicked is usually filled with. and no lines we had to stand behind. just thought it was interesting.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 12:52am

ooo, too far

but good to know!

[Sargar]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 1:04am

I saw Angela Ai as well, and I wasn't really impressed. She was funny, but I felt vocally (especially after listening to the cast recording with Ann Harada) she was very weak.

Yeah I REALLY like the avenue q lottery..a lot more low key. You'd have no idea the show sells out all the time and is as popular as it is, because if you compare it to the insanity of wicked, it's a completely different atmosphere. Plus i LOVE the guy that does the lottery, he reminds me of a young Trey Ellett

Updated On: 1/15/05 at 01:04 AM

[fishergirl819]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 2:06am

I was actually at this performance tonight as well. My first time seeing the show, although I've been a huge fan of the cast recording since I got it last Christmas.

The show completely lived up to every expectation I had. My friend and I were worried about if we'd still laugh at some jokes, since we'd both listened to the cast recording so much, but hearing the songs and seeing them staged and blocked on stage are just two completely different things. I was just so impressed with the staging and the small bits of choreography...that really made the show ten times more enjoyable than I expected it to be.

I agree with what hughtartagenzel said about Angela Ai. I was excited to see Ann Sanders, and was sad when I saw an understudy name for Christmas Eve. There were still parts that she did well, but overall I wished I could've seen Ann Sanders. Personally, I really enjoyed Carmen's performance, though. However I Wasn't able to see the expressionless face you mentioned, hughtartagenzel, since you were front row and I was in the rear mezzanine.

I was really excited when I relaized that the tickets I had were for a date so close to John Tartaglia's last. This was my first time seeing the show, and I wanted to make sure I got to see both him and Stephanie (I'm planning on seeing it again in the near future, after Barrett takes over, though, because a.) I've heard amazing things about him, b.) on a shallow note, that boy is beeeeeautiful, and c.) he basically ORDERED me to see it with him as the lead at the stagedoor after the show. ). John and Stephanie were both just so amazing, everything I expected them to be and more. From the minute either one of them (but especially John. ) opened their mouths, I was just completely in love and blown away. Absolutely spectacular.

Another standout for me was Jennifer Bernhardt, because not only was she absolutely adorable on stage, but what an absolutely sweet woman! We were online waiting to go in, and she walked past us to go inside, so I told her to have a good show, and she turned and was so happy and thanked me...after the show, she came out, looked at me before anyone else and went THANK YOU FOR WISHING ME WELL BEFOREHAND! or something of the like...it was very, very cool for me. The entire cast is absolutely amazing and wonderful, but Jennifer stayed around the absolute longest talking with anyone and everyone who stayed around after the show.

All in all, I had a wonderful experience. The show was just amazing, and I'm so happy I got to see Mr. Tartaglia before he left. After the show, I wished him luck on everything he does after the show, like the television show I read he was developing (or having developed for him), and his Joe's Pub concerts. He seems incredibly excited about all of it.

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 8:52am

hey im seeing ave q in rear mezz tomorrow at the matinee...how were the seats? you said you couldnt see expressionless faces...how over all were the seats?

[mint0621]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 10:13am

Glad you enjoyed the show! When I saw it, however, I saw Aymee Garcia and Barrett Foa performing, as understudies to johnT and Stephanie. I was a bit disappointed to not see JohnT, but Barrett proved to be great at the role of Princeton.

My favorite underrated performer is Rick Lyon. He was hilarious as Trekkie, my favorite character in the show. I think he's brilliant!

When I went to see the show in September, Carmen helped picked out the names for the lottery, she showed up when the lottery guy was about to pick the names. When she picked a name, the winner was so happy, Carmen said, "You owe me dinner!" I thought it was funny.

[Therese]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 3:17pm

Thank you for mentioning Rick Lyon. He doesn't get enough attention/recognition, IMO.

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 3:20pm

thanks for the review! I am going tonight for the first time and i am so excited.

[fishergirl819]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 6:03pm

GirlforTartaglia, the seats in the rear mezzanine were really good. You had a very clear overall view of the whole stage, and could see all of the action. What I meant when I said I couldn't see Carmen's expressionless face was that from where I was sitting, she seemed to be really getting into it, but that the original post WAS first row, so s/he could've picked up on things I couldn't see.

It's a very small theatre, and I was surprised at how close I was to the stage. From what I could tell, pretty much any seat in the house is a good seat.

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 6:05pm

ooh thanks!!

[dancindramadude]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 7:04pm

AVENUE Q IS MY MOST FAVORITEST SHOW IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!
Ya and John Tartaglia is my Broadway Idol. Yes the show was amazing. I had very last row mezz when I saw it but it wasnt all that bad and I even had binoculars (which werent absolutly necessary but i liked some of the up closeness). The entire cast was so awesome. I mean to me John Tartaglia stood out to me cause the puppet looked like an extention of him not a puppet and puppeteer. I really loved the puppets, but Steph got a little off with the mouth at time, which as a puppeteer by job, I noticed. I saw Ann Sanders and thought she was great. Carmen as Gary was ok but not as great as the original. And I agree about Jennifer, she is so great even though her only "character" is a Bad Idea Bear she was so in character with Rick Lyon doing Nikki and Trekkie. I met them all at the cast door and they were all the nicest people I have met. They all were amazed that we were standing in thre freezing cold (27 degrees) just to meet them. And there were only like 10 of us waiting. And John is apparently the slowest out because I waited almost an hour to meet him and Jennifer said he is always the slowest, so dont get discouraged if you wait at the stage door. But ya thats all I love the show and think it is amazing.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 1/15/05 at 7:12pm

Now DDD, Jen does have one other part that really does steal the show for a bit besides BIB 2:
Ms.T