Review: Avenue Q at the LOT!
Heyo! I went to see Avenue Q, the Tony Award winning musical, at the Lower Ossington Theatre in Toronto!
Some background on Avenue Q while the show features cutesy and adorable puppets it explores quite a number of adult themes and is definitely not for children.
I had a blast! While the LOT definitely isn’t Broadway it’s still a wonderful, and wonderfully small, theatre in Toronto. Avenue Q recently celebrated two years on stage at the LOT so the tiny company is no stranger to the wild and zany antics of Avenue Q!
Featuring a stellar cast including Brady VanVaerenbergh as both Princeton and Rod, Alexandra Reed as Kate Monster, and Lucy the Slut, Mark-Anthony Del Brocco as Nicky, Trekie Monster, and a Bad Idea Bear, Jaclyn Serre as Mrs. Thistletwat and the other Bad Idea Bear, Joseph Herbison as Brian, Ellie Posadas as Christmas Eve, and Shakura Dickson as TV’s Gary Coleman.
[GARD]
To fill you in on the premise of Avenue Q, imagine if the characters from Sesame Street, grew up, moved to New York and became disillusioned with life.
The LOT’s incredibly small theatre definitely lent a sense of intimacy to the performance, none of the performers appeared to be mic’d and although they were exceptionally gifted, I occasionally struggled to hear them over the music.
Notably awesome company numbers included You can be as Loud as the Hell you Want, and It Sucks to be Me. Meanwhile I was very impressed by the vocal range of Alexandra Reed, damn that girl can sing! A Fine, Fine Line is one of my favourite numbers from the show and I enjoyed her rendition even more than the Original Broadway Cast.
On the whole the LOT gave their own Toronto twist to Avenue Q complete with some not so subtle cracks at Rob Ford! I enjoyed the show immensely and would totally recommend it to anyone mature enough to handle gratuitous puppet nudity.
