T H E AT E R
Encircle Films Presents
BY WILLIAM KENNEDY
hear ye,
hear ye !!
YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL
ACE’s Avenue Q is Sesame Street for the
millennial generation
L
ong-running PBS series (now on HBO) Sesame Street teaches children
the fundamentals: ABCs and 123s, but also the principles of sharing,
self-confidence and acceptance of others.
Tony Award-winning musical comedy Avenue Q — written by Jeff
Marx, Robert Lopez and Jeff Whitty (an Oregon native and University
of Oregon grad) — is like Sesame Street for the quarter-life-crisis set.
Complete with Jim Henson-style puppetry, the show, which debuted in 2003,
offers advice for getting through that tough, post-college patch.
And although, ideally, college graduates have the ABCs and 123s down,
the play points out that in this period of life there’s still a lot to learn about
sharing, self-confidence and acceptance of one’s self and others
Under the direction of Anthony Krall, Avenue Q is running at Actor’s
Cabaret of Eugene, and it’s an utterly charming production — a lighthearted
antidote to socially conservative Trumpism. ACE hits all the marks with
the show: strong singing, excellent comic timing, professional staging and
impressive utilization of the puppets.
Princeton, voiced by Cody Mendonca, is a recent college graduate coming
to the big city to find his purpose. “What do you do with a B.A. in English?”
he sings. Princeton moves to Avenue Q, where he meets Kate Monster (Tracy
Knights) as well as the rest of this quirky neighborhood populated both by
puppets and humans.
The entire cast is fantastic. In particular, there’s Connor Criswell’s
closeted homosexual puppet Rod. And Princeton’s building superintendent is
Gary Coleman, played by Chelyce Chambers. Yes, that Gary Coleman. Why?
Because, why not?
And the show is absolutely stolen by Asian-American immigrant
Christmas Eve (Gene Chin) and the Oscar the Grouch-style puppet Trekkie
Monster (Jeremy Wilken). Both Chin and Wilken bring the house down on
several occasions, particularly with Trekkie Monster’s outrageous number
“The Internet is for Porn.”
A clumsy love affair blossoms between Princeton and Kate Monster, and
lessons are learned, not only about self-actualization but also universal truths,
such as: Life sucks sometimes, you don’t always accomplish your dreams,
and everyone’s a little bit racist. (See? Left-leaning urbanites aren’t all SJW
lightweights who can’t take a joke.)
And although Avenue Q is about taking the lumps of adulting, its biggest
takeaway is the most important: Life and love are tough, and you don’t
always get what you want. But in these things, and in many more ways,
Avenue Q says you’re never truly alone. A lesson we’re all going to need to
remember in the political climate of the next four years.
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Thursday, Feb. 2 6pm
Bijou Arts Cinema, 492 E. 13th Avenue
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2017
Cottage Theatre presents
February 3–19
A fantastical high-seas adventure to Neverland
$25 Adult, $15 Youth (6-18)
Avenue Q runs through Feb. 18 at Actors Cabaret Of Eugene; $16 to $47.95, tickets at actorscabaret.
org or 541-683-4368.
MRS. T & JENNY PARKS
A Play by Rick Elice • Based on the Novel by Dave Barry and
Ridley Pearson • Music by Wayne Barker Directed by Tony Rust
Sponsored by:
www.cottagetheatre.org • 700 Village Drive • Cottage Grove • 541-942-8001
February 10 + 11 2017
Specialty, Seasonal & Flagship Beers
and ciders from all over the West
the essentials | dj nate robertson
admission includes Tasting glass + 2 drink tickets
eugeneweekly.com • January 26, 2017
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