Review: Avenue Q (the Farewell Run)

There’s a Fine, Fine Line… Between a hit and a flop.  And Avenue Q is definitely a BIG HIT here in the Philippines!

According to the Avenue Q official website:

AVENUE Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There’s Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fianceé Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod — a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building’s superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, that Gary Coleman.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

Just to further push my promoting this musical, it is a fact that Avenue Q won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical.  It became a big hit on Broadway, and then it made its way to Asia at our own little country!

If you really want to know how desperate I was to see this, here’s what happened to me.  It took me a while to ask for money for tickets for the December 2007 run.  And when I did get the money, the seats were already sold out for all dates!  Then I learned that a cousin of mine actually went to see the musical with her husband, and I almost died with envy.  So I learned my lesson and bought the June 2008 tickets 4-5 weeks ahead!  It was worth every effort to get in that theater.  Even when I bought my tickets a month before, the tickets were almost sold out at that time!  Good thing I bought my tickets just in time!

I already knew the songs before actually watching the musical, but just to make myself more excited, I abstained from listening to my avenue q playlist 1 week before the show.  It took a lot of effort for me not to sing along (because I wanted to hear every BIT of not come from them).  My favorite songs are, “Schadenfreude”, “Fantasies Come True”, and “If you were Gay”.

I was kind of nervous for the cast, because even if I ADORE Philippine actors and actresses, there’s always going to be some comparisons with the originals that I have been listening to on my iPod right?  But me, my friend Maan, and my Dad, fell in LOVE with all of the cast members.  As in ALL.  I wasn’t able to get a copy of the playbill, and so I did some research on the names of the cast on the net.

Carla Guevara-Laforteza played the character of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut.  Her voice was pure… absolutely flawless.  If I just looked at the puppets and not the controller, I would have thought that Kate and Lucy are two different people!  I am now an official FAN!

Felix Rivera played Princeton and Rod… Who could have thought that talent and good looks can really be rolled into one person?  Then I researched his profile on the Internet and found out that he was a former Kundirana singer…   No wonder you are so talented!

Frenchie Dy (who played Christmas Eve) really got into her role!  She is made to be in Broadway!

Joel Trinidad is seen controlling the puppets Nicky, one of the Bad Idea Bears and a crowd favorite, Trekkie Monster.  I was really impressed by his flexibility and versatility.   Rycharde Everley and his wife Thea Tadiar were also part of the cast.  Rycharde played Brian, Christmas Eve’s comedian-wannabe husband, and Thea played One of the Bad Idea Bears and also helped control some of the puppets that needed two people as controllers.  I saw the couple coming out of RCBC but I froze and couldn’t ask them for a picture.  DARN IT!  I was THIS close!!  Aiza Seguerra played the character of Gary Coleman.  I have been a BIG fan of Aiza since she got into showbiz from Eat Bulaga, but this is the VERY first time that I watched her perform live.  I felt my eyes sparkle as I watched my favorite singer perform, and she didn’t let me down at all.

So I came out of the theater with my heart so full of joy.  My dream of watching this show has finally come true, and it didn’t let me down one bit.  In show of my support, I bought two T-shirts, one that said “Homo-whatever!” and another that said “It Sucks to be Me”.  My friend, Maan, bought the T-shirt that said “Schadenfreude”.  I also bought a pin with the picture of Trekkie Monster that said “The Internet is for Porn”.  I wanted to buy the poster and the playbill, but it was past my budget.

Not even this article can contain the amount of happiness that came with this day.  It has been a long time since I really fell in love with a musical.  Now, this musical has made it to the number one spot in my heart.  The show is still ongoing, but I can’t assure you all that there are still tickets left (Remember what happened to me?)  But I am glad to say that the cast has made such an impact that they are now scheduled to bring Avenue Q to Singapore on October 31 to November 16, 2008.  Break a leg guys!  (I still can’t wipe the grin off my face ^_^  I am gonna be singing Avenue Q songs for weeks and weeks!)

Disclaimer: I am already confused with the MANY internet websites that I visited looking for pictures to share with my readers… Of course I don’t have pictures of my own to share since I don’t know anybody in the cast personally… So I hope you forgive me if I fail to mention your site’s name or your ownership of the pictures on my blog.  The only pictures that I claim as my own are my pics of my t-shirts and the pin.  ^_^