The cast of Tony award winning Broadway musical, “Avenue Q”, performed in a packed Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday evening.
“Avenue Q” used a mixture of puppets and people to give a social commentary on the important issues discussed today, including racism, gay rights, the current economic condition and the issues that face many college students after graduation.
“It dealt with really important issues like racism and they were making light of things that were serious,” said Christina Golondrina, freshman graphic design major from Hurricane, W. Va. “It was really clever and well put together.”
The cast members discussed how racism is something that is still alive in America. They sung “Everyone is a Little Racist,” which showed how racism is not just a black and white issue.
“I think racism was a really good point to make, because everyone is a little racist in a way without meaning to be,” Golondrina said.
“Avenue Q” tells the struggles college students deal with every day and what life is like after college. Students attend college with the intention of getting a degree that will help them get a job afterwards. The opening scene shows recent graduate Princeton, a puppet played by Brent DiRoma, who sings about his useless degree.
“It made me think about what I want to do after college and how sometimes I don’t think about what comes after,” said Matthew Jones, senior management and finance major from Huntington.
“Avenue Q” provided insight into the social pressures recent graduates have to deal with. Finding a spouse and getting the right job are just two of the issues Princeton.
Princeton just graduated from college and moved to New York when he lost his job and is forced to think about his purpose. Princeton and the other members of the cast discuss how no one can find a job in the current economy.
“If you rearrange the letters of unemployment, it spells out opportunity,” said Nigel Clark, portraying actor Gary Coleman in the musical.
“Avenue Q” uses humor to get its message across. The puppets allowed the cast to do more things than if people had acted the parts.
“I would have liked it if everyone was a puppet,” Golondrina said. “I think it addressed issues that people our age would be interested in.”
Although puppets were a key element in the show, it was not a show for children. The performance carried adult themes to relate to an older audience. The set and performance felt more like a movie than a Broadway musical.
“I was really surprised at how I got lost in the drama and story of the play because I usually don’t like things like this,” Jones said.
“I thought it would be weird that they were going to use puppets, but it was actually a really enjoyable show,” Golondrina said.
Michael Spurlock can be contacted by spurlock36@marshall.edu.
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