Avenue Q - First National Tour, King's Theatre Glasgow

Today's show was another one on my 'still to see' list - 

'AVENUE Q is not the most upmarket of New York streets, and is about as far away from Park Avenue as you can get, but it is home to some lively and off the wall characters performed by a comedic alliance of humans and puppets! 

Princeton, a bright-eyed college graduate, has just moved to this neighbourhood as he desperately tries to follow his dreams and discover his ever-elusive purpose in life.'

Rachel Jerram as Kate Monster

A tiny bank balance, the distraction of a busty blonde and a variety of weird and wonderful friends and neighbours lead Princeton on a journey of self-discovery. Life may suck on AVENUE Q but being jobless, homeless, politically incorrect, having sex (whether hetero, homo or porno… and that’s just the puppets!) are just some of the topics featured in the songs of this show. Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Not exactly the most regular premise for a musical and it didn't temp me enough to fork out West End prices for it, but again it's on tour so I gave it a go!

Adam Pettigrew as Rod

Well, I don't know what I was thinking but this was brilliant. The performers had the audience in the palm of their hands throughout and on their feet at the end. The actors performed with wit, energy and sensitivity and with amazing dexterity. Special nod to Rachel Jerram, Adam Pettigrew and Chris Thatcher. An absolute joy from start to finish - go see it.

Lucy The Slut

Chewing The Scenery blog agrees;

"The production values on this tour are exceptional – the sets (Anna Louizos) are huge, the lighting (Howell Binkley) is flawless, Rick Lyon’s beautifully expressive puppets are as impressive as ever and as for the cast – now the real raving begins. This production – as I saw it last night – would not look out of place on a major Broadway stage right down to the cast, something I don’t think I have ever been able to say about a touring production before.

The cast is strong from head to toe, but there is one clear stand out performer – Rachel Jerram as Kate/Lucy. Jerram, fresh from the West End production was simply magical and is easily the finest I have seen or heard in the role. Not only does she make a charming and very sweet Kate Monster, she has ‘sultry physicality’ down to a tee as she shifts effortlessly to playing the well worn Lucy. More than just a wonderful actress and puppeteer, Jerram seems something of a voice acting specialist; her two voices were remarkably different. But most impressive of all is Jerram’s singing; she possesses a wonderful strong belt which she gets to display to rapturous applause in the end of act one showstopper “There’s a Fine, Fine Line”. Undoubtedly Jerram is a performer going places and one I will be sure to go out of my way to see in future projects.


In the other lead role, Adam Pettigrew as Princeton/Rod is full of wide-eyed charm and, again, is of a exceptionally high calibre. His heartbreaking performance as Rod early in the second act in a scene with Nicky is a joy to behold – and I actually had to hold back a tear at the ‘reveal’ – even though I’ve seen the show many times. Also special mentions are given to Chris Thatcher as Nicky/Trekkie Monster and Matthew J Henry as the late Gary Coleman.
This tour of Avenue Q is an absolute riot and is a must for anyone with a good sense of humour." 

Chris Thatcher with Trekkie Monster

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