Review: 'Avenue Q' by The Warner Stage Company

“Gotta find my purpose” - Princeton in ‘Avenue Q’

Torrington, CT - A memorable production of ‘Avenue Q’ opened last night at the Warner Theatre with what can only be called a “stellar” cast under the direction of the incomparable Katherine Ray.

“Kat” Ray calls the style of this show “a unique art form,” one which requires a whole lot more of suspension of disbelief by audience members than usual. We get to watch the puppeteers act, sing and dance, as well as the effort and skill that goes into bringing their puppet to life. Ms. Ray also describes the content of the show in her director’s note: “Beyond the Sesame Street style songs, adult parables told with colorful characters, AVENUE Q comically tells an adult’s story for a generation that grew up with Jim Henson and his cast of chaotic characters.”

Despite the fact that the Warner Stage production marks the fifth time I have reviewed ‘Avenue Q,’ I will admit that I have never had difficulty suspending my belief. I relish watching both actor and puppet and appreciate the hard and painful work that goes into the art of puppeteering. As my cousin the puppeteer Tim Lagasse (‘Allegra’s Window,’ ‘Johnny and the Sprites’ with John Tartaglia, ‘Between the Lions,’ The Muppets) always tells me, “If it doesn’t hurt, you are not doing it right.”

The actors/singers/puppeteers on the Warner stage were most definitely doing it right. So was the onstage Avenue Q Garage Band under the direction of music director/conductor Daniel Michael Koch, who also filled this role at the Two Planks production of ‘Avenue Q’ a few years back. The two keyboards, reeds, bass and drums were the perfect accompaniment for the fun and often naughty musical numbers. “What Do You Do With a BA in English,” “It Sucks to Be Me,” “I Wish I Could Go Back to College,” and “For Now” easily move the stories along.

Ms. Ray directs what Sharon A. Wilcox called “the smallest cast with the biggest set” with a deft touch that brought out every bit of the humor inherent in the musical. Many audience members thought that ‘Avenue Q’ would be a better fit on the Nancy Marine Stage, the Warner’s second stage down the street, but the director managed to stretch out the action to fit the massive mainstage without losing too much of the small stage charm. The hulking urban set designed by Stephen C. Houk and painted by artist Karla Woodworth definitely helped and there were only a couple of slowish transitions on opening night. The actor voicing Trekkie Monster actually ad-libbed some chatter as he negotiated the backstage stairs to get to his street level mark for his big number with Kate Monster. I am told that there were some Easter eggs integrated into the set; I noticed that the garage where the band sat was named “Spinney’s Garage,” a punny homage to Muppeteer Caroll Spinney (who plays Big Bird and Oscar on ‘Sesame Street.’)

Starting with the human only members of the cast, David Anctil played the unemployed comedian Brian with just the right touch of, well, everything. Mr. Anctil is a world language teacher in Hartford and often music directs for local theaters. Amanda Friedman reprised the role of the bossy Christmas Eve for her first production at the Warner, so of course she nailed it. Torrey Thomas (‘Spelling Bee’ at Two Planks, ‘Rent’ at TBTA) made his debut at the Warner as the former child star Gary Coleman, a role most often played by a female actor. It was fun to watch this actor do the role, punctuated with a couple of ‘Different Strokes’ references.

Click here to listen to the podcast of Backstage with Johnny O's interview with Mr. Zalaski and Ms. Ray.

The director decided not to have some of the leading actors double or even triple up on their puppet characters as was done in the Broadway version, thus allowing for a larger cast of talented community theatre performers. Moving to the multitaskers, Michelle Funaro (‘Assassins,’ ‘American Idiot’ and) worked with the haughty Lucy most effectively. Joe Harding gave new meaning to the title of “Bad Idea Bear;” he was hysterical as the adorable by naughty blue bear. Mr. Harding also covered the smaller roles of the crabby old Mrs. T and Ricky, and he also made us laugh every time he appeared in one of the little sketches that replaced the often-used video clips. I found these to be an improvement and a lot of fun.

Janette Ireland was right behind the force of Mr. Harding as the yellow Bad Idea Bear, but she also worked the right hand of Nicky tightly holding onto the back of her human partner’s shirt to make certain they worked as one. That partner on Nicky was the supremely talented Chris Kulmann, who, in his debut on the Warner stage, made the roommate sound just like a Muppet. Belated congratulations to Mr. Kulmann on his recent marriage to community theatre veteran Gia Wright Kulmann.

Josh Newey was the perfect choice for the right hand man role of Rod, a rod puppet with a secret. His other roles at the Warner include Uncle Ernie in ‘Tommy,’ the lead role in ‘Charlie Brown Christmas,’ Horton in ‘Seussical’ and Uncle Fester in ‘The Addams Family’....all of them memorable. Keith Paul, the artistic director of the Desultory Theatre Club, almost brought down the house as two-thirds of the perverted Trekkie Monster. His previous puppeteer experience made for a spectacularly funny performance.

Rising Warner star Cecilia Porri (Woodstock in ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’) spent some extra time with her dad Dan so that her mother Meredith could take on the role of the sweet furry character of Kate Monster. Mrs. Porri was lovely of course, making “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” extremely touching. Finally was Jonathan Zalaski, the co-founder of Terryville’s Theatre at TCC, in the important role of the 20-something Princeton. This young actor was clearly so invested in the role of the recent college graduate looking for his purpose. It was such a pleasure to see Mr. Zalaski in a major role in which he got to sing and dance (all while working a puppet) so wonderfully, although he has stated that he would be embarrassed if his grandma came to see it.

Choreography by Peggy Terhune was adorable for both humans and puppets. Renee C. Purdy designed the costumes for the humans in the cast and Christmas Eve wore the biggest whitest wedding gown ever. Lighting by Matt Delong was nicely illuminating and sound by Chris LaPlante was as clear as always.

Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theater director Bob Tansley, who directed ‘Avenue Q’ at Post University a few years back, won tickets to attend opening night and could not have been more excited to see this production of a show that he truly loves. We both noted that the opening “The Avenue Q Theme” was done without puppets in this production. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to community theatre actress Susan Kulp, who I just saw, along with her husband George in ‘August: Osage County’ at Two Planks. The audience members seated near us, mostly youngish in age, laughed out loud throughout the show and didn’t seem to be offended at all by the strong language and sexual references. There were reports of some patrons leaving before intermission, perhaps because it was not what they had expected, despite warnings that this is not a show for children.

Ms. Wilcox noted during her curtain speech with Ms. Ray the disclaimer that the Jim Henson Company and Sesame Workshop has not authorized or approved the content of ‘Avenue Q.’ This would be obvious to anyone who sees it. ‘Avenue Q’ was based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with a book by Jeff Whitty and music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. The puppets were conceived and designed by Rick Lyon.

Next for the Warner Stage Company will be ‘The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes for the Holidays)’ which opens on Dec. 9 in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and she posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417