Avenue Q at Shaftesbury Theatre

A once-shocking, Tony-award-winning show, Avenue Q receives a makeover in this production that features sharply executed puppeteering and catchy, if occasionally dated tunes. While the humour has lost some of its lustre in the past 23 years, the show still shines under Jason Moore’s direction, with fantastic choreography by Ebony Molina and beautiful sets by Anna Louizos.

The plot is thin and functional. Recent graduate Princeton (Noah Harrison) moves to a destitute neighborhood in search of purpose, and drifts into a romance with Kate Monster (Emily Benjamin), whose dream of opening a school for monsters serves as the climax; at the same time, they encounter a host of other characters, including closeted homosexual Rod (also Harrison), spirited therapist Christmas Eve (Amelia Kinu Muus), and her permanently unemployed spouse Brian (Oliver Jacobson). Everything resolves nicely with a Happily Ever After.

The music is very Broadway with the occasional nod to Sesame Street. Often catchy and upbeat, they centre around topics that are less innocent than the original melodies suggest. Often this does work, such as in It Sucks to Be Me or There’s a Fine, Fine Line, but others – notably Internet Is for Porn, and Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist come across more awkwardly nowadays. In virtually all cases, however, they’re well performed by the cast.

Thankfully, the production itself is thoroughly enjoyable, featuring a lovely miniature street with houses that become part of the action during several songs, great handling of the lighting by Tim Lutkin and generally a clever use of puppetry. Several actors juggle various puppets at once – even during ensemble songs – and each time, it impresses the audience.

Some of this does raise the question of whether Avenue Q would be worth it without the puppeteering. Stripped of that, some of the comedy, script, and songs could do with a more radical update. Even so, it remains an engaging revival with plenty of edgy humour and a still refreshingly odd premise. After all, few shows feature naked puppets having sex.