Denise Lee, James Chandler, Matt Purvis and Megan Kelly Bates with their puppets for Theatre Too’s Avenue Q. The show has been a major success for the playhouse and has enjoyed two extended runs. (Courtesy of Jeffrey Schmidt)

In a frigid basement just below Uptown Dallas’ Theatre Three sits the much smaller, more intimate, Theatre Too. A little brother of sorts to its upstairs sibling, Theatre Too is known for staging impressive shows, despite its lacking square footage.
In the case of Theatre Too’s current production, Avenue Q (you know, the show that infamously beat out Wicked for the Best Musical Tony in 2004), the small space works in the show’s advantage. In fact, after seeing Avenue Q in such an intimate format, one couldn’t imagine the tongue-in-cheek musical on a stage any bigger.

Avenue Q sings the story of a run down, quirky New York neighborhood and its rund own, even quirkier residents (who are all puppets, a la Sesame Street). We are introduced to these characters through the eyes of Princeton, a recent college graduate who finds himself jobless with a seemingly useless degree in English. Princeton is new to the adult world and Avenue Q acts as his harsh welcoming party.

Princeton is quick to find out that adulthood isn’t at all it’s cracked up to be. With bills to pay and a job to find, Princeton becomes obsessed with pursuing his purpose in life. This quixotic quest is the show’s primary catalyst.

Helping Princeton along the way is the mash-up of odd neighbors that call Avenue Q home. First and foremost is Princeton’s apartment superintendent, Gary Coleman (yes, Gary Coleman from television’s Different Strokes). Despite his recently deceased status, Coleman isn’t the oddest character on stage.

Princeton also shares the street with love interest Kate Monster. Monster is a kindergarten teaching assistant who also has a purpose – she wants to open a school exclusively for monsters (a minority in the Avenue Q world).

Despite a small love triangle introduced in the show’s second act, Princeton and Monster fall for each other.

Also on Avenue Q is the bickering engaged couple of Christmas Eve and Brian. Brian, a struggling comedian played by Chester Maple, is more of a buffer than anything for the show. However, Christmas Eve, played by Olivia de Guzman Emile, provides much of the show’s abundant comic relief.

Making up the rest of the neighborhood are roommates Rod, Nicky and Trekkie, who is a porn-obsessed monster.

While the characters are superb and well portrayed, Avenue Q’s real strength lies in its musical numbers, originally penned by Jeff Max (book by Jeff Whitty).

Marx’s sharp lyrics ring just a true today as they did in 2004. From social commentary numbers like “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” to “The Internet,” Avenue Q’s songs transcend its fictional world and make the entire audience either nod in understanding or fidget in their seat due to the uncomfortable truth.
Kudos to the cast for going beyond the regular musical actor duties of just singing and dancing. With puppets to control as well, the entire cast of Avenue Q had to not only remember lyrics and steps, but also had to mime their puppets’ mouths in sync with the song. This could not have been an easy task.
With such an astounding cast, it’s hard to note a standout on stage. Megan Kelly Bates and Matt Purvis make for a great couple on stage as Monster and Princeton. The two pull off their dual roles as Rod and Lucy well too.

Cater belts as Gary Coleman. But, without a microphone, some of Carter’s lyrics were lost in the rafters.

However, when working with a small stage (and a presumably small budget) the show’s director, Micheal Serrecchia had to make decisions as such.

In terms of the artistic cast, Jac Adler’s take on Avenue Q’s set works perfectly for the small venue. With mock-up stoops and bustling windows, Avenue Q’s set needs to be functional, or else the show would falter.

With a rock-solid cast and timeless material, Avenue Q is a big success, despite its small stage.

BOOK IT

Avenue Q runs through Oct 28 at Theater Too, 2800 Routh Street, #168. 214-871-3300. theatre3dallas.com.