Avenue Q

"Avenue Q" returned to Las Vegas with a vengeance. A brilliant cast of local talent played to sold-out audience in the first weekend of a show's brief run at the Las Vegas Little Theatre. It is anticipated next week's shows will be sold out as well with good reason. The show is hilarious and polished in every manor of execution. The choreography and puppetry is outstanding. The vocals and voicing of the characters fits perfectly.

"Avenue Q" is Sesame Street if it were set in an outer borough of New York City. The street is so named because it is that far away from affluent neighborhoods. The irreverent, bawdy musical explores what real life lessons children might be taught if adults told it like it really is. They might hear things such as the people of the neighborhood lamenting their lives in the song, "It Sucks to Be Me."

It may be a musical puppet show, but it is 100 percent adult material. Princeton (Jake Taylor) is an innocent young puppet who has just graduated college. He asks the age-old question, "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" Princeton seeks his purpose in life. Purpose becomes the theme for the 'episode.' Taylor's expressiveness, puppetry, voicing and vocals are fabulous.

The show moves quickly from one social topic to another treating each with great irreverence. The people of the neighborhood opine on racism poking fun at racial jokes and stereotypes with "Everybody's a Little Bit Racist." Media screens play the familiar Sesame Street word and number games with a perverse twist. The letters to 'unemployed' are rearranged to spell 'opportunity.'

Princeton meets puppet Kate (Amanda Campos) and a romance begins to blossom. However, after an uproarious drunken night of sex encouraged by the Bad Idea Bears (Brian Scott and April Sauline). Scott and Sauline contribute excellent puppeteering skills sometimes maneuvering two person puppets with flawless precision and actions.

Life goes south for Princeton as he is fired from his job and his budding romance with Kate quickly sours. He is seduced by pole dancing, Lucy the Slut (Campos). Campos is perfectly sexy as the voice of Lucy and vulnerable and sensitive as Kate. Both Campos and Sauline operate Lucy with Sauline doing a large part of the puppeteering and Campos handling the sexy voiceover. A first-time volunteer to LVLT, Campos is certainly not a novice. I look forward to seeing her in future local productions.

Neighbors Brian (Joshua Melzer) and Christmas Eve (Ivy Cerelle Floirendo) are the engaged couple who give advice and comfort to Kate and others in the neighborhood. They have a lavish wedding complete with a Christmas tree wedding dress.

Christmas Eve dreams of moving up from Avenue Q. But in the meantime, she is the loving but screeching, nagging wife who spurs her husband on to be better. Melzer provides laughs and great comedic expressiveness as the floundering husband. Floirendo is hilarious with her accent, mannerism and sass as the Asian wife who keeps him in line.

Gary Coleman (Megan Gardner) is the washed up celebrity who finds himself working as a super for the apartments. Gardner is cute and snarky winking, giving thumbs up and spouting the deceased actor's catch phrase, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Gardner along with Melzer and Floirendo are the non-puppet humans of the neighborhood.

In the end, the characters all realize that no matter what one is experiencing in life be it good or bad, it is "Just For Now." Just for now is how long Avenue Q will be running at the Las Vegas Little Theatre. It would be a shame for you to miss out.

"Avenue Q," runs through July 26 at the Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Dr. in Las Vegas. For tickets or information, call 702-362-7996 or visit www.lvlt.org