The Tony award-winning musical “Avenue Q,” notorious for its ‘little bit racist,’ offbeat-but-wholesome, values-teaching puppets, entertained theatre-goers Thursday at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.
It was an evening of frank and profound puppet smut.
Hearing moans in the dark, followed by explanation from lead characters Kate Monster and Princeton — as they proved that even puppets can fornicate on the first date with the help of a long island — was only audience foreplay for what was to come in the second act: a message to live and laugh in the moment.
Created by Jeff Marx, 39, and Robert Lopez, 35, “Avenue Q” shocked and entertained Broadway audiences up until Sept. 13, 2009, a run lasting more than six years and 2,534 performances. A second national tour of the show opened in Sept. 2009 with a non-Equity cast — which performed last week at the PAC.
International productions have played in cities around the world over the last three years. One woman in the lobby before the start of the show explained how she had seen “Avenue Q” in New York, but that Moscow was by far the best performance she witnessed.
“It was an interesting decision to bring “Avenue Q” to the PAC,” Cal Poly Arts Director Steve Lerian said.
Cal Poly Arts offered seven Broadway shows last season, including “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Oliver,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and John Doyle’s revival of “Sweeney Todd,” but only plan to offer two this year.
“We made the decision to include ‘Avenue Q,’ one of only two Broadway productions this year, the other being Camelot … because ultimately our mission is to introduce new works to our audience and we wanted to include a hot new musical, not just the classic chestnuts,” Lerian said.
Season planners, like Lerian, have wanted the show at the PAC for a while. It was just a matter of time before producers would allow for a short run of the show — in this case only for a night.
Mega-box office productions like “The Lion King” and “Wicked” aren’t a possibility for the PAC, mainly because the area couldn’t sustain enough of an audience for a week or more — a guarantee producers are looking for, Lerian said.
Pushing the envelope a little, Lerian said he expected a few complaints. Surprisingly, he said, that didn’t happen.
With a conservative community demographic, the San Luis Obispo community might have rejected “Avenue Q,” but that didn’t happen either. The show sold out early — 1,262 seats.
Unfortunately, not many students had the financial opportunity to enjoy the performance.
“I didn’t see hardly any people my age in the audience,” San Diego native Kate Marie, 19, said. “I was expecting the crowd to be a lot younger than it was.”
Tickets sold between $30-$50, more than most students are willing to pay for a few hours of entertainment, but Lerian noted that 90 percent of Cal Poly Arts shows offer student-discounted tickets.
“I didn’t see a lot of young people in the audience either, but tickets sold quickly,” he said. “I encourage students to take advantage of the 20 percent-off face value ticket prices, but to get on it early.”
For a full listing of the remaining production at the Performing Arts Center this season, visit www.pacslo.org.