Avenue Q: Sesame Street's Darker Version

In a world where every day is a sunny day, you'll find Sesame Street.  But there is a place where reality kicks in and every day isn't as sunny as you thought it was.  It's a place called Avenue Q.
Conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx who also wrote the music and lyrics, Avenue Q evidently drew its inspiration from Sesame Street. With characters like Nicky and Rod--that's Ernie and Bert for you with a twist of course, and Trekkie Monster--Cookie Monster rip-off, but this time he's not addicted to cookies but to something else.  We also get to meet characters like Kate Monster, Lucy the Slut, The Bad Idea Bears, and human ones like Christmas Eve, Brian and Gary Coleman!

So when I read that Atlantis Productions will stage Avenue Q for the fifth time, I really had to watch it (my best friend and I caught the 2nd-to-the-last playdate).  Aside from the good word-of-mouth reviews I got from friends who have seen it, my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to see how actors with puppets perform.  And it was a revelation!

Let me say that Rachel Alejandro was very, very good essaying two roles: that of Kate Monster and Lucy, the Slut.  Alejandro's changing character voices from a nice girl to a vamp was seamless.  And considering that I was never really taken in by her charms as a pop singer, I'm hats off to her as a stage performer!  Galing mo, Rachel Alejandro!  Her lines were delivered well and she nailed both characters well.  (I guess it goes with having played them for the nth time!) 

Another stand-out for me was Joel Trinidad.  This stage actor is very, very good!  Last seen in 25th  Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Mr. Panch, he now plays two characters in Avenue Q: Nicky (the Ernie rip-off) and the puppet who stole the show-- Trekkie Monster (the Cookie Monster rip-off).  Trinidad's energy was all over the place (aside from playing another supporting puppet as one of the Bad Idea Bears).  Trinidad essayed Trekkie with gusto, and his tandem with Thea Tadiar (two people were operating Trekkie the Monster) was fun to watch.  Both actors were in sync (I can just imagine how hard it was during the rehearsals to synchronize the movements of both actors). 

Noteworthy, too, were Frenchie Dy and Aiza Seguerra.  Dy played Christmas Eve and she was totally into the character she was portraying.  Seguerra on the other hand became Gary Coleman, down to the black actor's signature laughter.

Songs that stood out wereThe Internet is for Porn (Trekkie Monster and Kate Monster), A Fine, Fine Line (Kate Monster) and Special (Lucy the Slut).

The play was directed by Bobby Garcia and Charri Arespacochaga.