Innocence lost; life’s purpose found

The greatest gem in Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga’s inspired collaboration in Avenue Q is its spell in gradually intoxicating a viewer with bittersweet humor and rough replication of real life to the point that it stirs him to imagine — although fleetingly — that he is watching unmistakably episodes of his messy journey from the initial delight of self-exploration to disenchanting self-discovery. 

While Avenue Q’s story line may initially strike as astonishingly melancholic, on the contrary, it is deliciously naughty yet irresistibly gnawing even as it provokes a viewer into genuine self-introspection. The musical is an utterly cogent, enchanting fresco of a young pilgrim’s passage through time while he divines the unknown into known, complete with youthful indiscretions such as one-night stands and agonies of nearly missed romantic union due to vacillation.

Avenue Q was originally produced off-Broadway, is still running on Broadway and had won three awards in the 2004 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. However, Garcia  and Arespacochaga’s attack on the Atlantis Productions’ Avenue Q brings an almost-homegrown-feel of lyrical kick to the foreign material: One can easily picture the musical’s lead male character Princeton in the legions of overqualified college graduates trudging through dreary blue-collar jobs to earn a living, the recent local racial slurs against the Chinese, and needling political jokes aimed at the highest US politician which have a local resonance.

In its entirety, the electrifying musical sparkles with dazzling collective performance and spectacular individual song numbers by the powerhouse cast composed of seven mostly young stage talents, several of whom essay multiple roles requiring diverse voice inflections. Notice the subtlety and nuance in the male lead character’s fine body movements such as the arching of eyebrows, twitching of facial muscles, and the charming flexing of legs. Several of the ensemble members can possibly be considered the current crown jewels of the young or recently unearthed brilliant stage talents and thus, can be labeled the engine of growth in the local theater industry. 

Felix Rivera, Joel Trinidad, Frenchie Dy, Rachel Alejandro, Aiza Seguerra, Rycharde Everley and Teenee Chan eloquently give life to the riveting music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and to the book by Jeff Whitty. As a testament to the collective creativity and talent of the cast and the crew of Avenue Q, the musical may have a rare second repeat performances sometime next June or July and a tentative Singapore run in September next year.

A big bonus of the musical is the live orchestra which enthusiastically plays the score to bubbly numbers such as It Sucks to be Me, If You Were Gay, Everyone’s A Little Racist, The Internet is for Porn, I’m Not Wearing Underwear Today, You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want, Schadenfreude and For Now.

The musical opens with newly-graduated Princeton — armed with a B.A. in English, a small amount of money  and high hopes — moving into Avenue Q, a fictional multi-ethnic enclave in the outskirts of New York City, the only place where he can afford the rent. A peculiarity of the musical is that several of the cast members have to do the challenging tasks of simultaneously singing or delivering lines to provide voice to their hand puppets while adeptly manipulating them. This reviewer wants to laud puppetry trainer Marvin Ochoa’s passion for teaching puppetry to neophytes, notably the local Avenue Q cast. Ochoa’s immeasurable patience is manifested in the cast’s complicated yet seamless hand movements. The large colorful puppets crafted by Sam Fuentes, known as “the man behind Philippine puppetry,” are featured fully naked in several refreshingly wholesome or hysterically decent sexual act scenes ever staged in Philippine theater. Judging from the boisterous reaction by the audience, it seemed that they are the ones having multiple orgasms as they watched the puppets merrily have sex instead of the furry creatures. Take a deep bow, Ochoa and Fuentes.

After settling in Avenue Q, Princeton (played by the tremendously talented Rivera, who also does the role of closet gay professional Rod with equal credibility) meets an assortment of people who eventually become his friends and support group as he searches for signposts of his epiphany. The musical, as mentioned earlier, is an enchanting fresco where Princeton plays a pivotal part in connecting various ravishing images of the multi-ethnic characters and their caprices. As such, Avenue Q’s intense impulses shift from the tumults of the characters’ life journeys to a love story, from a satire on a multi-ethnic society with conflicting demands and needs to that of coming out and negotiating one’s internal sexual maps with the fragmented external physical identity, from the potent influence of the Internet on everyday life, notably on pornography and financial investments via the world wide web, to that of humdrum existence of the unemployed or underemployed.

The promising Felix Rivera, who turned 25 on Dec. 24, a day after the last run of the second repeat performances at the RCBC Plaza’s Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, and the remarkably natural Joel Trinidad (who essays the bum Nicky, Rod’s roommate; porno-buff loner Trekkie Monster; Bear, and others) act and sing preeminently among the three male members of the ensemble on the night this reviewer watched the show. The persuasive Everley provides solid support as the aspiring stand-up comedian Brian and lived-in partner of Christmas Eve, the Japanese therapist who has problems with the English language.

 Among the four female ensemble members, the incredible Frenchie Dy whose voice and acting are a class by itself in this production tops the list. Perhaps the best voice in the cast, there is no hint that Avenue Q is her first foray into legitimate stage. It is hoped theater stage directors will recognize her sheer talents and give her a leading role soon. Dy’s haunting rendition of the lines “The more you love someone/The more you want to kill him” (from the song The More You Ruv Someone) as she comforts the distraught Kate is breath-stopping. Sad to say it is one of those radiant performances rarely seen in local legitimate stage since the musical Dreamgirls ended its limited run ages ago.

The accomplished Rachel Alejandro shows her notable skills as she alternates as the lovelorn teacher Kate Monster and sexy singer Lucy T. Slut, both of whom are competing for Princeton’s attention and hormones. Her rendition of Special and There’s A Fine, Fine Line showcases her distinguished voice quality.

Aiza Seguerra as Gary Coleman, the superintendent of Princeton’s building, is the audience’s delight. Some of them  gasped as the former child actress performs her first solo song number.

Skillful Teenee Chan wonderfully animates Mrs. T, Bears and others with such poise and understated polish and crisp voice. 

The following must be given credit for their contribution in the marvelous musical: Musical director/repetiteur Jojo Malferrari, production designer Mio Infante, lighting designer/technical director Jay Aranda, poster-program-projection designer GA Fallarme, production manager Bernice Aspillaga-Cañete, stage manager Lambert de Jesus, assistant stage managers Bea Salipsip, Wowie Bonto, Mae Mae Bonto, assistant stage manager for lights Johnsy Reyes, assistant stage manager for video slides Charo David, assistant stage manager for sound Karen Dio, and vocal coach Manman Angsico.  

Taking stock of Garcia’s important body of works, it may be suggested with conviction that perhaps Avenue Q is one of the finest — if not the best — of his numerous productions if points were equally assigned to his ensemble selection and his expert control over his musical director/repetiteur, production designer, lighting designer, puppetry trainer and puppet-maker. Again, it must be said Garcia teamed up with Arespacochaga in directing the  musical.

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