The internet is for...blogging about Avenue Q

On the night of the first and only time I saw Avenue Q, over three years ago in the summer of 2006, I looked down at the floor during my train ride home to Jersey and found a penny from the year I was born. I thought it was a sign that I was going to find my purpose, so naturally I burst into song because everything was of course going to be okay.

Well, it wasn't. But that's not to discredit the sheer awesomeness of Avenue Q. This musical will sadly be closing this Sunday, September 13, after running for over six years. Though unconventional in its staging and style of music, Avenue Q taught us all some valuable life lessons like coping with wanting to go back to college, being as loud as the hell we want when we're having sex, and learning to not be prejudice against monsters. Okay, there's also several life lessons that actually are important, and I believe that we've each experienced and internalized different versions of these in our own way. It's just that kind of show.

A few things I'd like to share in memorandum: My dad found it fascinating that there was a Broadway show that starred puppets and had been claiming that he wants to see Avenue Q for years. Of course he had no clue what the show is actually about. Capitalizing on his enthusiasm, I burned him a CD of the songs from Q that didn't contain references to sex, porn, racism, homosexuality, or drugs...which of course left about three songs, one of which sadly being the 30-second "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today". Finally my mom broke down and told him that his beloved puppets have sex on stage. That put an end to my hopes of that family outing.

In terms of my own sex life, Princeton and Kate's duet and the melody of "Fantasies Come True" became my own internal soundtrack for one particular college hookup. Isn't it the greatest feeling when you've totally been crushing on someone for awhile, and then one night after eight or so drinks the things in your head are really happening in your bed? Then you wake up beside the person the next morning and there's music playing and it's this magical moment and then...yah it pretty much ends there for everyone but Princeton and Kate.

In case you need further proof that Avenue Q truly is a credible Broadway sensation, I must bring up a fact which many people tend to forget. In 2004, Avenue Q beat Wicked for the Best Musical Tony Award. Something actually beat Wicked! Avenue Q kicked their ass! Now tell me that's not legit. Oh, and that penny? Resting safely in a corner of my jewelry box. Hey, I haven't totally given up hope.