Previews: AVENUE Q at Straz Center

On stage from August 31 to September 25 is Avenue Q, an edgy Broadway musical with puppets. Now reading this, you may think it's a perfectly innocent story to introduce the kiddies to live theatre.

You would be wrong, so very, very wrong.

Avenue Q is in no way The Muppet Show unless Kermit and the gang decided to do raunchy talk and Miss Piggie flashed her pork boobs. Think South Park meets Sesame Street, and you're getting warmer. Leave the kiddies home for this one, and be prepared to laugh out loud with a 13+ audience.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this is not for the politically correct set. Written by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty, the musical is set on a fictitious New York City street where the characters attempt to find their way. Recent college graduate Princeton moves into a shabby apartment on Avenue Q. He soon discovers this is no ordinary neighborhood. With pop culture references and the use of Gary Coleman of Diff'rent Strokes fame as a character, the show targets serious, sensitive, adult issues like unemployment, homelessness, and infidelity.

For example, in the musical, accusations of bigotry turn into the most catchy number, "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist."

Chelsea Hooker plays Gary Coleman, her second time in the role.

She said it was difficult not to laugh while looking a puppet in the eye when the puppeteer was next to the actor. As actors are supposed to make direct eye contact with their fellow cast members, purposely avoiding eye contact with the puppeteer was challenging.

She said her favorite scene is when she is singing with Nicky as "Schadenfreude" - the German word for laughing at the misfortune of others.

"You're poking fun at yourself, showing it's ok to be a person people look down on."

Chelsea said that the show's overall theme is not to take life too seriously.

"Take your time, make friends, and everything is temporary, so live your life while you can."

Fo'i Meleah plays therapist Christmas Eve.

"Christmas Eve is very good at serving a tough kind of love, which is very in line with the culture she represents and my particular culture. In our show, she is Filipino," she said. "She is a therapist with two master's degrees, married to Brian, an absolute sweetheart, but he is currently unemployed. This is frustrating for her. She loves her family and her friends and is able to show that in acts of service."

Fo'i explained that in most Asian cultures, you do not get the words I love you, but rather the acts of service- actions to express love.

Having never worked with puppets before, Fo'i agreed with Chelsea that not making eye contact with the puppeteer actor was a new experience.

"I had to keep remembering don't look at the actor's eyes. As an actor you try to connect with the person. I had to drill into my head that my interaction is strictly with the puppet."

Fo'i's favorite scene is "For Now."

"It's such a sweet complete ending. At that point, Princeton understands that not all of your questions will be answered, and that's ok. The abundance of not knowing is more fun than having finite answers. It's a great message to remind ourselves as young adults or adults, whoever is watching the show."

Chelsea added, "The show in rehearsal has been absolutely incredible. We're hilarious. They're little things that we are finding in the script and the show, and we are all just collaboratively feeding off each other. I think this show is going to be a really good one."

Learn more and buy tickets at www.strazcenter.org/Events/Straz/Shows/2122_Theater/AVENUE-Q