Metro Theatre to October 10, 2026
Tickets from $47 (seniors and students with ID) at www.metrotheatre.com
Posted September 20, 2026
If the daily news is getting you down, a little boost to your spirits may be as close as Metro Theatre in Marpole where Avenue Q is playing. And playing is the operative word here: with Sesame Street-style muppets it’s all light and silly and, like Sesame Street, it ends with a tidy little message: “Everything in life is only for now” which sounds a lot like the platitudinous, “Things will get better”.
Don’t be fooled: Avenue Q is definitely not for kids. It parodies the kids’ show with very adult material including (and you have to see it to believe it) riotous muppet sex. To be honest, I’m not sure who enjoys it the most – the audience, the muppeteers or the muppets. Missionary, side-by-side, doggie-style – a veritable muppet Kama Sutra.
Growing-up issues include, in song, racism (“Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”), porn (“The Internet is for Porn”) and envy at other people’s misfortune (“Schadenfreude”).
With music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx with book by Jeff Whitty, Avenue Q premiered in 2003 and went on to win Best Musical, Book and Score in 2004.
What exactly are muppets? Coined by Jim Henson who combined ‘marionette’ and ‘puppet’, they are puppets that are typically made of foam rubber covered with fabric. One hand usually controls the head and mouth while rods control the hands. Wikipedia explains the three distinct styles of puppets used in Avenue Q: rod puppets (single and double), live-hands puppets and mechanized, and free hand puppets. There’s a lot going on here.
Some of the seven performers are human characters, like Brian (Zak Stevens), Gary Coleman (Britney Mocca) and Christmas Eve (Jaclyn Sim) while some are muppets, like Princeton/Rod (handled by Richard White), Kate Monster/Lucy (Leah Dubbin-Steckel), Trekkie Monster/Nicky/Bad Idea Bear (Liam Reitsma) and Bad Idea Bear/Mrs. T (Rachel Scheibel).
If you think these young performers are just having a whole lot of fun on stage, you might have to think again. The muppeteers, dressed in black, are clearly and always visible. But when, for example, Lucy tosses her golden locks and vamps her way across the stage, so does her handler Dubbin-Steckel. It’s like playing two parts simultaneously: one is Lucy, for example, and the other is muppet Lucy. So complicated and taxing it is, puppeteering consultant Stephanie Elgersma had all the cast – including those who were not playing muppet roles – take a turn with the muppets so they could all appreciate the concentration and difficulty required. The physical rigour involved means periodic massage therapy for the cast. Avenue Q is a real workout.
The muppets in this production were made in California by Puppetry Plus and come with a hefty rental fee.
The story: Princeton, thirty-two going on thirty-three, has a BA in English and, naturally, he’s out of work and looking for cheap digs which he finds on New York’s Avenue Q. There he meets the rest of the neighbours – all a little down on their luck (“It Sucks To Be Me”). There’s romance: Princeton and Kate (“There’s a Fine, Fine Line”). There’s gender orientation confusion: Rod and Nicky (“If You Were Gay”). Fear of commitment: Brian and Christmas Eve (“The More You Ruv Someone”). About twenty songs in all.
Under Chris King’s direction and musical direction by Arielle Ballance, this young, non-yet-professional cast can really sing and raise the Metro roof. You have to be young, fit and energetic to sustain the kind of energy required to last through a couple of hours of singing, dancing and puppeteering. There really is not a weak link in this cast or the six-piece band. Song after song is knocked out of the park.
Starlynn Chen sets the stage with a low rent Avenue Q streetscape and an entertainment/club district lit by Mark Carter with follow-spot operators Carys Braverman and Russel Herbert.
One small quibble that has nothing to do with this fun-filled production: a little more than two hours is a little more than the material is good for. But if you’re looking for a feel good, slightly raunchy, totally irreverent giggle – and who isn’t? – Metro Theatre is at 1370 SW Marine Drive.