I (heart) Avenue Q ...

I really didn't give a decent explanation as to why I thought Avenue Q was amazing.

Well, here's why…

The wiki summary doesn't do any justice to the show. Honest to god, this show brought Dame Edna to shame.

Charming and Absolutely vulgar in every possible way, you will not have a dull moment and won't be disappointed with this spectacle.

The set isn't very intricate, (the special effects are pretty wicked) but the characters really do a great job keeping you into the story so the back drop really doesn't matter. Keep in mind, the John Golden isn't a brand new high tech facility. The seats are old and the place is run down. That said, there isn't a bad seat in the house (viewing wize) and the ceiling and stage's ornate antique décor add to it's charm. It's a smaller theater and the intimate setting really worked in the show's favor. You want to be able to see the actors facial expressions and see their characters come to life. (it's an art to watch them…). We sat in the balcony (second tier) and saw EVERYTHING.

If I were to recommend one thing, skip the booze at intermission.The bartender was a little too liberal when she made our drinks.. (I'll take it easy on her.. she probably had an off night) $20 for 2 very small/boozy drinks.. I only wanted a refresher!! If you're really thirsty go for the pop and grab a drink after the show. There are tons of restaurants and cafés in the area, you'll have a good mix of choices available to you.

Alrighty, back to the show..

The cast is absolutely amazing. They really know how to make their puppets feel emotions and keep us captivated. Carey Anderson, an ABSOLUTE Stand out, charmed the pants right off of us as Kate Monster & Lucy the Slut. She alone is worth seeing this show. It is an ensemble cast, however the petite blonde is all we could think about after the show. She made quite the impression on us. You also can't forget Treckie (a cookie monster/ Oscar the grouch cross), he will leave you in stitches.

My top 3 numbers from the show:
-What do you do with a BA in English (great show opener!!)
-The internet is for porn
-My girlfriend who lives in Canada
-There is life outside your apartment (I know I said top 3, but there is a moment in this song that cracks me up all the time)

I tried getting familiar with the music before seeing the show. I really didn't get into it because I didn't know in what context the characters emotions were coming from. I'm a very visual person so I had a hard time associating with the different characters and a feel of where the story was going. I suggest you wait to listen to the soundtrack before you see the show. Now every time I listen to this soundtrack, I LOVE it.

In conclusion, I totally recommend this for adults & teens around the age of 16-17. You can bring your entire family, but be WARNED. Be prepared to explain curses, sexual references and explicit puppet fornication (sex) to your 13 year old. I'll leave it at that.

After the show, head on outside to have a photo op with Treckie (in billboard form). We couldn't help but hog the poster for about 15 minutes. You want to remember the good times right??

On a last note, DO NOT BUY TICKETS AT FULL PRICE. Not right now anyways. Look online for LEGITIMATE ticketing companies who offer discount codes for the show. They are trying to get tourists back in the city, due to the crappy economy, so take advantage of these special codes. You can also head down to Time Square the day of the show at the TICKTS booth for good discounts; anticipate for a huge line-up. I signed up to get e-mails from Playbill.com for discount codes. VERY WELL WORTH IT!!

Ratings: A++++++

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From the Lincoln Tunnel to Avenue Q..

Our drive from the airport was great.. if you like gasoline emission... in an unventilated tunnel..
That's right, it's all fun when you see the Men in Black tunnel.. right up until you start driving through it in rush hour traffic at 5pm in the afternoon. Good times..

Got to our digs on the Upper West Side, settled in, had a quick bite to eat (fantastic dindin) and ran for a cab. New York is great for it's cabs.. but just make sure you know where you are going because the drivers thrive on tourists like us for a couple extra bucks.. (do you blame em'?) And make sure to have the address on you in case they have no clue where you want to go.. (our situation for example!! John Golden theater apparently didn't ring a bell)

If you got tickets and plan on going to see a show, try to get there a little earlier than curtain call. Sometimes traffic is unpredicable. Ours? back to back through Time Square.. but that's mostly our fault for waving a cab on Central Park. There will always be a huge lineup outside the theater.. not to worry, you will get in (provided you have your tickets in hand and are at least 5 minutes early)

Avenue Q was AMAZING..

here is a quick description lifted from wikipedia:

The show is largely inspired by (and is in the style of) Sesame
Street: Most of the characters in the show are puppets (operated
by actors onstage), the set depicts several tenements on a rundown street in an Outer Borough of New York City, both the live characters and puppet characters sing, and short animated video clips are played as part of the story."

The characters use profanity, and the songs concern adult themes. A recurring theme is the central character's search for a "purpose." Since the musical soundtrack for it was released, the song "The Internet Is for Porn" has become particularly popular on websites such as YouTube and can be downloaded for free from the official website. According to the official site, the musical
is appropriate for both adults and mature teenagers.

more to come...

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Leading up to day 1

The week of the trip was indeed a busy one. On the Monday we had made this little schedual and by Thursday night the house was supposed to be clean, our bags were supposed to be packed and I had to finish an assignment for my photog class due.. like that day! Nothing was done.. nada… not even the laundry load waiting on us in the basement…

Thursday overall was an interesting day.. I don’t know about you, but I always get anxious for Thursdays to end, I seem to want to get things done and finished before the end of the day so I won’t have anything to do but surf the internet all day Friday (the life of a public servant right?). We were schedualed to leave at 7am and drive to Syracuse to catch our flight to the big apple the next day. By 11:30pm Thursday night, panic mode stepped in. not anywhere near ready..

The trip didn’t exactly start off on the right foot.
I got home from my late night photog class and quickly swept things up to bring with us on the trip and started a laundry load. Everything seemed under control, we had a system going. I even had a couple spare minutes (unheard of!!) to check what was going on in Perez’s world. I now wish I hadn’t…





What the heck do you think went through my mind when this happened??
Switched it to CNN to make sure this wasn’t a joke… Perfect. Not only was it Friday 13th, but we were schedueled to fly with Continental (operated by Colgen Air) and flown on the exact plane that had it’s fiery demise in Buffalo.

(side note, my heart goes out to the families who have lost a loved one in this terrible accident)

We called our travel mates (which probably wasn’t the best idea because a- it was 12:30am and b- well, Friday the 13th… if you are superticious, really not a good day to get this type of news)

We re-grouped and decided to leave at 6am instead of 7am.(seemed like a great idea at the time…) We had a plan.

Day 1: 6am

Breakfast was the first thing on the agenda, but since we were so VERY early, it was hard to hook an open McDonald’s serving breakfast to satisfy the cravings.. (can’t start a trip without the sausage and Egg goodness friends!!) we eventually found one on the road so it worked out.

After running out of window juice and almost being run off the road by some black ice, we finally made it to the airport in Syracuse in record time. 9:30am… when did our flight actually depart you ask? Not until 2pm… we should have known!! We were flying to Newark, and this airport is prone for lengthy delays.. we had tons of time to kill. So much so we did what any good traveler would do, hit up the bar. Nothing like a good drink to calm your nerves right?

Wayyyy wrong..

Things started out ok on the flight.. the snack service was in full force and things were going good.. that’s until the flight attendant said we got to our destination mighty early and started picking up our half finished drinks and snacks 10 minutes in… for those of you who haven’t been on a flight, a service usually lasts 15-20 minutes. To add another notch of scary to the mix, the flight attendant ran up and down the isles picking up trash at the speed of light. He was nowhere near the calmest he should have been...

We hit so much turbulence… When your boyfriend, (who is mostly calm during all flights you’ve ever been on together), gives you that Holy shit look… something is deff way off the charts. We landed… after a very sketchy side skid (very scary feeling).

Even though this was a brand spanking new aircraft… I felt 100% safer in an older crappier aircraft.. Is that strange to you??

It didn’t matter anymore. We were going to be in beautiful SUNNY AND WARM NYC for 10 fantastic days and nothing was going to take that away from us… not even a crappy plane.

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