17/05/2026
Well, how's that for a cracker review of Avenue Q's opening night performance?!
"The choreography of Lauren Empson is witty and innovative and of a professional standard, the vocal direction of Kathryn Harris, judged on the uniformly strong voices, equally so. Director Kate Martin-Booker has complete command of the material, just confidence in the talent on display and a mastery of pace, particularly in the first half where character development and set pieces flow seamlessly..."
We're grateful (and relieved!) to read the kind words from Dr. Richard Swainson of Auteur House, but don't take his word for it!
Get tickets and come check it out for yourself.
The team are back on stage Weds, May 20, with performances through until May 30th.
📍 Riverlea Theatre
🎟️ iticket.co.nz/events/2026/mar/riverlea-hmt-avenue-q
Was invited to Riverlea Theatre last night to see Hamilton Musical Theatre Inc's new show open. A review was requested. Here it is.
One of the strangest aspects of the far from conventional musical comedy Avenue Q is the inclusion of Gary Coleman, the squat, diminutive one-time child star of the late 1970s to mid 1980s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, as a fictional character. It's a bizarre touch for a Hamilton Musical Theatre production in 2026, where it might be imagined a goodly portion of the 21st century audience would never have heard of Coleman, his personal tragedies or even his Diff'rent Strokes catchphrase, "what you talkin' 'bout, Willis?", repeated ad nauseam throughout that period, a seemingly inescapable aspect of low popular culture.
The actual Coleman - incidentally far from the most tragic cast member of that legendarily cursed show - was approached to appear in the original off Broadway production back in 2003 and his failure to do so could be counted as yet another career mistake for the much-troubled little person. Played with gusto by Adrian Ngarua - a woman with she/her pronouns as the programme helpfully informs us - Coleman becomes a friendly building superintendent, one somewhat less inclined toward litigation or dwelling in the past if nevertheless carrying the burden of a fallen, impoverished star. It's a wonderful conceit, with the script getting the catch phrase out of the way early. I was just happy to hear it once, for old time's sake.
Avenue Q is more fundamentally a parody of Sesame St, an institution that, unlike Coleman and the contrivance that spawned him, persists to this day. The setting, an archetypal New York street, complete with upstairs apartments, wonderfully realised on the local stage by Greg Hack, that multi-talented Riverlea Theatre veteran whose abilities belie his name, clearly references the show's iconic set. Whilst not every muppet associated with the franchise features, those curious about the sexuality of Bert and Ernie or the internet search history of Cookie Monster are in for a treat.
The satire is at the gentle and humanistic end of the spectrum, closer to homage than hostility. If one of the writers is called Marx we can be thankful he's closer to Groucho than Karl, too, for whatever a thematic agenda that seeks to reconcile unrealistic ideals with the grimmer if not actually harsh reality of life, the musical was clearly written before peak wokeness. One song, "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist", faces the fact that all human beings are hardwired to identify with their particular tribe, a refreshing perspective and counterpoint to theories that argue only white folk are capable of prejudice.
Those like myself who studied humanities at university and thereafter found themselves virtually unemployable will warm to a protagonist with an Ivy League name, Princeton, a muppet with deep-pocketed parents but sans job and lacking in personal motivation. His opening number, "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" could be the lament of a middle class generation and Princeton soon finds another unsatisfied friend in the neighbour, Kate Monster, with a big, impractical and seemingly unrealisable dream. Whilst he has "no purpose", as a witty public service announcement video communicates via wheeled-on-stage television, she has more than enough for two.
I should make clear how all this works. Actors perform the muppets as hand puppets, visible to the audience, creating an unique connection. The double perspective of actor and character inherent in any theatre production gains another dimension, as your focus shifts from the artificial to the real and back again. Things get even more complicated during song and dance numbers, with humans moving rhythmically about the stage and the muppets performing if not separately then semi-independently.
There are, in short, a lot of moving parts, requiring from the cast a multiplicity of skills and from those in charge a distinctive vision. The choreography of Lauren Empson is witty and innovative and of a professional standard, the vocal direction of Kathryn Harris, judged on the uniformly strong voices, equally so. Director Kate Martin-Booker has complete command of the material, just confidence in the talent on display and a mastery of pace, particularly in the first half where character development and set pieces flow seamlessly, with what could have been in a lesser production just gimmicks - the television sets and show-within-a-show animations - a hugely amusing part of the organic whole.
At the risk of cliche I can honestly say that it would be unfair to single out particular performers in such a stunning cast. Maya Hasegawa's heavily accented work as Christmas Eve, a no-nonsense therapist hailing originally from Japan, reflects experience which extends to the small screen and she is matched by Callum Sheridan-Braithwaite's textbook slacker as her character's improbable spouse, a would-be comedian whose ironically funny routine involves a failure to put on underwear.
Among the muppet performers Luka Cameron's Princeton and Gaby Jackson's Kate Monster make for extremely personable leads, with Jackson's voice and character work particularly outstanding in the Act I finale, "There's a Fine, Fine Line". Jasmine Gorman and Patrick Farrell bring indescribable energy and verve to the Bad Idea Bears that lead Princeton astray, busy vocally but also dexterous on their feet. Jack Graf as Nicky, the Ernie parody, is the actor who bears the closest resemblance to Muppet founder and prime performer Jim Henson, adding an element to his stage presence. Graf's rapport with Josef Bavastro's Rod - a variation on Sesame St's Burt with a touch of The Muppet Show's Sam the Eagle thrown in for good, Republican measure - is first rate and the couple's bedroom fantasy scene a comedic highlight.
Absolutely maximising less time on stage are Charlie Helliwell's sensual Lucy the Slut, who is outstanding in her specialist musical moment, "Special", the always reliable Adam White as Trekkie [read Cookie] Monster, who has the privilege of singing lead in the show's most provocative - and accurate - song, "The Internet is for P**n", and Katie Hansen, brilliantly funny as the grouchy old teacher Mrs Thistletwat. Hansen additionally lends a hand to Nicky, impressive double-duty in a busy show.
What I liked most about Avenue Q was for all that it engaged with contemporary malaise and first world, big city, bourgeois problems, it never for a moment felt preachy or smug. Whatever musical comedy conventions were returned to at conclusion, with a nominally happy ending, they were undercut by a final song reflecting on the transitory nature of life. As Gary Coleman could have said, one minute the whole world is at your feet, demanding you recite a banal line 24/7, the next you are fixing the toilets in an apartment building, after your folks have stolen every cent you made.
Photograph: Ascend Photography (Pete Kirby)
