This was a fantastic night, one of my favourites of the year.
I certainly laughed more than at any other show I've seen all year.
I don't think you could write this, as is, now, but as a revival with a warning like we got, you could definitely do it.
For instance, sex-positive women should not demeaningly be labelled "sluts." Is it ok to label a woman "Lucy the Slut," even if she is villainously prejudiced against "people of fur" and seemingly self-identifies as a "slut?" Probably not.
Also, having the Japanese character speak grammatically incorrectly is stereotypically funny ("It suck to be me") but I doubt you could write that now without getting criticised for perpetuating a stereotype.
Even Germans may object to being depicted as quintessentially prone to "Schadenfreude," when that is obviously a human characteristic not specific to Germans, and the generation of Germans who perpetrated atrocities are dead. Probably we can still make fun of Germans, as they do not belong to any persecuted minority or class, but that taboo too may come.
On the other hand, "Everybody's a Little Bit Racist" feels more necessary than ever, as if you go on Elon Musk's "X," the "For you" tab seems to be nothing but racism these days, and the song beautifully clarifies the issue and unites people in laughter.
Anyhow, this cast, which I saw 18 years ago, and again now, were pure magic. They are comedically immensely talented, and have a gift for milking audience response.
If anything, they are funnier now than they used to be.
A greyed eye-rolling weary Sion Lloyd STILL being "unemployed and 53" was certainly WAY funnier than his being "unemployed and 33.
Giles Terera definitely got even more laughs out of Gary Coleman's weariness and knowingness, which was especially hysterical when he knowingly and despairingly stomped off into Les Mis's Paris set.
The way Jon Robyns's defensive Rod made feral squeaky shrill birdlike adlib noises when provoked by Simon Lipkin's Nicky felt funnier than ever to me, and his ability to channel the volume, of audience cheers and whoops, between two fingers, raising and reducing the volume at will, evinced the confidence of a lifetime on stage.
And they have broadened their talents too, with Kate Monster, Julie Atherton, doing a sterling job of directing this show in only 4 days, as well as bitchily arguing with herself, as Kate and Lucy, so easily and effortlessly, Lucy's Southern drawl so sultry and Kate Monster so caustically snappy lol. And her youthful squeal of delight when Princeton made her the mix tape felt more magical and charming coming from a middle-aged woman who had apparently sustained an open eager innocence over decades.
Ann Harada, as Christmas Eve, got such a big laugh when she suggested she aspired to upgrade from living in the "Les Mis" set to living in the "Phantom" set. As the only cast member who was part of the original Broadway cast as well as the British cast, it was so wonderful to have her there.
But of course, Simon Lipkin is and always will be the comic puppet-master, who I have seen manipulate comic puppets in multiple shows now. Lipkin's Oliver beard made him look more wizened, than his bright sarky smiling face once did, but this only seemed to make his wicked amoral puppets seem even more debauched and amoral. His Trekkie's exhortation on the tannoy to "switch off your mobile phones unless you're in the bathroom in which case, KNOCK ONE OUT, sorry, knock yourself out!" had me in stitches before I even saw him. His obsession with "Onlyfans" was a nice update, as was his Bad News Bear advising us to scroll Tiktok endlessly when we are unhappy. But Lipkin's great talent, beyond his voice characterisations, is TIMING and improv. Put any puppet in Lipkin's hands, and he can take a moment between moments, like when Nicky is trying to get Rod to admit he's gay, or when Trekkie is desperate to say the word "porn," and Lipkin will time the puppet's "will he, won't he" frustration perfectly, lunging forwards, lunging backwards, lunging forwards again, always staying one whisker ahead of the audience to keep capping the laughs. It's the kind of timing that allowed him to match Rebel Wilson for laughs when he played Nathan Detroit. But Lipkin's Trekkie is in a comic league of his own, one of the funniest most irreverent characters ever to grace the stage, the only one dumb enough and outrageous enough to suggest "Diddy didn't do it" (his computer password) and time the outrage and retraction so perfectly that the moment was hysterical.
Original UK director, Jason Moore took to the stage at the end to explain that he got his break from Cameron Mackintosh (present in the audience, meriting a much deserved ovation) directing "Les Mis" on Broadway, so to see his UK Avenue Q cast creeping around the Les Mis set must have been really something for him lol.
Anyhow, this was my funniest night of the year, matching the "Spring Awakening" Reunion as one of the best Reunion shows I've ever seen. 5 stars from me.
