Preview: MTW presents ‘Avenue Q’

Avenue Q, full of jokes, taboo topics and puppets, is a musical like no other. So I was so excited to hear that MTW were putting it on for their studio show this term. My initial thought was ‘wow, that is brave’, but after seeing a rehearsal in full swing, I can assure you this is going to be a good one. MTW are well known for their large casts, their big shows, and their extravagant dance moves, but maybe not for puppets!

The Avenue Q cast are the quadruple threat as they sing, dance, act and operate puppets!

The cast is small, with only 14 members making up the entire show, which cast members said made them a great company due to the close-knit cast relationships and relaxed banter which I saw a lot of in rehearsals. The cast also mentioned that as there were so few of them, it had been great when exploring the relationships between each character. As I arrived at rehearsal, a puppet workshop was in progress, so I was so excited to see how the cast were getting to grips with embodying their characters through puppetry. When speaking to the cast I discovered most of them had never worked with puppets before and found that the workshops were helping them really get to grips with it saying ‘it was so tough at first’ but now they felt more confident with it.

Having listened to the soundtrack myself, I was intrigued to see how the cast would handle taboo songs such as ‘Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist’ and ‘If You Were Gay’. When asking them if they had found some of the topics awkward to rehearse the cast laughed and stated that they had just been having too much fun with it and it hadn’t been a problem at all. The performances I saw were simply incredible, putting a smile on my face throughout. When I asked how long they had been rehearsing, I was told only two weeks. It amazed me what they had achieved in such a short time, the work that had been put into the show already was quite outstanding and I’m sure they have much more to give as they embark on the last week of rehearsals.

The singing was perfect, with the entire cast numbers sounding amazing. It was evident that as a whole the cast work very well together musically. The best thing about my little sneak-peak was that I felt like I wanted to join in. The entire room was full of so much energy and fun, giving it a real buzz about it, making me feel welcome and excited, which will no doubt be how perspective audiences can hope to feel! I can see how excited the cast are about the performances and how much they are all putting into it! I honestly could not have been more impressed by what I saw, prompting me to have just bought my ticket for opening night, which I could not be more ecstatic about!

Don’t know the musical? ‘Outrageous’ is one word used to sum it up, but also full of heart and passion, which makes Avenue Q unmissable. I can assure you MTW are going to do it justice. Trust me, this is definitely not one to be missed! Book your tickets for Week 4 now either at the Arts Centre box office or online: http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/whats-on/2015/avenue-q-music-theatre-warwick/