The first act of Avenue Q ends with the song "There's a Fine, Fine Line," and while the character is singing about the line between a lover and a friend, it's also an apt description of the metamorphosing relationship between puppet and handler in the Tony Award-winning musical. After a long Broadway run that began in 2003 and an excellent touring production that came through town in 2007, this little musical that could is now delighting another wave of audiences at New Conservatory Theatre Center, where the fine, fine line between flesh and fur is being lovingly erased.
The fur belongs to Sesame Street -like characters who share the neighborhood with several fully human figures, and while Q takes its cue from the education-is-fun format of the television show, its "lessons" are more of the grown-up variety. Life can be a bummer, the characters generally agree, except for those fleeting moments when it's not �" and pull together enough of those moments, and maybe you've got something to work with.
The odd magic of Avenue Q is keeping the puppet manipulators in full view, with their voices and facial expressions projected into the lumps of fur and foam into which their forearms are inserted. As if it's not enough of a challenge to be acting for two, some of the performers embody more than one puppet, each with a distinct voice and personality, and at times even in the same scene. Just keeping the quick-change puppet identities straight seems in itself a commendable achievement, but the NCTC cast sails through this challenge to the even bigger reward of imbuing their forearmed charges with empathetic humanity.
One by one we meet the residents of an apartment block managed by Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman, played with subtle sardonic subversiveness by Sam Jackson). The only other fully human characters on the block are failed standup comedian Craig (an adorable tap-dancing lug played by Zac Schuman) and his Asian-American girlfriend Christmas Eve (both sweet and sour in Teresa Attridge's sharp performance).
But the puppet dramas are the main concern of Jeff Whitty's script, as little morality tales tempered with contemporary sensibilities are incorporated into the overall story. Longtime roommates Rod and Nicky have a happy household, at least until Nicky assures Rod that he is fine having a gay roommate, if in fact he does have a gay roommate, which Rod angrily denies being. William Giammona creates a comically uptight voice and persona for Rod, while Christopher Morrell gives off a welcoming laidback vibe as Nicky �" at least not while playing strung-out porn addict Trekkie Monster.
Giammona periodically switches into the wide-eyed but worried puppet Princeton, at sea despite a recent college diploma, but maybe his purpose can be found with Kate, a big-hearted substitute teacher who also happens to be a monster that Stephanie Temple makes thoroughly endearing, at least when she's not playing a temptress with the self-defining name Lucy the Slut. Millie DeBenedet occasionally spells Temple as Lucy, while providing helping hands when needed.
The life lessons for grownups that these characters enact find their fullest expression in Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's tuneful and playfully insightful songs with an occasionally shocking line naturally tossed into the lyrics. Ben Price's musical direction is in perfect harmony with the onstage performances, and the first-rate stage direction is by Dennis Lickteig, with an assist from Allison Daniel for puppet direction. Travis Howse designed the puppets (based on Rick Lyon's originals) with a little help from San Francisco State's theater department.
When the tour came to town six years ago, I said that Avenue Q puts a smile on your face even as it provides ample example why that should be otherwise. There's no reason to alter that sentiment as a big smiley face quickly throws its net over NCTC's Decker Theatre and keeps the audience happily entrapped.
Avenue Q will run at New Conservatory Theatre Center though Jan. 12. Tickets are $25-$45. Call 861-8972 or go to nctcsf.org.