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SINGAPORE: A puppet show for adults only - Avenue Q, one of Broadway's best-selling musicals, premieres in Singapore on Thursday night.
The puppets may look cute and cuddly, and may be inspired by the American children's show, Sesame Street, but in the musical "Avenue Q", the puppets address some serious issues such as internet addiction, sexuality and romance, with uncensored adult humour.
There is even a blonde bombshell, Lucy, who has a thing for Singaporean men.
She said: "And the (Singaporean) men... they were absolutely hot. I couldn't contain myself!"
The 12 puppets, accompanied by seven actors, play out the story of how a group of friends struggle to make it in New York City.
The show first started in New York, went to London, travelled to Manila and is now in Singapore.
It has even won the 2004 Tony Award for best musical.
There are several racy bits with puppet nudity in the musical, but the show's presenters MediaCorp Vizpro and the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), who spent over S$1 million to stage the show, say audiences in Singapore are ready for it.
But there is a parental advisory - the show is not suitable for those younger than 16.
Artistic director of SRT, Gaurav Kripalani, said: "This may not have been allowed seven years ago at all. It is very risqué, but it is very adult. We have said it's not suitable for children.
"This is a show that has run in New York for four years, and London for two years. So many people have already seen it."
SRT was also the one who brought RENT, a Broadway rock musical addressing some controversial youth issues, to Singapore in 2001. The show was given a Restricted Audience rating - only for adults aged 21 and above.
Director of "Avenue Q", Bobby Garcia, said: "It's such a unique musical because of the added value of puppets on stage doing very human things.
"The writers themselves said it's for the iPod generation and it's certainly for people who don't like musical theatre. That was their goal - to bring people who don't normally go into musical theatre to have an enjoyable evening."
And they have probably succeeded as Avenue Q is one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway.
- CNA/yt/il
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