Avenue Q (2003 Original Broadway Cast) [CAST RECORDING] [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Jeff Marx, Robert Lopez, John Tartaglia, Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 7, 2003)
• Original Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Explicit Lyrics
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B0000BZK1R
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (245 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,640 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Avenue Q will only fuel the frustration of those who think that Broadway has given up on sophisticated entertainment geared to adults. "Whatever happened to Cole Porter's witty rhymes and mature subject matter?" they'll say. Well, it's hard to deny that Avenue Q's main frame of reference is Sesame Street and that its humor can be very broad--yes, there's profanity and puppet sex. But the show also displays heart ("The More You Ruv Someone" typically begins with "Why can't people get along?") and a pretty satisfying zany streak. Musically, the score is rooted in 1970s pop, with nods to the aforementioned Sesame Street. The excellent cast, dominated by John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, does it justice, milking the humorous numbers for all they're worth and finding pathos in the more straightforward ones. Not bad for a childish show. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description
AVENUE Q is a musical that has been running on Broadway since 2003 and is currently the 25th longest running musical in Broadway history and it has won 3 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL. The show is largely inspired by (and in the style of) Sesame Street.for adults. Most of the characters are puppets (operated by actors onstage). The characters use profanity and the songs concern adult themes. AVENUE Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There's Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fiance‚ Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod -- a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building's superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, that Gary Coleman.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely hysterically funny musical!, October 18, 2004

By	M J Heilbron Jr. "Dr. Mo" (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

My wife and I just saw this on Broadway last week. It was one of those wipe-the-tears-of laughter from my eyes experience.
The standard description for the show has been "Sesame Street meets South Park", because the puppets, the setting and the music all are OBVIOUSLY Jim Henson-inspired, and because it is gleefully bawdy and offensive in an equal-opportunity kind of way.
While that is true, I found that the true similarity lies within the amount of truth and humanity all three have. Things are said, and ideas proposed, that would be inappropriate for "humans" to say. Seeing "puppets" talk about racism, porn, homosexuality, poverty and love enables you to look at it from a slightly different angle, and you'll learn a little bit more about yourself without even trying.
That is, if you can stop from laughing so dang loud.
The cast album perfectly captures the show, including just enough of the dialogue to give you the gist of the entire production. The vocal talent is impressive, with most singers doing two (or more) parts.
Seeing it live, realizing they are acting and puppeteering at the same time, the talent rises from "impressive" to "awesome".
The songs are flat-out irresistible. You'll be humming along before the individual songs even end.
The titles alone induce giggling: "What Do You Do With a B.A. in English", "It Sucks To Be Me", "The Internet is for Porn"...

Now, let's be perfectly clear. This is NOT for everyone. If you are easily offended, if you are homophobic, if you are uncomfortable talking about sex or race...this is NOT for you. This is not for kids.

It IS one of the most riotously funny Broadway experiences I've ever had. And the CD captures it perfectly.

By the way, if you haven't seen puppet sex, you haven't lived...

("It's OK to Be Loud As Hell (When You're Making Love)".

60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant, off-the-wall send up of Sesame Street!, October 8, 2003

By	Robert W. Berg "Rob" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, the new musical, "Avenue Q" looks like an episode of "Sesame Street," but be forewarned parents, the "Parental Advisory Warning" isn't there for no reason. This brilliant new Broadway show takes a cast of foam characters, who look suspiciously like the Muppets, and uses them to tackle decidely adult issues such as sex, pornography, racism, homosexuality, drug use, cruelty and cynicism. Ironically, this musical's most recent forebear is "Rent," and while that show told its story through rock opera while this one tells it through bouncy, cheery songs that sound like children's music but are in fact raunchy, vulgar, and most importantly, wickedly clever and satirically dead-on parodies (Think of the music to "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" and you'll get the general idea.), the shows' subject matters are remarkably similar, even if their overall tones couldn't be more divergent. Monsters who masturbate? Two male roommates who bring the supposed gay subtext of Bert and Ernie into the forefront? Songs that teach us such valuable lessons as "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet is for Porn," and "You Can Be Loud As the Hell You Want When You're Making Love"? Sesame Street this ain't. Absolutely hilarious it is. If you're in New York, you MUST go see this show, which is funnier than "Urinetown," "The Producers," and "Hairspray" combined. If you aren't, buy this cast album to get even just a small idea of the warped and wonderful world of "Avenue Q."

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUNNY Q, March 10, 2004

By	Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (Seabrook, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Mixing Rent, Sesame Street, South Park and The Simpsons into a musical comedy and you get Avenue Q.

Q has Rent's characters, Street's puppets, Park's bitting wit and a tip of the hat to Bart and Homer in its delivery. It is adult entertainment for the 70's generation who grew up watching Sesame Street. It's the back alley which we never knew, and really wanted to know about deep down. The cd makes the transfer from Broadway stage to compact disk without a problem.

The Music of Avenue Q is hip, wicked and amazing funny The music is also a mesh of 70's pop rock lyrics that are character driven more than humor driven. By doing this, it makes Q funnier in scope and delivery. John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo head an assemble cast with a catchy soundtrack.

For example, the song "The More You Ruv Someone" sound like a Muppet ballad, almost in the spirit of classic Sesame Street tunes penned by Joe Raposo with hipper modern lyrics .

The cd confidently captures the Broadway show with aplomb. You will listen and wish you were in New York watching this show. This is what a great theater soundtrack should make you do. It's worthy of any Broadway cd collection
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD