Conducting a social experiment at Avenue Q... sort of

              When it was announced that the national touring company of Avenue Q would be making its way into Durham for a brief, two-show stint at the Durham Performing Arts Center, I knew I had to be there.  I had seen the show once before, with my mom, when the national tour came to the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC.  When I bought the ticket this time, it was right before I swore off the balcony forever.  I bought a balcony seat.  I went the first night of the two-night engagement, and I enjoyed it well enough – it’s an amazing show after all.  However, I wanted to be closer.  Being the hopeless musical theater junkie I am, I went home from the satisfactory balcony experience of Avenue Q and immediately booked one of the few remaining seats in the orchestra for the following night’s performance.  I justified the purchase to myself under the guise of a social experiment – I wanted to see if there was a difference in audience reaction to a show like Avenue Q between those in the cheap seats and those in the orchestra.  To be honest, this was a relatively thin cover for the fact that I just wanted to see the show again.

                On my second night at Avenue Q, my seat was in row K of the orchestra, way far too the right of the house.  I was so far right that the tower which holds the TV and speakers was blocking the entire staircase and most of Princeton’s apartment.  However, a kind gentlemen who, I’m assuming, is the house manager or something similar, offered me and another patron who was attending alone, seats in row K right smack dab in the middle of the theater.  Attending the theater alone definitely has its perks.  This seat was so much more enjoyable for me than in the balcony.  Now, I know that some people really like sitting in the balcony, and they prefer that vantage point at the theater.  I’m not trying to hurt the balcony’s feelings – I just don’t care to sit there.  That seat in the middle of row K was utter perfection.  Although, in the interest in sharing pros and cons, I feel the need to mention that the gentleman sitting next to me was far too excited, and his mid-show fist-pumps were a little much.

                And the social experiment?  Turns out, there’s not much of a difference between the cheap seats and the orchestra seats, in terms of audience reaction to Avenue Q.  That just goes to show that funny is funny.  The show is relatable for college students and forty-somethings alike.  My little fake-y experiment just proves what I already figured: Avenue Q rocks.