This past weekend, BG’s theatre department put on a wonderfully-hilarious production of the satirically-driven show, Avenue Q. By touching upon relevant issues that plague our society, the show successfully raised awareness for topics such as racism, misfortune, generosity and even young love.

Through its use of Sesame Street-esque characters, the show effectively captivated the audience’s attention during the entirety of the two and a half hour production. Two of the non-puppet actors, junior Dylan Dewitt (Brian) and senior Kristen Trandai(Christmas Eve), could not have been happier with the outcome of the show.

“I think the overall show was fantastic, with very few bumps,” Trandai said. “From what I hear, it’s one of our biggest turn-outs, so that’s pretty awesome to be a part of.”

Directed by English teachers Beth Wells and Lauren Stenzel, the production of Avenue Q was Trandai’s first (and last) production at BG. Auditioning for the show had been a bit out of Trandai’s comfort zone, considering she had to quit badminton in order to do so, but the transition into the world of performing went rather smoothly for her.

“My experience was actually really amazing,” Trandai said. “It was scary knowing that the majority of the cast was in Expressions together and that they had that shared connection. For me, joining that pre-existing family was a little terrifying, but everyone was so friendly and welcomed me into that family.”

The show was properly given a PG-13 rating, seeing as the plot touched upon touchy subjects such as race, alcohol, sexuality and desire, but BG’s cast managed to handle these adult themes with an astounding level of maturity.

“My favorite number in the show had to be ‘Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,’” Dewitt said. “I just connected with the song because I thought it was so real and so true. Being stereotypical doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It just means that you’re normal and everyone does it, and I thought that was very cool.”

After approximately 11 weeks of rehearsal,  the ending of Avenue Q means that theatre department is coming to a close for the 2014/2015 school year. Unfortunately, next year’s productions are still under wrap, but Wells is excited for yet another round of shows.

“The hope is that since we had so much success with a contemporary, kind of edgy satire, we could continue to do more compelling scripts that aren’t typically done in high school,” Wells said. “We feel as though the audiences are receiving them very well and we had a lot of success with that in Avenue Q.”