A new twist on "Avenue Q'

The current road tour of Avenue Q disproves the old axiom that quality declines when a show travels.

The scenery and costumes are not discernibly different from the original 2003 New York production; the casting is excellent; and one principal player actually is better than his Broadway counterpart.

Although its visit is brief, this production is worth noting because the recently deceased TV actor Gary Coleman has a prominent place in the show. A major character, the superintendent of a rundown tenement, says he is Coleman: "Yes, I'm the real Gary Coleman."

The character sings about how he had to sue his folks because they stole his money, but he sets an example for the others in the way he accepts his decline from TV star to superintendent of a small apartment building in the poor part of Manhattan. While other characters complain about how "It sucks to be me," Coleman accepts his lot with relative equanimity.

This part sticks out in a musical comedy whose characters are mostly lifted directly from "Sesame Street." Coleman, by contrast was a real person who achieved premature stardom at age ten in the TV series "Diff'rent Strokes" but as an adult was plagued by legal troubles, including an assault incident in 1998 and incidents of disorderly conduct in 2007 and domestic violence in 2009.

Ernie's voice

Avenue Q finds its raison d'être in contrasting what kids learned from the Public Broadcasting children's show with what they experience when they go out in the real world. But this musical is at its best when it avoids slavishly imitating the TV program.

An example: Michael Liscio Jr., playing a man named Nicky, uses a grating voice because he is trying to mimic TV's Ernie. This annoying sound detracts from Nicky's humanity. In contrast, "Coleman" is imitating the real Gary Coleman rather than anyone from "Sesame Street."

Coleman sings "Schadenfreude," a song that encapsulates the essence of the show, explaining how people derive pleasure from the misfortunes of others. The world's reaction to the real Coleman's life, and his death at age 42, exemplified that.

The outstanding performer is Brent Michael DiRoma, who sings very well, moves adeptly and was appealing in his portrayal of the two characters Princeton and Rod. (On Broadway, the originator of these roles mugged incessantly.)

A duet with herself

Other outstanding players include Ashley Eileen Bucknam, who pulled off the impressive feat of singing a duet with herself as two disparate women while animating the puppet of one of them, and Nigel Jamaal Clark, who played Coleman with exceptional singing and dancing skill.

Many people adore the similarities between Avenue Q and "Sesame Street," and I caught heat from readers when I complained about that in a review of a previous traveling production of the show in 2008. As I mellow with time, I'm less bothered by the fact that Avenue Q sometimes aims narrowly at followers of the TV program. There's plenty of substance and humor in this show even if you never watched "Sesame Street."

"Everyone's a Little Bit Racist," "If You Were Gay" and "What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?" are very clever numbers. And we should note that the closing number advises us all to stop complaining and move on, because everything in life is only "for now."