I saw the first ever episode of Sesame Street. I know that I did because my mother tells me so, specifically because she was so impressed with Jim Henson’s work on various other American TV programmes that I was plopped in front of the TV at the tender age of 19 months (ie: sometime in November 1969) to watch a show which was sponsored by the letters W, S and E.[1]

Contrary to the opinions of some educators cited in the relevant Wikipedia article, I don’t feel it’s done me any harm – aside from anything else I can still count to 20 in Spanish, which is more than anything else I can do in that language from total lack of education in the British system.

So it was with this background that Bart, Kristel and I went to see Avenue Q which opened in London a couple of days ago.

Long story short:

• I was blown away.
• It was stupendous fun.
• You need to see this.

It’s absolutely nothing to do with Jim Henson, but it is utterly necessary for it to have been written; the plot is simple enough of the boy-meets-monster, boy-loses-monster, boy-gets-it-together-with-monster variety… but if you are under 45 and know what a web browser is, or if you know what a web browser is and you partnted someone who is under 45, then you really need to see this musical.

A shorter byline would be that it’s Sesame Street for the generation who watched Friends or Sex in the City, and who know what Google is.

Don’t take my word for it – actually please do take my word for it, but also take the words of the people upon whom I eavesdropped leaving the theatre, who unanimously declared it the best thing they’d seen for years.

You’ll be caught up in the songs, wou’ll be humming What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?

What do you do with a B.A. in English,
What is my life going to be?
Four years of college and plenty of knowledge,
Have earned me this useless degree.

…and It Sucks To Be Me, and Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, not to mention the headline song that was popularised by a World of Warcraft video machinima which I won’t cite since the original experience is better.

If needs, travel to see it. Treat yourself. If you’re in America it’s still on Broadway. You have no excuse.

—
note: Although the end credits for Sesame Street have at various times claimed that the show is sponsored by both the various letters of the modern Roman alphabet, and all integers ranging from 1 to at least 12, no confirmation of this avenue of financial support is available.