By: Sam Martini ~Staff Writer~

On a trip to New York City a few friends and I were able to catch an off-Broadway show.

Avenue Q is the story of a puppet named Princeton, straight out of college, and his search to find his purpose. He ends up on Avenue Q, where he and his newfound friends discover life after school and how to cope with the future.

Opening off-Broadway in 2003 and having its Broadway debut the same year, the show garnered fantastic reviews and won three Tony awards the following year.

After running on Broadway for six years, the show moved back to off-Broadway where it has run since 2009.

The show has several of the cast members operate puppets to further push the comedic style of the show. It uses a childlike form of entertainment to make some of the subject matter a lot less dark than it truly is.

The performances were fantastic in this production. Many have played their parts in different versions of the show across the country, some even during its run on Broadway. With music and lyrics by Robert Lopez, the man behind Frozen’s “Let It Go,” it is no wonder the show has been around this long.

The show uses a fantastic blend of Sesame Street and harsh realism to provide a stellar comedic take of the world we live in.

Running for 13 years, Avenue Q still pulls in audiences to experience its fantastic message of growing up and finding out who you are and that everything in life is only for now.