On the good recommendation of a couple friends (you know who you are), I checked out the heralded Tony-winning Broadway show Avenue Q while in NYC last week on business. What a show! And I’m not an especially big fan of musicals. But really, how can you not like a smart, risqué, and funny story about oddball muppets searching for purpose, love, and decent rent (opening theme song: “It Sucks to Be Me”, followed soon after by “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist”)? Basically, Sesame Street for grown-ups.

AVENUE Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There’s Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fianceé Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod — a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building’s superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, that Gary Coleman.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

Worth seeing if you can. It’s in New York, London, and touring the US throughout 2008.