Avenue Q (in Turkish!)

When I heard that the Broadway musical Avenue Q was coming to Istanbul, I thought it would be the perfect thing to do with my friend Lindsay when she comes and visits, because she loves musicals. Just for anyone who doesn't know, Avenue Q is an insanely popular Broadway musical that is basically Sesame Street for adults and beat out Wicked for Best Musical at the Tony's. Lindsay asked if the musical would be in Turkish. I figured that it would be in English, because this show seemed to only have a very short run, most foreign movies are only subbed, and I felt that it would be pretty difficult to translate songs into Turkish using the same music. 

I, of course, was completely wrong. It was definitely in Turkish. None of the content or music had changed, this baby is under copyright of course, but all of the lyrics and dialogue had been translated into Turkish. Lindsay arrived at the airport, and that night I whisked her off to the theater located on the Asian side. The night was cold, and wet, and we got a little lost so I was really thankful to finally reach the theater. As we were walking to our seats, the cast greeted us at the door, speaking in Turkish with the audience members. This was my first clue that we were going to be in for a Turkish Avenue Q, or should I say, "Q Caddesi." Surprisingly, it was I who would have the most problems with the musical being in Turkish. Lindsay had already seen the show twice in the States, and had memorized all of the songs, so she pretty much knew what was going on, despite the language barrier. I, on the other hand, had never seen Avenue Q before, and despite the fact that my Turkish is getting better, one of the hardest things to do is to understand songs. Luckily, Lindsay saved the day. She just happened to have the entire Avenue Q soundtrack on her iPod. So we shared earbuds, and the entire show I had the English music in one ear, and the Turkish version live on stage in the other. It was kind of crazy, but awesome. 

As always, it was interesting watching this American musical with an entirely Turkish audience. I felt that the show was really raunchy, and I was worried that a lot of the content would offend Turkish sensibilities. But, one of the things I love about Turkish people is that they always surprise you, just when you think you have them figured out. The ballad "The Internet if for Porn" was by far the show-stopper of the night, and according to Lindsay, the number "You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want," in which two muppets have sex on stage, was apparently a much bigger dance and light production than in the American version. We were also shocked by this grandmother and her 10-year-old grandson sitting right in front of us. Even in America, who the hell takes a 10-year-old to Avenue Q? But they both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. All of the actors were Turkish, even the one playing Christmas Eve, a Japanese woman who is an unemployed therapist. I had heard before that there is a very famous Japanese actress here in Turkey who somehow learned fluent Turkish and now plays every Asian woman role in all of the movies and tv. I really hope it was her. 

All in all, we had a great time!