The harsh realities of life, love and work are a lot more palatable when puppets are involved. Especially when those puppets are as crude, clever and downright hilarious as the ones in Avenue Q.

It's not often you hear characters resembling your fond Sesame Street favourites cheerily singing about how life sucks, everyone's a bit racist and the possibility their best friend is in the closet.

But instead of making you squirm in your seat, the lovable cast have you laughing unashamedly throughout the musical (even during the song The Internet Is For Porn).

The story centres on college graduate Princeton (Richard Lowe) who moves into a shabby apartment in downtown New York. Clueless as to what to do with his BA in English (cue song), Princeton is soon greeted by the rest of Avenue Q's residents including Kate Monster (Sarah Harlington), Christmas Eve (Arina II) and Bert and Ernie parodies, Rod and Nicky.

Before seeing Avenue Q, I was aware of its trio of Tony awards, and I felt it deserved them during this performance. The cast’s vocals are impressive, particularly those singing at puppet pitch, and the score is brilliantly written and funny.

That’s why the slightly sombre moment before the interval is a bit deflating, and I was surprised at how emotionally invested I’d become in these puppets’ lives.

In true Sesame Street-style, the characters learn a valuable lesson about the importance of helping others. But this is Avenue Q, remember. And we’re all reminded of that fact at the end when a new puppet on the block responds to a helping hand with the middle finger.