A musical should make you want to sing and dance with the actors, leaving you feeling exhilarated and spent. A trip to Urinetown at Poulton Hall unites all the traditions of musicals, but it has too many predictable elements, and ultimately is a simple one-night stand that leaves you worn and tired.
For the devotees of the musical theatre genre, Urinetown will measure up to the traditiona standards. Elements of a tragic love story: check; a struggle against a higher power: check; caricatured characters, far-too cheerful music and ditzy girl: check, check and check. Yet despite these key features it lacks a spark that makes it stand out from the other good musicals around.
The scene opens with the narrator (Alex Kostura, SFS ‘09) relating to the audience the story of “a town like any other”—Urinetown.
The show’s director, Jamieson Baker (SFS ‘08) wrote in the show’s program that Lockstock’s remarks and “ironic self-awareness satire the musical theatre genre itself.” This is true in parts, such as when the rebels’ secret hangout is sign-posted “secret hangout”, yet a lot of the plot seems very obvious.
The story revolves around Public Amenity No. 9, owned and managed by “Urine Good Company”. As a result of a prolonged drought, private lavatories have become a thing of the past and the poorest residents are forced to hand over extortionate fees to use the public facilities. As prices and frustration build up, the people rebel against the UGC. Meanwhile Caldwell B. Cladwell (Clark Young, COL ’ 09), the Mr. Burns-esque owner of UGC, is seen conspiring over further extortion schemes with the equally money-hungry and corrupt senator Fipp (David Van Bloys COL ‘09).
Greg Kotis, the author of the book that the show is based on, intended to provide a warning to the public about rapid over-consumption. The show’s ending, the only remotely unexpected and satisfying part of the narrative, enforces this message.
The acting and singing are solid, with strong solos from Kostura and Clara Nieman (COL ‘09), although the company’s choreography fails in places, especially during the cancan-inspired tribute dance to UGC and Cladwell.
The technical side of the production is flawless, and fantastic sound effects make the experience of the show far more vivid. The proximity of the action in the studio theatre brings the audience closer to the actors. The set itself is simple, with a large pile of rubble in the middle of the acting space serving as a symbol of over-consumption and waste, providing an intriguing distraction at the points where the singing and dancing overwhelm the plot.
Don’t see Urinetown for the blatant message of excess and definitely not for the plot, but for the grotesque and humorous stereotypes of the monopolists, good/bad cop and the ditzy brunette.
Urinetown is running in Poulton Hall from March 30-April 1, April 5-8.
