If You’re Hopeless, Down, and Out… Go See Urinetown: The Musical

The second installment of BareStage’s Spring 2014 semester, Urinetown, won’t necessarily cheer you up, but it’ll certainly make you laugh. Set in a dystopian, possibly-South American region, the Off-Broadway musical traverses modern themes of capitalism, freedom, and sustainability. It dabbles in love and tragedy, but not enough to compete with West Side Story or Les Misérables. Bolstered by a cleverly-written, satire-riddled script, an absurd premise, and a dynamic cast, BareStage’s Urinetown will certainly find success in its two-and-a-half week run, which will officially begin Friday, April 11th at 8pm.

When a twenty-year drought renders “private toilets unthinkable” and when “you can’t just go in the bushes either” because, as Little Sally (Cecily Schmidt) informs us, “there are laws against it,” there’s the Urine Good Company. These “bad guys,” led by capitalist king Caldwell B. Cladwell (Matthew Borchardt), control every public amenity in the city. They live and work atop the tower which, in 72 Cesar Chavez, is a 4-foot high platform separating the rich from the poor in this production. The good guys then, are the poor folk who congregate near Public Amenity #9 everyday for “a morning pee.” More often than not, they’re short a penny. Or a nickel. Or a dime.

Sometimes they can hold it. But when they can’t, they are taken by Officers Lockstock (Adam Niemann) and Barrel (Alex Scoolis) to the infamous Urinetown. The first victim of the show is Old Man Strong (Gregory Cohen), the father of assistant custodian and to-be revolutionary Bobby Strong (Alex Millen). Complicating the situation is Bobby’s stock love interest, the naïve and beautiful Hope Cladwell (Trina Rizzo), UGC legacy or as she calls it, the “fax-slash-copy girl.”

On Thursday night’s preview performance, the especially versatile supporting cast transformed the theatre from a Madmen scene (“Mr. Cladwell”) to the Playboy Mansion (“Don’t Be the Bunny”) in Act One, and then from the Cell Block Tango (“Snuff That Girl”) to a gospel One Direction (“Run, Freedom, Run!”) in Act Two. Standout moments included Audrey Baker’s powerful vocal delivery of “It’s a Privilege to Pee,” some innovative incorporation of a rolling-chair into “Mr. Cladwell” choreography, and the satirical slow-motion chaos to end Act One. Despite a mediocre “Follow Your Heart” duet, both Millen and Rizzo redeemed themselves after intermission.

Millen’s voice was unexpectedly better adapted to Schmidt’s in the midst of a polyphonic sequence of “Run, Freedom, Run,” and Rizzo gave a heartfelt rendition of “I See a River” to close the show. “Why Did I Listen to that Man?” was also harmonic chaos and beautifully executed by the entire Urinetown cast. They were backed by a live pit band that was, for the most part, in time. The musicians will certainly benefit from this weekend’s shows, gaining a knack for live sound effects in theatre, where a large number of unpredictable variables such as forgotten lines and audience applause will require additional attentiveness.

Urinetown is a musical where supporting roles are written to steal the show. With this embedded advantage, Niemann connected with the audience through his dual role of senior police officer and narrator, Baker came, saw, and conquered vocally, and Schmidt played a convincingly delightful Little Sally. The supporting cast acted as the sassy, comedic relief to an otherwise gloomy and seriously unglamorous retelling of Romeo and Juliet; they were clearly dedicated and enjoying themselves. The dance numbers were well-choreographed, the numbers were well-staged, and the staging well-thought. The actors were upstage, downstage, behind the audience, and in the aisle. The plot twists were twisted, and the ending was true to reality.

Here’s Audrey Baker, who plays Public Amenity #9 warden Penelope Pennywise, on the people’s revolution:

It’s a production worth seeing, even if we came away asking why all the adults are British. Bring a friend, or two, or six – there’s plenty of sass to go around.