By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.
Welcome to Urinetown! Not just any Urinetown, but the filthiest, most run-down urinal in town! What am I talking about, you ask? Well, “Urinetown, The Musical,” which opened at the Playhouse on Friday to an enthusiastic audience.
With music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, “Urinetown, The Musical” is one of the zaniest musicals you may ever run across. It is done as a sort of show within a show as the Narrator/Officer Lockstock greets the audience at the beginning and tells them up front that this is not a happy musical. In fact, nobody even seems to know where Urinetown is.
Times are hard and it seems there is a water shortage, so the good citizens of a mythical town are not permitted to have public bathrooms any longer. All bathrooms are now privately owned by the Urine Good Company, and all residents must pay a fee to pee. If you violate this law, you are carted off to Urinetown. Geez, you can’t even pee in the bushes!
Now, nobody knows where Urinetown is and they don’t know for certain what becomes of the poor souls who are “sent” there, but it isn’t good
All of these crazy characters are cleverly named after either what they do or what they represent. Our two policemen answer to the names of Lockstock and Barrel – get it?
The story focuses on Amenity #9 – that’s actually Urinal #9, and many others are apparently spread across this poor parched looney tune town. Penelope Pennywise runs this fine establishment with an iron hand. Brutally portrayed by Colleen Chance, Pennywise is ready to take on any and all who try to sneak in for a free pee.
Chance is a ball of fire in this role with a singing voice that will make the residents socks roll up and down. She takes full advantage of the villainous role and paints a perfect picture of an old melodrama meanie.
You want overacting? Well, you have it everywhere in this show. Nothing is too big for any character herein and Chance owns the Overacting Comedy Club in this one. She hits the bullseye with “It’s a Privilege to Pee” in response to Old Man Strong wanting to pee on credit.
In fact, if everything wasn’t overdone, this show would probably fall flat. Andy Scott, otherwise known as Officer Lockstock, gives perhaps one of his best performances ever in “Urinetown.”
Low-keyed but authoritative and wallowing in self-importance, Scott offers up Lockstock as Hitchcock would imagine Barney Fife. His sidekick, Officer Barrel (Rachel Franek), is the more bumbling of the two. When together, they send off Laurel & Hardy vibes. Their villainous best comes through in numbers like “Urinetown” and “Cop Song.”
The real villain of the piece, Caldwell B. Cladwell, owns and runs the Urine Good Company in a nice shiny building high atop a hill overlooking the sorrowful subjects. Played by Craig Conrad, Cladwell is a true cad who revels in control and money.
His strong voice serves the character well in both dialogue and especially in “Don’t Be the Bunny.” Conrad has a strong stage presence which adds to the character and makes him a focal point of each scene in which he appears.
Whenever you have a villain, well, you must have the hero. And our hero here is Bobby Strong (could he have any other last name?) Ben Doss turns in a great performance as the clean-cut romantic hero who spearheads a revolt against Cladwell by the put-upon citizens in the low country. Doss plays what is probably one of the only normal characters in the entire show. He is more straightforward and uncartoony, which really helps Bobby to stand out against all of the daffiness of the population.
Patty Carr plays Hope Cladwell, another normal person. Yep, you guessed it, she’s Caldwell’s daughter and fax/copy girl. Yes, the plot is about to thicken. And correct again – Hope and Bobby get together and end up stirring up a mess of trouble for Daddy. Carr is strong in her performance even though she spends a good portion of the second act gagged and tied to a chair. She and Doss have a nice duet with “Follow Your Heart,” a number which actually is a bit of a break from the frantic activity and goings on.
Other great featured performances come from Tyler Stouffer as Tiny Tom, one of the “penny-pinching so he can pee” citizens whose character is a few pennies short of a nickel. Senator Fipp, played by Brian Suchora, also is a highlight in the usual Suchora way, with a character reminiscent of “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
In addition, Little Sally, played by Chey Carr, is a wispy role with plenty of laugh lines which she delivers with aplomb as she saves her pennies throughout the show so she can pee.
This show features an ensemble that adds body and sound to a wide range of musical numbers, plus their on-stage presence gives punch to the cast as a whole. Speaking of musical numbers, there are many, and most are parodies of musical theater numbers from various shows. Most notably, “Fiddler On the Roof” which opens Act II with a riotous take on the “bottle” dance.
Director Nathan Beagle had to have had a great time directing this production because it shows. Top shelf professional performances by all and production value aplenty. The music for this show is well conceived. It is aggressive for the most part by still very melodic. Tyler Stouffer gets kudos for his musical direction. The pit band, under the direction of Evan Barrett, was balanced well except for at the very beginning when they overpowered some of the opening number. Choreography by Colleen Chance was lively as she made her actors and dancers work hard. It added a lot of spirit and enthusiasm to the production.
Costumes by Pete Sherman were well thought out and executed, adding color and some twists of symbolism. Isa Foltz’s scenic design uses a unit set with on and off pieces along with flies for location changes. Lighting design by Ellen Licitra adds color and a frenetic feel that complemented the action on stage.
This is a wild, crazy, frantic, and in some cases, dizzying show full of colorful characters that are almost comic book-like. There is much to catch your attention but with so much action it is tough to catch it all. But, will you enjoy it? Oh yes, get ready to laugh – there is one at every turn! And after a whole act of characters wanting to pee, get to the restroom fast; there was an exodus in that direction on opening night.
“Urinetown The Musical” will continue May 30, June 5-6 at 7:30 p.m.; and
May 31, June 7 at 2:30 p.m.
Pictured at top: The cast of the Playhouse production of “Urinetown” includes, in front, Cheyanne Carr, Craig Conrad, Colleen Chance and Andy Scott; and, in back, Ben Doss and Patty Carr.