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the Spreckels Theatre Company’s latest production. If, however, your taste runs more to the dark and twisted, then you won’t find Urinetown, the Musical too draining. It runs in Rohnert Park through March 1.
Set in a dystopian future where decades of drought have ledto the regulation and privatization of water intake and outtake, theshow by Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis made quite a splash on Broadway in 2011 andwas nominated for ten Tony Awards (winning three.) It’s an odd combination ofsatire, parody, social drama, and love story.
The show opens at Amenity #9, the “poorest, filthiest urinalin town” where citizens line up to pay for the privilege to pee. Failure to payor to be caught urinating in public leads to banishment to Urinetown, a placefrom where no one has ever returned.
The Urine Good Company, headed by the dastardly Caldwell B.Cladwell (Tim Setzer), seeks to hike their outrageous fees even more. Thisdoesn’t sit well with Amenity attendant Bobby Strong (Joshua Bailey) who’s soonfomenting rebellion. Complications ensue when he finds himself falling in lovewith Cladwell’s daughter Hope (Julianne Thompson Bretan). Will their love bestrong enough to break the stranglehold her father has on everyone’s bladder?Spoiler alert! Nope. As Officer Lockstock (David Yen) makes clear in hisintroduction, this isn’t a “happy” musical.
Actually, it’s barely a musical at all. It’s more of asingle-themed Forbidden Broadway-type revue with each musical numberreminiscent of another show. “Look at the Sky” smells of Les Misérables, “Whatis Urinetown?” brings Fiddler on the Roof to mind, and “Run Freedom Run”has shades of Guys and Dolls or even How to Succeed in BusinessWithout Really Trying in it. The show’s best number may be its onlynon-referential one – “Don’t Be the Bunny”.
Director Jay Manley has an excellent cast at work here.Bailey and Thompson Bretan bring earnest demeanors and terrific voices to theircharacters. Setzer obviously relishes in Cladwell’s villainy. Yen keep things whizzingby with his humorous exposition, often in tandem with Denise Elia-Yen’s LittleSally. The show also benefits from a strong ensemble.
Michella Snider’s choreography also pays homage to otherBroadway musicals, and Lucas Sherman and a five-piece orchestra handle themusical responsibilities with aplomb.
Urinetown may leave a bad taste in the mouth of some,but if you’re in the mood for something decidedly different then, by all means,go.
‘Urinetown, the Musical’runs through March 1 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Fridayand Saturday evening performances are at 7:30pm; the Sunday matinees are at 2pm;and there’s a Thursday, February 27 performance at 7:30 pm.
For more information,go to spreckelsonline.com
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