By David Gordon
Just say it.
“Urinetown.”
What is “Urinetown?” Well, “Urinetown” is a mythical place that is the centerpiece of a musical called “Urinetown: The Musical.” “Urinetown” is a musical about a place where there’s a drought. Because of this drought, there’s a water shortage. Because of this water shortage, private toilets have been outlawed. Because private toilets have been outlawed, everyone has to do their business in pay-toilets, controlled by the UGC (Urine Good Company). If anyone is caught breaking the law and using the bathroom elsewhere (say, in the street, for example), they are carted off kicking-and-screaming by Officers Lockstock and Barrel to the mystical, mythical “Urinetown.”
You, too, could possibly find yourselves in “Urinetown” during Masquerade Musical Theater Company’s production of “Urinetown: the Musical,” Dec. 4 and 6 at 8 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre. Senior Tyler Richardson directs the musical play by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann.
“Urinetown” has a storied history. It began as a New York Fringe Festival production, reopened Off-Broadway and garnered enough acclaim to move to Broadway. It opened on Sept. 20, 2001 (pushed back a week as a result of 9/11). “Urinetown” was nominated for 10 2002 Tony Awards, ultimately winning three: Best Director (John Rando), Best Book (Greg Kotis) and Best Original Score (Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis).
Since closing on Broadway in 2004, “Urinetown” has had an extraordinarily large life in stock and amateur productions. Richardson attributes this to the appeal of the material. “It’s a lot of fun and it doesn’t take itself seriously,” he said before a recent rehearsal. “People who saw it on Broadway just grabbed on and helped it become a cult classic.”
Richardson proposed the show to the members of Masquerade because he believed it would be a great piece to mold around their strengths and individuality. “Each actor brings their own individual feel to their role.”
Musical theater junkies will find solace in the numerous in-jokes and parodies of other musicals in the script and score. “It parodies shows like ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Les Miserables,'” says cast member Michael Guess.
With song titles like “It’s a Privilege to Pee,” it’s hard to take the piece seriously, even though it happens to be a serious musical. “You can be having fun and enjoying the happy music…and then you realize what’s going on,” says Charles Rohlfs (Officer Lockstock). “There’s an actual political message.” With its themes of social irresponsibility and corporate mismanagement, along with the fact our economy is in turmoil, it will be interesting to see the relevancy of “Urinetown,” says Musical Theater International, the company that licenses the show, “the show is a satire on issues that affect us everyday…even if it does use the word ‘pee.'”