Urinetown leaves audience laughing
With political commentary, corrupt businessmen, forbidden love and plenty of adult humor, Urinetown: The Musical has something for everyone.
Basically, there is a town experiencing a major drought in which extremely poor citizens must pay to pee. The wealthy; however, are free to pee and just get richer.
Through the course of the play, audience members discover the truth about Urinetown and the dictatorial corporation ‘Urine Good Company’. The truth is exposed through the humorous narration by Officer Lockstock played by Robert Valenti and Little Sally played by Alexa Fryover.
Even though the audience is often reminded by the narrator that it is “not a happy musical,” the show leaves viewers conflicted with a feel-good message of hope and the ominous view of the future.
As student Grace Hathaway put it, “I felt like I should have been crying, but I was laughing.”
What I think made the show was the cast’s energy. They made it come alive through spirited dancing and musical talent.
One thing that makes this play appealing to college students is the humor. While there were plenty of sexual references there was also enough dry humor, political satire, perfectly placed silences and physical humor to keep the audience laughing.
On the technical side, I really enjoyed the simplistic scenery. The clever use of a projector to indicate changes in location was effective in my opinion and allowed scene changes to occur more easily.
To say the cast is talented is an understatement, but one actor that blew me away with his vocals was Jeff Blanchette playing the lead role of Bobby Strong.
As the first musical I have seen at Castleton, I think it was amazing and the cast seemed to agree with me.
“Tonight’s show was amazing, but the coming shows will be even more amazing,” Valenti said.
Blanchette agreed that the show went very well but added that there are going to be a few minor glitches.
“It’s live theater; whatcha gonna do?” he said.
If you didn’t get a chance to see the show the first weekend make sure to see it this coming weekend. As director Harry McEnerny said, “They’re peaking now. It’s getting smoother as we go along.”
His projections for the second weekend of shows?
“They will be rested. The show will be better, crisper, cleaner, tighter,” he said.