{"id":350674,"date":"2024-02-24T12:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T17:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=350674"},"modified":"2024-02-24T12:02:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T17:02:16","slug":"satirical-urinetown-sparkles-like-new-at-american-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/02\/24\/satirical-urinetown-sparkles-like-new-at-american-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Satirical ‘Urinetown’ sparkles like new at American University"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life in the Anthropocene (the current epoch in Earth\u2019s history) has its limits. The more resources we humans use up, the less there are to sustain the planet. That\u2019s the bold and unnerving lesson of Urinetown,<\/em> the quirky, highly original musical that scored several Tonys back in 2002.<\/p>\n

How do you entertain folks with such a fatalistic vision? Mark Hollmann (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis (lyrics and book) managed to do just that with their mordant sendup of everything from corporate greed and corrupt politics to dangerous populism.<\/p>\n

If anything, Urinetown<\/em> should<\/em> seem less funny today now that we\u2019ve witnessed countless examples of environmental degradation and human folly. And yet, this clever, sharp-edged sendup of the musical genre itself still shines. In fact, it sparkles anew in a production mounted by American University\u2019s Department of Performing Arts under the astute direction of Kathryn Chase Bryer.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The cast of \u2018Urinetown\u2019 at American University. Photo by Ethan Kauffman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an unnamed American city, atop a gleaming tower, the megalomaniacal Caldwell Cladwell (Dylan Toll) oversees the Urine Good Company, a privatized conglomerate of public toilets that everyone must pay to use. A small army of goons \u2014 Officer Lockstock (Jared Kirschenbaum), who also serves as the narrator, and Officer Barrel (Sam Lewis) and the grim-faced toilet warden Penelope Pennywise (Katie Zimmerman) \u2014 ensure strict compliance as the urban poor, wriggling in discomfort and counting their pennies, line up daily to use the fetid facilities.<\/p>\n

With Senator Fipp (Evelyn Micacci) in his back pocket, the evil Cladwell determines to raise the usage fees. Anyone who defies him is carted off to the mythical, fear-inducing Urinetown. It\u2019s a gulag \u2014 only worse. Only the child-savant Little Sally (Kate Lurie), who meanders through the production serving up gentle truths, sees both present and future clearly.<\/p>\n

Tensions mount as Cladwell\u2019s idealistic daughter Hope (Rebecca Morris) returns home from college to join the company. She falls in love with Pennywise\u2019s sidekick Bobby Strong (Carson Young) and together they try to topple her father\u2019s empire. Too late, the population learns that despite his despotism, Cladwell had preserved the town\u2019s sparse water supply. Freedom to pee, and flush at will, has dire consequences.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Scenes from \u2018Urinetown\u2019 at American University. Photos by Ethan Kauffman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Urinetown\u2019<\/em>s musical numbers riff on classic American genres, served up with a generous wink and a nod. You\u2019ll hear echoes of Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/em> and Threepenny Opera<\/em> in \u201cUrinetown\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s a Privilege to Pee.\u201d \u201cSnuff that Girl\u201d recalls West Side Story.<\/em> Gospel music inflects \u201cRun, Freedom, Run.\u201d Hope and Bobby swoon in a classic love duet, \u201cFollow Your Heart.\u201d Even the outstanding choreography by Robert Bowen Smith pays homage to esteemed musicals. Cast members re-enact Fiddler on the Roof\u2019s<\/em> famous \u201cBottle Dance\u201d as they execute energetic Russian kazoksky kicks while balancing rolls of toilet paper on their broad-brimmed hats. There\u2019s also a wry reference to Surrealism. Watch Sally wave a bright flag signed by R. Mutt, the signature that artist Marcel Duchamp famously scrawled on a ready-made urinal that he exhibited to shocked audiences back in 1917.<\/p>\n

Urinetown<\/em> demands a lot of its players. They need to draw us into the satire while also harping on the drone strings of environmental and moral collapse. The talented players at AU are more than up to the task. As an ensemble, they gleefully inhabit both worlds, singing with gusto and dancing with both precision and joy. They are amply supported by the technical staff. Costume Designer Ashlynne Ludwig provides billowing, raggedy clothing that moves beautifully. Lighting Designer Max Doolittle enhances the production with moody colors and appropriately alarming beams. Music Director Deborah Jacobson backs up the accomplished cast with first-rate handling of the complicated score.<\/p>\n

Urinetown <\/em>alone won\u2019t change our greedy consumption of Earth\u2019s precious resources, but once in a while, it\u2019s wryly provocative to take a step back and look at the looming apocalypse through the eyes of accomplished artists.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Two hours with one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n

Urinetown, The Musical<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>plays through February 24, 2024, presented by the American University College of Arts performing at the Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre \u2013 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets ($10\u2013$15, free for AU students), call (202) 885-3634 or order online<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Urinetown, The Musical<\/strong><\/em>
\nMusic and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann
\nBook and Lyrics by Greg Kotis
\nDirected by Kathryn Chase Bryer
\nChoreographed by Robert Bowen Smith
\nMusic Direction by Deborah Jacobson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tony-winning musical sendup demands a lot of its cast, and the accomplished players at AU are more than up to the task. By AMY KOTKIN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":350680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews","8":"category-university-shows"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nSatirical 'Urinetown' sparkles like new at American University - 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