If there’s one simple phrase to describe Mark Hollmann’s musical “Urinetown,” it would be “tongue-in-cheek.” The audience roared in laughter as senior Chase Thomaston and sophomore Camille Edwards exchanged hilarious dialogue in their performances as Bobby Strong and Hope Cladwell.
“Urinetown,” the school’s spring musical presented by the Fine Arts Department and directed by Drama teacher David Spearman, is about a city in the future going through a 20-year drought which forces its citizens to use public restrooms operated by a private company, “Urine Good Company. ” The owner is Caldwell B. Cladwell, performed by senior Ethan Gallagher.
Many who came to see the musical, which ran March 14-16 at the Willie Duke Auditorium, easily grasped one of the musical’s main themes.
“There’s a lesson to learn from a show about oppression, rebellion, and even love,” Edwards said. “Our audiences were pretty receptive to it. They were fantastic and it seemed like they were satisfied with the show.”
Unlike “Our Town,” a well-executed play with a not-so-extravagant storyline that the Advanced Drama II class performed last fall, “Urinetown” was full of high-end energy as cast members sang and danced their way around a plot that focused on, well, let’s just say it, pee. It’s a satire of three popular titles including “West Side Story,” “Les Miserables,” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“It was an ultimate success. We had almost a full house every night,” Gallagher said.
Thomaston, along with German teacher Anotela Kljajic intricately choreographed the show. Rehearsals stretched from November to March, totaling to as much as 400 hours, and some of the dance numbers had as many as 35 ensemble members.
Nothing is flawless, however. On Thursday night’s opening performance, with judges from the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Association in attendance, Gallagher’s microphone went out well into Act II.
“I just kept going and projected as loud as I could. I got close to people in character and picked up their sound,” Gallagher said. “In that sort of situation, there isn’t much you can do except pretend nothing has gone wrong.”
The set, nothing short of what one would expect to see in a professional production in New York off or on Broadway, was designed and built by volunteers Steve Rambeck, Vicki DeJoy, and Cliff Bost while the realistic costumes were designed by Melissa Lein, Tracy Rowell, Sandy London, Sarah Conklin, Ariel Louis and Karen Bost.
Not one detail was missed, from the elaborate set to the superior lighting to the perfect makeup.
“I don’t see anything that could’ve gone better,” Spearman said. “Some people didn’t go because of the name, but the show really exceeded my expectations. All of our leads were incredibly strong, and the ensemble really rose to the occasion.”
Did they ever.
Watching “Urinetown” was truly an experience, and those who didn’t see it missed out big time. Everyone hit their marks, on stage and behind the scenes.
Bravo.