Urinetown: The Musical
Urinetown: The Musical
Book Greg Kotis
Music by Mark Hollman
Lyrics by Mark Holloman and Greg Kotis
Directed by Jamaal K. Solomon
Musical Direction by Angelyn Rhode
Starring Aladdin Jesse Demps and Meghan Beck
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park FL</strong>
If Breakthrough Theatre has a signature move, it’s a cast of 23 all dancing, all singing and all emoting actors navigating a postage stamp stage. And if they’ve ever hit a high water mark for showmanship it’s this blistering rendition of “Urinetown,” a show with a definite mixed message about the role of Corporate America in the modern world. Water is scarce; perhaps it’s global warming, perhaps it’s fracking, perhaps it’s Wall Street malfeasance. But in any event we have a bladder pressing problem everyone shares: A place to pee that won’t get you sent to the dread Urinetown. Bobby Strong (Demps) works at Public Amenity #9; his boss Penelope Pennywise (Eryn Malafronte) hold the line against free pee; her policy of pay first or forever hold your back pressure makes countless citizens squirm. Officer Lockstock (Chad Cartledge) narrates and enforces the law in the shrubbery and alley ways. He’s a tough cookie and is so authentically despicable I thought he took real OPD training to prepare for this role. Lastly there’s the still innocent Hope Caldwell (Beck); she’s in line to take over the reins of “Urine Good Company” board. That is, until she meets Bobby.
There’s a deep, glowing bowl of good work here: it starts with the vast physical difference between the leads Bobby and Hope, then continues with the brilliant dance number arranged by choreographer Rhodes, and it’s all flushed clean by the solid direction and overall traffic management skills of Jamaal Solomon. Bobby stands tall and wide and believes in actual sympathy while Hope is small and frail but takes on a huge enemy: Her evil corporate raider and father Caldwell B. Caldwell. He certainly is a cad, and he’s clad in the armory of the only profitable operation in the world. While the show stands firmly on anthems like “Urinetown” and “It’s A Privilege to Pee” there are even better specialty numbers. “Run Freedom, Run” stands out as a gospel number nailed home by actual sinners and led by an astonishing Mr. Demps. Cladwell’s cold hearted “Don’t Be the Bunny” sums up the subtext and riffs off “Les Misérables” and “West Side Story” populate the show. Some humor arises from the script and the rest bubbles out of director Solomon’s brain. A powerful supporting cast included Aja Grooms’ Little Sally as the commentator and Chris Scilliano’s Hot Blade Harry as the tough guy who never stops to think. Only Senator Fipp is weak; Derek Antoniazzi overplays him to the point of surpassing what’s believable on the musical stage. But never mind that fuss; hurry down to see it as seats are small and few. And here’s my take away: I’ll go out on a critical limb and just say this: The Best Orlando Musical of the past year.
For more information, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com or look them up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Breakthrough-Theatre-of-Winter-Park/
