Not Everyone's Cup of Pee
Reviewed
5/4/04
Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis
Directed by John Rando
M&I Bank Broadway in Arizona/ASU's Gammage Auditorium, Tempe
(480) 784-4444
May 4th - 9th, 2004
$22.25 - $62.50
It's the hit that nearly didn't make it. Even lyricists Hollmann and Kotis acknowledge this when they have one of the characters in the dark, Brechtian-style tragicomedy Urinetown note that a bad title could kill a musical. Somehow, despite the hesitations that the title and the premise caused (a city in a horrible drought closing all private bathrooms and imposing fees to pee in public toilets), it developed a vociferous following. It's very off-putting, very self-reverential, and the songs aren't what I'd call particularly tuneful, but it's very smart, very insightful, and the lyrics grow on you. As precisely directed by John Rando, this is a modern take on Brecht's Epic Theatre from which no character comes away smelling sweetly. Liberals will love the slams on heartless billionaires running ruthless corporations, but conservatives will feel vindicated by the jabs at love without reason and relentless, blind optimism. However, despite the wittiness, the canniness, and the uniformly excellent performances, the steady flow of audience members leaving (many admittedly longtime members of AARP) at intermission is a reminder that not everyone is willing to sit through strongly avant garde work. Those that are willing to, though, should absolutely adore this anti-musical musical.
In a city where water is at a premium, a private
corporation run by Caldwell B. Cladwell (ordinarily played by Ron
Holgate, but strongly
understudied on opening night by Dennis Kelly) controls
access to toilets. UGC is a megamonolithic multinational with the government
in its richly lined pockets. Caldwell's daughter, Hope (an amazing voiced
and comically impressive Christiane Noll, left ) returns
from college with the idea of being groomed to control the family business.
Meanwhile, the poor are being stifled by the prohibitive cost to relieve
themselves. Idealistic Bobby Strong (played with "aw shucks" charm by Charlie
Pollock, left ) unable to stop the cruel police (a wonderfully scene-stealing Jeff
McCarthy as Officer Lockstock and very funny Richard Ruiz as
Officer Barrel) from arresting his father for public urination, is counseled
in a chance meeting with Hope to follow his heart, decides to take on the
establishment, first represented by his hardened Public Restroom supervisor
Penelope Pennywise (a great character arc in the hands of Beth McVey).
The musical is a series of nasty curveballs, though, and just when you think
you've figured things out, the script heads in titillating odd angles.
McCarthy and waifish-though-waspish Little Sally (an endearingly quirky Meghan Strange) are narrators, taking the audience out of the moment quite often and ensuring that each theme is inured in the audience's brains. Realism is eschewed for slyly winking staginess, with McCarthy embodying everything that is right and difficult with the show. McCarthy's Officer Lockstock is flip and pretentious, cold, calculating, and crafty. He's also an excellent performer, strong of voice and precise in movement. Strange looks every bit of her twentysomething years, but Sally's little, not necessarily young, despite the oddly used teddy bear she carries. Noll and Pollock are charmers, highlighted in their duet "Follow Your Heart" and their separate numbers such as Noll's "I See a River" and Pollock's "Run Freedom Run."
The
ensemble (pictured right) is a great bunch filled with a mix of ingratiating
oddballs whether they're in squalor or the garb of the rich. They work
their presentational performances to strong effect and dance precisely John
Carrafa's stylistic
dance numbers. Jason DeBord's quintet mimics the kind of
tinny orchestras that are idealized by cabarets.
Scott Pask's gloomy set is part dry sewer, part oppressive prison, and all mood. Brian MacDevitt's lighting is stark, lacking almost all front light and sharpening everyone's features. Gregory A. Gale and Jonathan Bixby's costumes are strong metaphors, while Jeff Curtis and Lew Mead's sound design is a strong creation.
This is the kind of show I dreamed of creating in my college days. It may not be to everyone's taste, but those who get it appreciate it. Urinetown may be cruelly off-putting, but it's the most enjoyable discomfort I've experienced in a long time.
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