"Urinetown" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

Lakeshore Players Theatre's 71st season just keeps getting better! I would say that their new production of the hilarious satirical musical Urinetown is the best thing they've done this season, but then I remember the other great shows they've done this season (She Loves Me, I Am My Own Wife, and more). Suffice it to say that this is their best season since I've been attending shows at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center in lovely downtown White Bear Lake (which admittedly has only been about six years). Urinetown is one of my favorite musicals, since seeing the Broadway tour over 20 years ago. There have been a handful of #TCTheater productions, but it's been a while, so I was thrilled to see it as the conclusion of this ambitious season which began with the smart, funny, and relevant play What the Constitution Means to Me. I'm even more thrilled to report that it's a fantastic production, with a talented and energetic cast, detailed design, fun choreography, and direction that hits on all of the humor and relevancy of the script (continuing through May 19).

"Urinetown" at Lyric Arts

A wealthy businessman controls the money and the laws in a land with an extreme division between the haves and the have-nots, and he trains his beautiful and fashionable daughter to continue in his legacy by learning to manipulate great masses of people. Though it was written over 15 years ago, the hilarious and terrifying satirical musical Urinetown has never been more relevant. It's a huge warning about what happens when the earth can no longer sustain our way of life, when the poor become so poor that they refuse to take it any more. It would be a heavy and depressing piece, if the music weren't so happy and the jokes so liberally sprinkled in. In one of the better shows I've seen at Lyric Arts recently (they keep topping themselves), Urinetown is presented in all it's golden glory with a fantastic cast and really cool and grungy design. It'll leave you humming and tapping your feet, with a subtle thought in the back of your mind that we're in serious trouble if things keep going the way they have been. Just think of the happy music!

"Urinetown" by DalekoArts at the Prague Theatre

The Twin Cities theater scene is broad and deep, with over 70 professional theater companies offering a diverse array of storytelling. Most of the theater spaces are in the Cities themselves, specifically Minneapolis. But the seven-county Metro area is populous and geographically large. Why should those of us who live in the suburbs have to travel into the city to see professional theater? Fortunately there is a growing remedy to that. We have Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, on the Northwest side of the cities, about to enter their 9th season. And even further out, we now have DalekoArts in New Prague, founded by local theater artists Ben Thietje and Amanda White "as a way to help decentralize professional theatre in Minnesota." Approximately 46 miles from Minnesota's theater mecca Minneapolis, New Prague is on the very Southern border of the seven-county Metro area. When I was growing up very near there (just outside of the tiny town of New Market) in the '70s and '80s, it was a rural area, but has since experienced tremendous growth. While it's a bit sad to see the bucolic land of my childhood overcome with housing developments and fast food restaurants, the good news is that's a lot of people to support the arts. Judging by my first visit to see their hilarious and crisp production of Urinetown, Daleko (which means "far away" in Czech) seems to be filling that role quite nicely. Southern Metro-ans - take note!

"Urinetown" at the Jungle Theater

The Broadway musical with the unfortunate title became a hit and won three Tony Awards in 2002. I saw the first national tour almost ten years ago and loved it. I don't remember much about the actual production, but the soundtrack has become one of my favorites and I've been waiting for a local theater to do a production of it. The wait is over! The Jungle Theater's new production is everything I could have hoped for. What is Urinetown? This Urinetown is biting social and political commentary, an homage to musical theater history and form, a fantastic score, great and inventive choreography, a truly wonderful local cast of almost two dozen, and hilarious. I told you a few days ago that Clybourne Park should be number one on your summer to-do list. Number two should be Urinetown. Or, well, I guess number one would be more appropriate. Either way, these two are both must-see shows!

Officer Lockstock (Bradley Greenwald)
Little Sally (Elisa Pluhar)
(photo by Michal Daniel)

Urinetown is set in a dystopian future in which an extreme water shortage and corrupt businessmen and politicians have resulted in private bathrooms being illegal. Everyone must pay to use the "public amenities," with ever-increasing fees. The difference between the haves and have-nots is extreme, with the populace living in poverty and saving every penny, while the owner of Urine Good Company, which controls the amenities, and his pals live in luxury. (You see why this story is so great, and a little scary?) The story is narrated by Officer Lockstock (the incomparable Bradley Greenwald, who is blessed with a gorgeous singing voice as well as great comedic talent). His sidekick, Little Sally (the adorable Elisa Pluhar), is constantly asking him tough questions. Their conversation frequently breaks the 4th wall as they comment on the show at hand. As Ms. Pennywise (the always fantastic Kersten Rodau) fiercely enforces the fees, the hero of our story, Bobby Strong (a likeable Patrick Morgan), decides that people shouldn't have to pay to pee, and leads them in a revolution to take back the toilets. Along the way he falls in love with the innocent and trusting Hope (a sweet -voiced Tiffany Seymour), daughter of the evil Mr. Cladwell (Gary Briggle, who revels in his character's dastardly demeanor). As we're told, this is not a happy musical. We don't get the happy ending we expect, but it sure is fun to watch it all unfold.

A few of my favorite things:

• Officer Lockstock beating the crowd with his club in slow motion. Perhaps the most beautiful and hilarious slo-mo fight choreography I've ever seen. I'm not even sure what else was going on in that scene, I couldn't take my eyes off the beating!
• All of the references to musicals in the choreography and score, including Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story, with uncontrolled finger-snapping (my second-favorite West Side Story parody).
• Bradley's ridiculously long extended run on the phrase "down and out."
• Remembering that my favorite song in the score, "Run Freedom Run," is ever so much better live. This is the moment when Patrick completely won me over in his portrayal of Bobby. I wanted to stand up and join the chorus the he so enthusiastically directs!
• Every word that Little Sally says. So funny to hear such smart things come out of a "little girl."
• This: "Don't you think people want to be told their way of life is unsustainable?"
• The hugely talented ensemble that sounds amazing in the Jungle's intimate space - a full, gorgeous sound.
• Kertsen's delivery of my favorite lines - "it's blinding me!" and "you get it out of the clouds!" She's hilarious with a seriously powerful voice.
• The choreography by John Command (who also directs), which features many different styles and references. The Jungle's is a small stage, but this large cast moves with controlled chaos around it.
• The five-piece orchestra directed by Raymond Berg that sounds bigger than it is on this score with several different musical styles.
• The costumes (by Kathy Kohl), which range from charming but realistically shabby rags for the have-nots to slick suits for the haves. One of my favorite details was the signature pattern for the UGC, present in some small way on every employee.
• The clever character names, some of which are never heard onstage (that I remember). Lockstock and Barrel, Caldwell B. Cladwell, Hot Blades Harry, Penelope Pennwise, Little Becky Two-Shoes, and of course, the aptly named Hope.
• Last but not least, the set by Bain Boehlke. I can never not mention the set of a Jungle show because they're always so perfect. In this case, the stage is made as large as possible with scaffolding, ladders, boxes, and other junk around all sides. The public amenity door spins around to reveal Mr. Cladwell's office.

If you like classic, traditional musicals, Urinetown might not be the show for you. But if you like smart, funny, edgy, relevant musicals, go see what is sure to become the hit musical of the summer. Playing now through August 11, so you have no excuse not to get there.

Bobby Strong (Patrick Morgan) leads the people
(photo by Michal Daniel)