'Urinetown' is musical satire not to be taken seriously

By Jacob Doran / Bigfork Eagle

I have to admit, when I first saw the title of this show, my initial reaction was that the writers of musicals have become a little desperate these days, concluding that the distasteful title reflected an equally distasteful show.

However, after hearing positive reviews from others, I decided to make an appearance at the Playhouse and give the show a chance.

Having now done so—and having also read the story behind the story, which I shall elaborate on momentarily—I can't say that I have altogether changed my mind. Still, I will confess that I laughed out loud during a couple of scenes and that the musical definitely had moments that will probably go down in most viewers' list of "most memorable moments in a musical."

Without a doubt, the most memorable moment—for me—was Andy Meyers' performance of "Don't Be The Bunny," and the most memorable character was Meyers' own Cladwell B. Cladwell. While I cannot say that the show will ever rank as one of my favorites, I must say that as an individual who greatly appreciates good, solid acting—even when the acting is blatantly in jest—Meyers deserves some kind of award for his portrayal of an avaricious, unscrupulous, unabashedly unethical corporate magnate. If the acting alone didn't have me convinced that Meyers is made for the stage, and he definitely won me with his dance and performance during the "Don't Be The Bunny," number, which bordered on genius.

Have no doubts. Urinetown could only be classified as a dark comedy, and on that theme it certainly delivers unsparingly. From the setting until the final act, there is little about Urinetown that isn't dark, owing largely to its incessantly satirical undertones, which New York Observer writer John Heilpern described best as "charmingly bad deliberately."

One of the deliberate attempts at being "charmingly bad" is evident in the jabs the characters take at the show itself throughout the musical, making light of everything from the script and plot to the ignoble name.

In the opening scene, Officer Lockstock remarks to Little Sally, "Everything in its time, Little Sally. You're too young to understand it now, but nothing can kill a show like too much exposition."

To which Little Sally replies, "How about bad subject matter?" As Lockstock stumbles to answer her, she adds, "Or a bad title even? That could kill a show pretty good."

The premise is that of a city struck by a decades-long drought, which has brought it to its knees, where Cladwell—an opportunist, if nothing else—capitalizes on the situation with a promise to "keep the pee off the streets and the water in the ground." That he accomplishes by forming a monopolistic corporation, appropriately named Urine Good Company, and convincing—or buying off—legislators to outlaw public toilets.

The new law makes it illegal to relieve oneself anywhere besides one of the many public amenities established throughout the town, where everyone must pay from the privilege. Of course, that fee, which tends to grow along with Cladwell's greed, becomes altogether crippling and reduces the good citizens to a state of near-depravity, while lining Cladwell's pockets with a never-ending flow of cash.

Those who violate the law are sent to the mysterious Urinetown, from which they never return.

”Urinetown,” explains Officer Lockstock, ”is kind of a mythical place, filled with symbolism and stuff like that.”

Unfortunately, for many unseasoned theatre-goers, much of the humor, while mildly amusing, will be lost, since every song and number in "Urinetown" is a parody of some stage genre or Broadway hit. These include obvious spoofs of "West Side Story," "Hello Dolly," "Annie," "Les Miserables," "Fiddler on the Roof," "A Beggar's Opera," and other memorable shows.

If any message or theme comes through amid a dialogue and plotline, which irreverently pokes fun at everything, it is that a self-indulgent, cut-throat exploitation of the basic needs of consumers and society in general cannot be sustained indefinitely and ultimately bring about the collapse of the corporate and political house of cards that has been built upon it. As seen in the storyline, there are some serious ripple effects that move both downstream and back up the corporate ladder, building to a literal tsunami of social mayhem. …but even this isn't taken serious.

Okay. I did promise to elaborate on the story behind the story.

The source of book writer and lyricist Greg Kotis' inspiration for Urinetown just goes to show you that if you're creative enough, inspiration can come from anywhere, even the most unlikely of places such like a public restroom in Paris. That was where Kotis, then strapped for cash, found himself having to pay a fee to tend to his own basic needs at a pay-per-use latrine or "public amenity," as it were.

Kotis began writing "Urinetown" shortly thereafter, later joining forces with Mark Hollmann for the musical he was determined to take all the way to broadway. As one might expect, the show met with countless rejections before getting its big break with an experimental theatre group from Chicago, the Neo-Futurists, who agreed to produce the show for the 1999-2000 season. Urinetown thus earned a spot in the 1999 Fringe Festival, where it won further support and financing.

Lovers of happy endings should, however, beware. Urinetown's financial success and growing popularity among those who enjoy musical satires may be the only happy-ending you'll find in show.

As Officer Lockstock explained to Little Sally, "dreams only come true in happy musicals—a few Hollywood movies—and this certainly isn't either one of those. No, dreams are meant to be crushed."

And that's the name of the game in "Urinetown."

Still, as the show's unlikely philosopher Little Sally points out, "This may not be a happy musical, Officer Lockstock, but it's still a musical. And when a little girl has been given as many lines as I have, there's still hope for dreams!"

Hope, yes. But you won't find it here. At least not for long, despite its grim fun, moments of well-deserved laughter and a few notable performances that are in fact worthy of acknowledgement.