By Judith Cookis Rubens
"Bad subject matter? Or a bad title? That could kill a show pretty good," acknowledges Little Sally, the beggar girl/narrator of this delightfully dark musical that parodies revolutionary stories and numerous Broadway conventions.
Despite its absurdist plot and questionable title, "Urinetown," now at Farmers Alley Theatre, has never felt more alive. Thanks to a hugely talented 17-member cast and a direction dream team, audiences get a smart parody with heart that, suddenly, doesn't seem so absurd.
A fictional city is living through a horrible drought that has forced extreme water conservation. The government has enforced a ban on private bathrooms, and the (aptly named) Urine Good Company now owns all the public toilets. The UGC starts a fee-for-pee system that leaves the poor begging in the streets just to relieve themselves with dignity. Everyone's got to pay for the "Privilege to Pee," says the gleeful opening number. Cops are everywhere, looking for rebels who disobey the ban. The punishment? A trip to "Urinetown," a fear-driven mythical place that no one seems to return from.
Faithful Urine Good Company employee Bobby Strong toes the line until the day his father disappears after peeing in public without paying. Bobby Strong – our everyman hero – starts a revolution to take back the toilets. Complicating matters is the fact that Bobby falls in love with Hope, the idealistic daughter of corrupt UGC owner Caldwell B. Cladwell.
It's a clash of the haves and have-nots, combined with digs at corrupt politicians, greedy corporations and society's wastefulness. Not to mention the evergreen themes of hope and freedom challenging tyranny. It's the kind of tale playwright Bertolt Brecht explored, and creators Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis pay homage to – and poke fun at – this Brechtian style of theater. They also get in jabs about theater's later evolution into excessive melodrama. ("Les Miz" anyone?)
Theater buffs will spot nods to characters and numbers from "Annie," "West Side Story," "Chicago" and others, thanks in large part to Kathryn S. Williams' evocative choreography and Lissa Hartridge's costumes. Director Laurel Scheidt and music director Catherine Walker Adams reunite to guide these winning triple threat performers to new heights.
Act Two's "Snuff That Girl," the beggars' dark anthem of bloodlust, and Bobby's inspirational "Run, Freedom, Run" are good examples of giddy parody numbers that manage to eclipse the shows they are spoofing.
With such an energetic cast, it's almost unfair to highlight anyone. But Farmers Alley favorites Jeremy Koch and Amanda Martin deserve special nods for playing star-crossed lovers Bobby and Hope. Both give their cartoonish characters full dimension. Both have stunning solos (Hope's soulful "I See a River" is an especially surprising treat), and great chemistry in their "Follow Your Heart" duet. The song, a send-up of too-innocent romantic ballads, is oddly endearing. It's interesting how performers' passion and commitment can make a satirical song meaningful in its own right.
Michael Scheidt, as moneybags Cladwell, makes the perfect villain we love to hate. His disdain for the weak in the utterly un-PC "Don't Be the Bunny" will have you cringing AND chuckling.
Scott Burkell has great fun as Officer Lockstock, and is paired well with bright newcomer Becky Thomason as beggar girl Little Sally. The two break the fourth wall often as sarcastic narrators, letting us know they're in on the joke. By Act Two, this "we're poking fun at ourselves" schtick almost gets old, but the pair's comic delivery is so excellent they get a pass.
Don't look for a tidy happy ending, the narrators tell us early on. It's not that kind of show. We don't get a lot of answers to the big philosophical questions. Idealism doesn't win over corporate greed. Neither socialism nor capitalism seem to work in the long run. So what's left?
"Urinetown"'s authors don't have the answer, but they entertain us while we let it all soak in. It's probably a question worth pondering before the water runs out for real.
REVIEW:
'Urinetown'
Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, Kalamazoo. Wednesday-Sunday through Aug. 7. $29. 269-343-2727. farmersalleytheatre.com
