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Urinetown at Galvin Playhouse
Jack Matirko
Urinetown, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is a challenging musical for a lot of reasons. The production now showing at ASU's Galvin Playhouse is a stellar example of how to make it look easy.
This production of the award-winning satire is a coordinated effort between the college's School of Music Lyric Opera Theatre program and the School of Theatre and Film. The play is set in a dystopian near-future where drout has led to the privatization at water resources. Think of it this way, if water were sold and regulated like crude oil then what happens to the cost of pay toilets? Then, make all the toilets pay toilets. Now make that situation funny.
The play succeeds by very seriously not taking itself seriously. As odd as it may be to use the word refressing to describe a play about a water shortage, that's what Urinetown is. It avoids all the stereotypical theatrical pitfalls of percieved pretention while delivering a unique experience that only comes with live-audience performence. It raises social issues enough to make you think about them later, but not enough to become burdened with political preachiness or fall prey to heavy-handed metaphors. There's also sarcastic use of gospel music, and I personally think that's a plus.
Best of all, Director Jack Reuler has put together a great production and ASU's performance doesn't just succeed at doing the musical justice, it excels at it. WIlliam Symington's set is brilliant in both appearance and function; the music and vocals are wonderfully polished; and the cast members' performances are all almost exhaustively good for someone who is supposed to complain about what people do wrong. There just isn't enough to complain about.
As for the cast, and really this should be about the cast ... I can't really say that anyone stood out, Not because they were all mundane, but because they all gave great performances. If pressed though, I suppose I'd say the best performances were Travis Jauregui as the power-hungry antagonist Mr. Cadwell, Andrès Martinez as the comically embittered Hot Blades Harry, Tess Pekrul and Benjamin Soto as the play's ironically star-crossed romantic leads, and newcomer Brittany Bradford's almost cartoon-like Little Sally.
The show has three more planned performances this weekend, two on Saturday and once again on Sunday. Which doesn't leave much time to see it. Urinetown may be one of the most produced musicals in America this year, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better example of the play nearby any time soon. Tickets are available though the Herberger website ( click here ) and at the Galvin Playhouse boxoffice.
This production of the award-winning satire is a coordinated effort between the college's School of Music Lyric Opera Theatre program and the School of Theatre and Film. The play is set in a dystopian near-future where drout has led to the privatization at water resources. Think of it this way, if water were sold and regulated like crude oil then what happens to the cost of pay toilets? Then, make all the toilets pay toilets. Now make that situation funny.
The play succeeds by very seriously not taking itself seriously. As odd as it may be to use the word refressing to describe a play about a water shortage, that's what Urinetown is. It avoids all the stereotypical theatrical pitfalls of percieved pretention while delivering a unique experience that only comes with live-audience performence. It raises social issues enough to make you think about them later, but not enough to become burdened with political preachiness or fall prey to heavy-handed metaphors. There's also sarcastic use of gospel music, and I personally think that's a plus.
Best of all, Director Jack Reuler has put together a great production and ASU's performance doesn't just succeed at doing the musical justice, it excels at it. WIlliam Symington's set is brilliant in both appearance and function; the music and vocals are wonderfully polished; and the cast members' performances are all almost exhaustively good for someone who is supposed to complain about what people do wrong. There just isn't enough to complain about.
As for the cast, and really this should be about the cast ... I can't really say that anyone stood out, Not because they were all mundane, but because they all gave great performances. If pressed though, I suppose I'd say the best performances were Travis Jauregui as the power-hungry antagonist Mr. Cadwell, Andrès Martinez as the comically embittered Hot Blades Harry, Tess Pekrul and Benjamin Soto as the play's ironically star-crossed romantic leads, and newcomer Brittany Bradford's almost cartoon-like Little Sally.
The show has three more planned performances this weekend, two on Saturday and once again on Sunday. Which doesn't leave much time to see it. Urinetown may be one of the most produced musicals in America this year, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better example of the play nearby any time soon. Tickets are available though the Herberger website ( click here ) and at the Galvin Playhouse boxoffice.