‘Urinetown’

Rider’s production of the off-Broadway hit is funny, very, very funny, and also filled with wonderful insights and a few jabs at show biz.

By: Stuart Duncan
   The concept for Urinetown apparently came to Greg Kotis while he made his way through Europe 11 years ago, with far too little cash. He discovered to his horror that public bathrooms throughout Europe are pay-per-use establishments. That caused him to team up with composer Mark Hollmann and the two came up with a neo-Brechtian absurdist musical that shocked off-Broadway in 1999, first with its title, then its content, and finally by becoming a huge audience hit.
   Now director Patrick Chmel has brought the show to Rider University, cast it superbly from the talent that he has been hoarding at the school and the opening weekend brought long lines to the box office and a buzz on campus that was exciting. Let’s begin with the premise of the evening:
   A serious drought has besieged New York for 20 years, crippling the sanitary conditions and bringing with it regulations for water consumption. In fact, the government has outlawed the use of private toilets, meaning that the only relief comes from using the pay-per-use amenities, owned by Urine Good Company. That firm is run by an iron-fisted, corrupt man named Caldwell B. Cladwell (and played with all the signs of iron-fists and corruption by Bjorn Stowers). So we have melodrama galore, plus a love story between a fine young man, Bobby Strong (Judah Frank), and Cladwell’s high-minded daughter, Hope (Rachel Yucht).
   Now add assorted riff-raff, a pair of storm-trooper-like troopers, with the names of Officers Lockstock and Barrel (Ed Egan and Mike Hollinshead) and you have a plot that just might have been invented if the creators of The Beggar’s Opera, The Cradle Will Rock, Les Miserables and West Side Story had sat down and tossed out suggestions.
   But it’s funny, very, very funny, and also filled with some wonderful insights and a few jabs at show biz in general. Officer Lockstock acts as a sort of narrator and at one point he tells Little Sally (a tremendously appealing Joanne Nosuchinsky, a first-year acting scholar): "You’re too young to understand right now, Little Sally, but nothing can kill a show like too much exposition."
   But as strong as the leads are, the real excitement in this production comes from the ensemble numbers — one dedicated to Cladwell himself titled "Run, Freedom, Run," and another called "Why Did I Listen to That Man?" When was the last time you saw a college production where 30 on-stage characters could all sing and dance as well as act? A five-piece orchestra works hard to bring us the eclectic score.
   Terrific show. Don’t count on tickets being easy to find this coming weekend. The suggestion is you call the box office immediately.
Urinetown continues at Rider University’s Yvonne Theater, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence, Nov. 16-18. Performances: Thurs. 7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $5 faculty/students, $4 Thurs. For information, call (609) 896-5303.