‘Urinetown’ is good clean fun

Tom Titus

Watching “Urinetown, the Musical” at the Orange County Performing

Arts Center is somewhat like viewing Mel Brooks’ “High Anxiety” and

waiting to see which Alfred Hitchcock movie will be skewered next --

only “Urinetown” lampoons Broadway shows.

There’s a moment from “Les Miserables” as the street people arise,

banners waving. There’s a “cool” scene from “West Side Story” and

several other left-handed compliments to Broadway shows like “Annie”

and “Fiddler on the Roof.” But most of all, “Urinetown” sends up the

theater industry itself, with all its traditions, in a hilariously

original show that asks the question, “What kind of musical is this,

anyway?”

It’s a highly original one, derivative as some scenes may be.

Creators Mark Hollmann (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis (book and

lyrics) have devised a show that mirrors the “protest musicals” of

Bertolt Brecht and sends up theatrical conventions much like “Little

Shop of Horrors” did when it first hit the stage.

You’ve undoubtedly heard that “Urinetown” is set in a futuristic,

water-scarce period in which people must ante up for the privilege of

relieving themselves. That’s the premise, but this show goes on to

spoof the traditional good-versus-evil theatrical genre and even

break one of its most sacred covenants (which can’t be disclosed

here).

Most of all, “Urinetown” has a magnificent cast, with

exceptionally strong voices and an almost diabolical gift for

unbridled satire. Director John Rando and his company demonstrate why

this show won the Tony Awards triple crown (best music, book and

direction) in 2002 after surviving an opening just two nights after

9/11 (the night the critics were supposed to attend).

It’s sometime in the future and the people are revolting.

Actually, the powers-that-be are pretty revolting, too. They’re

raking in easy money by taking the concept of pay toilets to a new,

bureaucratic level. As one of the first songs in the show explains,

“It’s a Privilege to Pee.”

Overseeing all this corruption, as the chief executive of Urine

Good Company, is the imposing figure of Caldwell B. Cladwell (Ron

Holgate in a gloriously evil performance), whose daughter Hope

(Christiane Noll) falls for the leader of the uprising (Charlie

Pollock, recreating his Broadway role), who kicks off a mini-”Les

Miz” confrontation.

Observing and occasionally interacting are the show’s narrator

(Tom Hewitt, an exceptionally long arm of the law) and streetwise

urchin Little Sally (Meghan Strange). Hewitt’s character, by the way,

is Officer Lockstock, who’s teamed up with another cop named Barrel

(Richard Ruiz), to form the obvious pun, while the diminutive Strange

is as charming as she is tattered.

An exceptionally rich performance is delivered by Beth McVey,

whose character of Penelope Pennywise wields an iron fist in her

operation of “Amenity No. 9, the poorest, filthiest urinal in town.”

There’s a senator on the take (Dennis Kelly) and a ferret-like

henchman (Jamie Laverdiere) who help prop up this evil empire and

scoop up the left-over laugh lines.

In the second act, musical stager (choreographer) John Carrafa

sets the joint rocking with the numbers “Snuff That Girl” (that girl

being Noll, held hostage, who nevertheless joins in, bound and

gagged) and “Run Freedom Run.” It’s here that the show really kicks

into high gear and the ensemble energy overflows.

Surprisingly, “Urinetown” isn’t that potentially offensive to

conservative audiences. It’s a creative new concept in musical

theater, as Hewitt in his policeman character explains periodically

to Little Sally. “They can’t kill me, I’m the narrator,” he points

out on one occasion.

Almost worth the price of admission alone is Holgate’s marvelous

performance as the head pig at the corporate trough. Holgate

possesses the comedic acumen of a Leslie Nielsen, whom he resembles,

and his paternal musical number “Don’t Be the Bunny,” as he cautions

his daughter against opposing him, is the most memorable of the show.

What kind of a musical is this? One hilarious, highly entertaining

one, and a refreshingly new concept in theater. As the ads proclaim,

“You’ve gotta go.”

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.