The name Urinetown may put some people off but it’s all part of the humour in this satirical comedy musical which delivers a powerful message on greedy corporations, capitalism and environmental sustainability.
Directed by Andrew Baker, Urinetown is the story of a town in which a devastating drought has led a government-enforced ban on private toilets in an attempt to preserve water usage. The population must now pay for the “privilege to pee” at public toilets. These public amenities are owned and operated by Urine Good Company (UGC).
As in every city, there are good areas and bad areas, Amenity 9 is the worst of the worst. Here, the down and out-of-luck residents, scramble each morning and evening to find enough money to pay for the usage of Amenity 9 toilets. Urinating and defecating in public are strictly against the law but those who can’t afford to use a public amenity, it’s their only option. If caught, they are sent to “Urinetown”. However, it doesn’t take long to figure out that Urinetown is not an actual town.
When Old Man Strong is hauled away to “Urinetown” his son Bobby Strong leads the residents on a revolution against the government and the corporations, in particularly UGC.
After crossing paths with the good-natured but naive Hope Caldwell, he discovers she’s the daughter of the UGC’S tyrannical and money-hungry CEO, Caldwell B. Caldwell but his love and affection for Hope does not deter him on his mission to bring about social equality and justice, and most importantly, to pee for free.
The concept of the musical is based on the idea that “people multiple faster than their resources” from the British economist, Thomas Robert Malthus’ (1766-1834). The play takes that idea one step further with drastic measures in place for preservation of water resources.
Although Urinetown is a cautionary tale set in the near future, the music, the costumes, even the manner in which they spoke and overall feel of the musical gives off strong 1930s prohibition era vibes.
In reality, charging to use a public amenity is not so unusual especially in Europe and so it was this pay-per-use toilet that inspired writer Greg Kotis to create Urinetown.
The whole cast delivered a phenomenal first-class performance. Izzi Green stood out with a stunning vocal performance.
Urinetown is such a clever satirical musical. I particularly found funny the flashback scenes with Old Man Strong and Tiny T.
Officer Lockstock and Little Sally act as narrators throughout the musical and their interactions are hilarious.
Urinetown is currently playing at the Liberty Theatre in Perth, and it’s a brilliantly funny satirical musical. It’s sharp commentary on sustainability and corporate greed feels more relevant today than ever before.
To book tickets to Urinetown, The Musical, please visit https://www.westernskyprojects.com.au/.
Photographer: Mark Flower Photography
