Review: MAD Theatre of Tampa Presents URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL at the Shimberg Playhouse

“Dreams only come true in happy musicals, like Mamma Mia or Spongebob.”  --Officer Lockstock in URINETOWN

I’m a sucker for dystopia. Whether it’s in novels (Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451), TV series (The Handmaid’s Tale), films (A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, Mad Max: Fury Road), or the stage (Endgame, Rhinoceros), there’s something about the imagining of a lost or post-Apocalyptic society that both thrills and chills me.  And if you take that sad new world, set it to music, and then make it absurdly funny and self-referential to boot, then I’m all in.  And that’s the case with URINETOWN, a winky fun-tastic look at a futuristic society where its denizens cannot pee for free.  It may not sound like the makings of a robust two-hour musical, especially one with a pee-centric plot, but the end of society as we know it has never seemed so  enjoyable.

Greg Kotis came up with the idea of URINETOWN after having to pay to use a public toilet in Europe.  Soon after, composer Mark Hollman joined him in the creation of this ultimate cult musical, where it went from the New York Fringe, to Off Broadway, and finally began its successful Broadway run in 2001. 

Although the show is often funny with parodic nods to various musicals, while also calling attention to itself (its narrator, Officer Lockstock, constantly tells the urchin, Little Sally, that they’re in a musical), it deals with serious stuff: capitalistic greed, climate change, populism,  law, and the evils of bureaucracy. 

In it, a drought has created a terrible  water shortage, and now public toilets are controlled by the UGC (Urine Good Company), a megacorporation, headed by the sinister Caldwell B. Cladwell, that makes its society members have to pay to use bathroom facilities.  And if you break the law by peeing anywhere without paying, then look out, you will be doomed to a mysterious place called “Urinetown,” where you will disappear forever.   Bobby Strong, haunted by the memories of his father’s  pee-crimes and ultimate plod into the hellhole called Urinetown at the hands of the police, finally stands up to the Powers That Be. A revolution against the UGC and the ridiculous pee-laws ensues with tragic results.

Reading that plot makes URINETOWN sound so seemingly serious, but have no worry; it’s a take-no-prisoners comic romp.  And the current MAD production at the Shimberg Playhouse in the Straz Center, performed before a Sold Out audience on opening night,  is screamingly funny even if it goes astray at times. The show truly meanders in Act 2, and is often messy (again, mostly in Act 2), but the MAD production is chock full of some of the area’s best performers, with a few of them giving revelatory performances that transcend the material.   

As Bobby Strong, the assistant custodian to the poorest urinals and the musical’s Everyman, Drew Eberhard carries much of the show on his shoulders and makes for a strong Bobby; his gospel-fueled rendition of  the show’s big number, “Run Freedom Run,” was galvanizing.  Curiously, whenever his dad’s doomed last minutes would appear onstage in flashbacks that haunt the character in several instances, he never really seems to look in that direction or react; maybe this is by design, but other than denial, why wouldn’t Bobby even seem to acknowledge his own flashbacks?

As Hope Cladwell, Julia Mergen has a beautiful singing voice and a sweet presence onstage.  She sometimes seems more reactive in the part, as the craziness swirls around her, but she certainly holds her own.  Her duet with Bobby in “Follow Your Heart,” where they literally listen to each other’s heartbeats, is charming and as sweet as this musical about peeing can get.  When they finally kissed, the audience oohed and aahed as if we were suddenly thrust back into middle school.

Stephanie Austin makes a formidable Penelope Pennywise, warden of the city’s poorest urinals, clutching a plunger as if she’s a strict nun with a  ruler. I very much appreciated her Sixties-style wig, which made her resemble a deranged, crack-addicted wife of an astronaut; she looked like she could be in an early John Waters film. At one point she takes off her wig and beats an opponent with it, much to the audience’s delight.

There’s a moment where Ms. Austin’s Pennywise looks at the sky (appropriately in the song “Look at the Sky”), and she goes into a sort of a bizarrely org*smic convulsion that was just outstanding. And her last note in the song, “It’s a Privilege to Pee,” is a doozy.

Miranda Myers is sensational as Little Sally, and  Will Fuller as Mr. McQueen is a scene-stealer with a Snagglepuss quality that works.  Chase Hale looks like a synthesis of Robert Vaughn and Robert Wagner as the slick Senator Fipp. 

As is so often the case, the ensemble becomes key to the show’s success. They hold signs that read “MAKE AMERICA PEE AGAIN” and “WE THE PEE-PLE,” and each one has a specific character. 

Angel Borths is always a treat as Bobby’s mama, always jolting her character with zest and soul.  Jackson Madison as Old Man Strong may have great energy but looks much younger than his son, Bobby; is this on purpose?  And why did they make no effort in aging him either in looks or in attitude?

Madison Bradley is wonderful as Little Becky Two-Shoes, holding an infant in the end that looked like a real baby at first; it was much better than the obvious fake baby prop from American Sniper.

Ashton Cote is terrific (and quite funny with nice comic timing) as Tiny Tom, and Catie Ellington, Emma Kirby, Mathew Perez and Dyamind Pastrana-Marquez lend awesome support.  My vote for Best Ensemble Member goes to Jo Chandler, who’s always in character 100% and zaps the show to life whenever she’s onstage.

There are three performances in this URINETOWN that stood out to me, that were out of this world, the best of the best: Joaquin Bermudez, Christan McLaurine and Luis Rivera. 

Mr. Bermudez is astounding as Officer Lockstock, and as his partner in law and disorder, Officer Barrell, Mr. McLaurine is equally impeccable.  Mr. Bermudez oozes with charisma, and he’s so natural and dives head first into the show’s inanities; his vocal are also Next Level.  And I remember Mr. McLaurine in the NTP’s production of Dreamgirls earlier this year where he gave the finest performance of the night; he’s just as grand here, bringing out so much comic gold as Officer Barrel, so many little moments, creepy ones, funny ones, a true standout. 

The officer’s number, “Cop Song,” has always been my absolute favorite from the show, and after they were done with their rendition of it here, it not only remains my favorite, it started inching beyond the show, to one of my favorite songs in any musical. It’s so good, I could watch that number over and over all night.

And then there’s Luis Rivera.   

As he proved in Think Tank’s Crucible last fall, no one plays a villain as well as Mr. Rivera.  Looking Satanically sinister with his beard and arched eyebrows, his Caldwell B. Cladwell is one for the ages, where every move, every vocal in his stunning songs, every moment, shines.  He drips with villainy.  There’s an instance where he’s trying to get rid of someone and  gives a mere facial expression, sort of something close to nauseous gagging, that had me laughing out loud.  It’s only a second of stage-time, but it’s one of the moments I remember most from the show. 

In “Don’t Be the Bunny,” which includes the suited Mr. Rivera doing a bunny hop, he controls everything, even the audience when he gets them to stymie their applause.  He’s everything you want in a villain, and I wish they could retitle the show, CLADWELL: THE MUSICAL.

The harmonies in some of the songs, including the opening number, sounded superb.  The tight five-piece band, led and conducted by the amazing David Esteves, includes Alex Pasut on bass, Julia Ford on reeds, Anthony Garcia on the trombone and euphonium, and Nicolas Remy on drums.

The cast of the poor sometimes look like Apocalyptic refugees, something you’d find in The Walking Dead.  I like that they wear clothes from all different time periods, a true mishmash of styles (Lindsay Ellis is the creative costumer). 

The choreography by director Cory Boyas works well, and I especially appreciate the homages to The Producers “Springtime for Hitler” and West Side Story’s snapping “Cool” routine. Even though there is only a small Les Miz allusion (the marching dance steps), I wanted more (even a pathetic red flag made out of toilet paper if possible), especially since Les Miz is currently playing in the nearby Morsani Hall at the Straz.  Still, at least the set looks like the sewer from Les Miserables (peering at it, you almost expect to hear “Dog Eats Dog” sometimes).

On opening night, there were several long stretches, either due to a late entrance or a forgotten line.  These will be ironed out over the show’s run, but it’s uncomfortable to witness actors waiting for either someone to run in or someone else to speak up; the long pauses made the show feel at times like we were watching Harold Pinter’S URINETOWN.

Josh Eberhart does well with the lighting, and Samantha Bollinger works the sound board. The good news regarding the sound in the Shimberg is that the band does not drown out the microphoned vocals.  The bad news is, not everyone has a mic, which means that we can’t hear every word of the un-microphoned souls, especially in some key songs.  Several of the actors attempt to sound louder, almost straining their voices as they project to be heard over the music, which may cause harm to their vocal cords over the long haul. Sound quality in the Shimberg is always a juggling act, but it wasn’t ideal hearing the clear microphoned vocals of the leads followed by the barely audible voices of those without microphones.  Is there a limit to how many microphones can be used in the Shimberg?

Director Cory Boyas guides a marvelous show, though there’s some questionable staging.  Rows have been added in the small venue which takes away from the stage space; the Shimberg is already intimate and the addition of these rows made it even smaller than an elementary school cafetorium stage.  It just seemed that the cast had barely any room to move, to dance, due to the incredibly tight spacing.  And it was sometimes hard to see the action, depending on where you sat.   Unless you’re in a front row, you might miss any shenanigans that occur below the neck, including the killing of two key characters and their (very clever) use of red fabric as blood.   

It was raining fiercely the night I saw URINETOWN (summertime in Florida), and I got wet, which I thought was appropriate for the show I was about to see.  Maybe, I wondered, this could be a quasi-immersive production (it’s not).  The pre-show music and the intermission music was carefully picked, delightful choices, all with variations of water themes: “Purple Rain,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Waterloo,” “It’s Raining Men,” “River of Dreams,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and even “Rubber Ducky.”

URINETOWN may not be for everyone, but it’s a must for musical theatre lovers who want something different.  And MAD Theatre, as usual, delivers the goods. At more than one point in the show, Officer Lockstock keeps saying, “This is not a happy musical.”  Story-wise he’s right.  But the show itself is more than happy.  It’s a celebration--of musical theatre, of freedom, of what it means to be human.  And, of course, of peeing.  What other musical can claim that?

As part of MAD Theatre of Tampa's 25th Anniversary, URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL plays at the Straz Center’s Shimberg Playhouse until June 29th.

Photo & Graphics: Madison DeBrino

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