URINETOWN Comes to Cal State Fullerton This Spring

Cal State Fullerton’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present “Urinetown the Musical.” With music by Mark Hollmann and lyrics by Greg Kotis,“Urinetown” is directed by Collette Rutherford, with musical direction by Michelle Do and choreography by Tula B. Strong. Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, this irreverent, satirical musical is the winner of three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, and two Obie Awards. When a terrible water shortage caused by a 20-year drought leads to a government-enforced ban on private toilets, citizens must use public, pay-per-use amenities owned and operated by the malevolent Urine Good Company, which charges admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Oppressed under such a corrupt system, will the people ever be free to pee? The production runs April 12–27, 2024, in the Young Theatre on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

Composer and Lyricist Mark Hollmann won the Tony Award®, the Obie Award, and the National Broadway Theatre Award for his music and lyrics to “Urinetown,” which went from the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) to receive 10 Tony Award® nominations and 11 Drama Desk Award nominations, and win the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama League Award, and the Lucille Lortel Award for best musical. Lyricist and Librettist Greg Kotis is a two-time Tony™ Award winning author of many plays and musicals including “Urinetown” (Book/Lyrics), “The End of All Flesh,” and “I Am Nobody.” His work has been produced and developed in theaters across the country and around the world, including American Conservatory Theater, The Apollo (West End),and the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Conference, among others. Future projects include “ZM,” an original musical about teenaged fast-food workers trying to survive a zombie plague. 

Director Collette Rutherford is an award-winning theatre director, producer, and actor. Recent directing projects include: “Twelfth Night,” “Blue Stockings,” and “The Belle’s Stratagem” (Cal State Fullerton);  and John Lyly’s “Gallathea” (Infinite Jest Theatre Company/City of West Hollywood). Other Los Angeles area productions include:” Joan” (Catworks Productions), “Romeo & Rosalind” (Inglewood Playhouse), and “This is Not a Drill” (SkyPilot Theatre). She is an Associate Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors’ Equity Association, PlayGround-LA, Directors’ Gathering, and Emerging Arts Leaders of Los Angeles. More info:ColletteRutherford.com. Musical Director Michelle Do is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she received a Doctor of Musical Arts. Michelle has provided musical direction on several productions, including “In the Heights,” “The Spitfire Grill,” “Freaky Friday,” and the world premiere of Rogue Machine's new musical, “Come Get Maggie,” for which she was nominated for an LA Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Music Direction. Choreographer Tula B. Strong is a Liberian American performance artist focused on weaving together elements of devised theatre and Traditional American folk music into her choreography. Tula has been honored to have her work receive support and recognition from California Art Council's Individual Artists Fellowship, Charlotte Black Film Festival, Blavity’s BlavityTV, and the National Black Arts Festival, among others. A first-generation college graduate, Tula earned her M.F.A. in dance from UCLA, a master’s in educational studies from Loyola Marymount University, and a bachelor’s from Princeton University. More info: www.tulabstrong.com

The cast of “Urinetown” are Julianna Barlow, Joshua J. Chapman, Jack Cooper, Ethan Davis, Grace Gremel, Mia Gibson, Gabriel Hernandez, Allison High, Caitlyn Ilar, Aja Jett, Joseph ‘RJ’ Jones, Grace Miguel, Brooklynn Morales, Devlyn Novelli, Joshua Penrod, Ty Smith, TJ Rodriguez, Erick Sanchez, Garret Sullivan, Hailey Thomas, Ciera Christine Tottress, Leo van Bindsbergen, Aurora Villareal, and Cash Wheeler. The production also includes the work of designers Gwen Sloan and Ziggy Bozigian (costume design); Lauren Wiedman and Allison Murillo (hair/makeup design); Alex Bennett and Dillon Lopez (lighting design); Aerik Harbert and Jordan Benitez (sound design); and Mio Okada and Aiden Behar (scenic design).

“Urinetown” plays April 12–27 in the Young Theatre of Clayes Performing Arts Center. In person performances on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. ASL translated performance on Thursday, April 18 at 8 pm; Talkbacks: Saturday, April 20 after the 2 pm performance and Thursday, April 25 after the 8 pm performance. General Admission tickets are $24/ ($22 Titan Discount) and are available by calling (657) 278-3371, 12–4 pm, Tuesday through Friday, at the Clayes Performing Arts Center Box Office or online. CSUF students receive one free ticket per performing arts production.

Next, the Department of Theatre and Dance presents “Spring Dance Theatre,” coordinated by Joshua D. Estrada-Romero. See CSUF’s award-winning dancers and choreographers from across the dance spectrum in dynamic performances designed to challenge and engage. “Spring Dance Theatre” runs May 2–11, 2024 in the Little Theatre on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. General Admission tickets are $14 ($12 Titan Discount) and are available by calling (657) 278-3371, 12-4 pm, Tuesday through Friday at the Clayes Performing Arts Center Box Office or online. Tickets for “Spring Dance Theatre” go on-sale April 11.

 

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