The musical theater department put on “Urinetown” in Doty Recital Hall from Nov. 6 to Nov. 10. This show is based on a society in which people must pay to use the restroom, which eventually causes the masses to revolt (Courtesy of Ben Gajewski ‘07).
Geneseo’s musical theatre program presented “Urinetown” in the Doty Recital Hall from Nov. 6 to Nov. 10. This page-to-stage production was a comedic musical in two acts, with music and lyrics written by Mark Hollmann and the book written by Greg Kotis.
The production was directed and choreographed by Interim Associate Provost for Assessment and Curriculum Melanie Blood and music was directed by Sarah Pool Wilhelm. The show was a successful, clever and scintillating satire infused with a rambunctious attitude that highlighted the energetic story.
Plenty of fourth wall breaking and the mockery of common musical and genre tropes brought giggles from the audience. The laughs got louder and the production even funnier as irreverent cast members sang and danced on.
This particular show was an ensemble piece where every member of the cast got to shine in their own special light. Musical theater major junior Rocky Nardone played one of the show’s notable characters, Bobby Strong.
“This show is one where we are all cast as a group,” Nardone said. “We’re assigned to the roles that we play, and we have to use just what we can out of our own acting abilities to create the show as a whole. It’s really exciting and fun.”
The musical centers around an odd, horrible world where one single company has a monopoly on all bathrooms.
“In a sense, it’s a post-ecological disaster society where the [land] has gone through terrible drought over the last 20 years or so,” Nardone said. “They’ve come to a desperate sense of water consumption … [and] the poor people have to pay to use the bathroom.”
Nardone went on to explain how his character, Bobby Strong, is “a custodian who works at one of the public toilets that the people have to come and pay for. [He] realizes the people up in their tower are taking all the money while everybody here is suffering. So, [Strong] starts a rebellion against the rich. It is wild.”
A hopeful number from Act I, “Look at the Sky,” represents a turning point where Bobby calls the impoverished people to action. It is one of the musical’s standout songs.
The production had to be prepared ahead of time within a total of three weeks. Mathematics and musical theatre major junior Sandra Kralik noted that, even for a page-to-stage production—which normally sees shorter preparation periods—it was a tight schedule.
“Three weeks is a really short amount of time, I think this was the shortest we’ve ever had,” Kralik said. “After fall break is when we started, but we did have a few choreography rehearsals beforehand and one music rehearsal. We rehearsed three times over the weekends before fall break, and then after fall break [there was] a rehearsal every day.”
One of Kralik’s favorite aspects of the show was playing three different characters and performing as new people throughout the same show.
“I had to change and adapt quickly,” Kralik said. “I was pregnant in one character, another [was a] serious character in a pantsuit and a third one that was a cop.”
A duet in the second act called “Snuff that Girl” marked a change for Kralik’s pregnant character, Little Becky Two-Shoes.
“I really enjoyed that one because I grew as a performer,” Kralik said. “I got to actually get people riled up instead of being the one who’s following people around.”
Audience interaction throughout the entire show involved dancing up the theater aisles, throwing a stuffed animal into the crowd and coming down from the top balcony to the stage.
“It brought the audience into our world a little more and allowed them to live through all of it with us,” Kralik said.
For the performers, every show was something fresh and new. Due to the heavy audience involvement, little changes here and there would affect aspects of their performance.
The opportunity to sing and act in theater is an enjoyable and invaluable one, according to Nardone.
“I really find it a good way to be able to express myself, it’s an outlet to show the world something that you don’t usually get to,” Nardone said. “Being able to perform this show is like a different experience where I get to express myself in such a different light.”