Morgan Hanna
The Woodinville High School theater department’s latest production was the musical Urinetown, and boy, what a show!
I’m personally not a fan of musicals, but after seeing the opening night and the closing night acts of Urinetown, I may have to change my mind. Running February first 1st through 3rd and 8th through 10th, this musical was a delight for every minute of its run time.
Urinetown takes place in a city where the townspeople have to pay to use public bathrooms, which isn’t an issue for the wealthy, but poses an everyday conflict for those on the poorer side of town. Bobby Strong (Andrew Lapworth and Lydia Lomax) works for Penelope Pennywise (Gabriella Lutz) at “Public Amenity #9”, and recognizes the unfairness of the bathroom fee enforced by Urine Good Company. Bobby leads a rebellion with the poorer civilians, and in the process falls in love with Hope Cladwell (Isabelle Cobbley), the daughter of main antagonist Caldwell B. Cladwell (Casca Bussell). After kidnapping Hope as part of his plan, Bobby attempts to make a deal with Cladwell while the poor civilians keep Hope in a secret hideout, promising to kill her if Cladwell does the same to Bobby. When Cladwell has Bobby murdered by officers LockStock (Ray Liu) and Barrel (Sarah Wideman), Hope is not given the same fate and instead rises up to lead the rebels against her father. Cladwell is defeated and the musical ends with all the civilians dying in a drought. Basically every character in the musical dies, except for Mr. Mcqueen (Torsten Dahlke), Cladwell’s former right hand man. Every actor in this musical did a phenomenal job, with the choreographed dancing, vocals, and various hilarious jokes and gags littered throughout the show. The set design was more than magnificent, with intricate parts that could effortlessly spin and reveal a whole new setting. The attitudes and costumes of the characters really made them feel grounded in their own roles and location, and I was never left questioning who or where a character was supposed to be.
The musical explores themes of capitalism, mistreatment of the less fortunate, ignorant positivity, and other societal debates. What I and many others enjoyed about this musical was its satirical energy towards the topics it aimed at tackling, which made the musical all the better.
This musical was a blast to watch and, according to cast members that I spoke with, incredibly fun yet tiring to put on. Overall, I and many others thoroughly enjoyed this show, and I am excited to see what the theater production has in store for us next time!
