A lesson I have recently learned; don't judge a musical by it's god awful title and weird synopsis. Urinetown turned out to be one of the best musicals I have seen in such a long time. It's hilarity factor only one step behind The Book of Mormon. The fact the production is in the St James theatre, which is a tiny, gave it that necessary intimate interaction between the actors and the audience. The small venue appears to cause no restrictions or limitations to the production. My only wish is that it would have a longer run. It is clearly West End standard so maybe it will get a transfer? Fingers crossed! My knowledge of the show previous to seeing it was that it was Tony-nominated and Hunter Foster was in the Broadway production. After all these years, the show had finally made it to London, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I don't want to go into great detail of the plot so as not to risk spoiling a wonderfully bizarre theatrical experience for anyone reading this. I think this is one show where it's best to know as little as possible about it before you see it. But needless to say that Urinetown displays some great morals woven within the chaotic narrative. Set in an urban dystopia, public toilets have been privatised after a terrible drought has cause a water shortage. As the song goes, it becomes 'a privilege to pee'. Bobby Strong, a rebellious character played by Richard Fleeshman, realises the wrong-doings and that he must follow his heart. Alongside his followers, he protests that you should be able to 'pee for free!'. Whilst this all sounds completely and utterly ridiculous, the show is actually bringing up the serious issues of financial exploitation by powerful hegemonies, yet it's done in such a comedic way that it will have you laughing for days. As gritty as the narrative is, the humour and the upbeat, cheerful score, from Mark Hollmann, keeps the show light-hearted. The show is narrated by a tough cop (played by RSC actor Jonathan Slinger) who is on the side of the law but yet doesn't fail to point out the absurdities of the whole situation. As for Richard Fleeshman, he is everything that a male lead should be; fantastic vocals, great acting skill and fantastic comedic timing. After hearing that Soutra Gilmour was on board for set design, I had no doubt that they would be brilliant after seeing the work she had done with the From Here To Eternity sets. I adored the FHTE sets, but I was blown away by the designs of Urinetown. It was perfect; dirty, gritty and dark. Urinetown is an epic tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution. It's impossible to deny the originality of this musical. I can't think of any other musical that it could ever be compared to. It's a must see! __________________________________________________________________ Rating: ★★★★★ Comment: Too funny to miss! Have you seen Urinetown? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points I have made? If so, I'd love to here from you so send me a message and let me know which production you saw! | |
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Hello there, friend!Welcome to my blog. I tend ramble on a bit about theatre, books and Disney. Archives
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