Urine-fine Company In Georgetown
New Community Theatre Production of Urinetown Opens in Georgetown, Ontario
Nov 24, 2006
Urinetown opened on Broadway in 2001, and it went on to win three Tony Awards in 2002 for Best Director, Book and Score. The awards were all considered an upset, considering their competition - productions of Oklahoma!, Into The Woods, and Thoroughly Modern Millie opened that season as well. Fast forward to 2004, and CanStage presented the Canadian Premiere of the show, which went on to win six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Best Musical.
Georgetown Globe Productions is the first community theatre company in Ontario to present Urinetown, and they should be commended for their work at bringing new and interesting musicals to Southern Ontario. It's nice to see community theatres step away from the typical shows that usually fill a season.
Urinetown focuses on a society that has to "pay to pee", as there is a water shortage. All the public amenities are run by UGC (Urine-Good Company) who end up running up the cost of the public washrooms to make it more profitable, which leads to a revolution by the people.
The cast, led by Mark Llewellyn as Officer Lockstock, is generally strong. Llewellyn has moments of sheer hilarity, and offers a balanced performance as the narrator of the piece. HIs booming baritone voice handles the title song with ease, along with some fine work on the "Cop Song" with Danny Harvey. His time on stage with Little Sally, played by Cecily Restivo, is especially wonderful - they have great chemistry, and their dead pan delivery is perfect. Restivo brings the right amount of innocence and intelligence to the role, and her song, "Tell Her I Love Her" is one of the highlights of the second act.
Other strong performances come from David Cairns as Cladwell, Michelle Giacometti as Ms. Pennywise, and Danny Harvey as Officer Barrel, who each bring a fresh take on their respective roles, with wonderful results.
Gregg Shanks and Lisa Tass have their moments as Bobby Strong and Hope Cladwell, and they are stronger actors than they are singers. Their acting comes across at times as over the top, but it works. At times they were slightly out of tune, and there were microphone problems throughout the performance, which hindered their work considerably. In "Run, Freedom, Run", Shanks didn't have the vocal strength to carry the song, which was frustrating, as it had fantastic movement and choreography to go with it, and the vocal work let the number down.
The artistic direction is one of the strongest parts of the show - care of director Scott Carmichael. He has done a terrific job with the show, bringing his own vision to the production, and takes risks that only heighten the enjoyment of the show for the audience.
The choreography by Laura Caswell is slick and entertaining to watch, and the cast does a superb job at handling her intricate dance steps. I haven't seen choreography and execution like that in the many years I've been attending community theatre productions.
The small band is led by musical director Darryn DeSouza, and they sound great, never overpowering the cast.
Georgetown Globe Productions Urinetown is a fun night out, and a piece of theatre that is not only funny, but will leave you laughing and thinking well after leaving the theatre - which, in a time where we are bogged down with serious drama, on stage and off, is a good thing.
Urinetown
Presented By Georgetown Globe Productions
Starring Mark Llewellyn, Gregg Shanks, Lisa Tass and Cecily Restivo
Now playing until December 2nd, 2006
For ticket and show information, click here.
***1/2 (out of five)
