Texas State University's delightful staging showed off all the strengths of its musical theatre program
‘Urinetown’ review: Jungle’s musical is so fun, you’ll have to go
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Phill Jupitus takes the role of Caldwell B. Cladwell from Dec 1.For a musical about how the human race is likely to wipe itself out very soon, ‘Urinetown’ is
Please note... these are very old shows, just presented for archive/fun purposes. See our CURRENT WORK and Ken's THEATRE PORTFOLIO for new work.
Friday night was theatre night and Liam fancied a slice of am-dram at the Maddermarket. When he announced we were to see Urinetown, I thought he was taking the pissoir: a show about a public loo? F…
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It was a big deal for us to tackle Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis's fabulously funny and dark show, Urinetown the Musical as our 2007 Fall production...and boy was it pee-in-your pants fun! We gave it a fabulous three night run in the Jerry R. Knight Auditorium to overwhelmingly appreciative audiences. It was directed by Mrs. Romanowski, student directed by Erin Carmody, and the technical direction by Mr. Schaefer. It was stage managed by Caroline Siede with assistance by Laura Mitchler. It was musically directed by Mr. Kinworthy and the awesome band was lead by Chris Petersen. "We Will Pee For Free!" The Cast of Urinetown the Musical on the Jerry R. Knight Auditorium stage in 2007 ************************************* To view a video montage of our production follow the link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=latxMjkyPYo ************************************* This show was so much fun for our department to produce. Lots of hard work and dedication to put it all to together, but the end result was something very special. The cast was huge, the set was weird, and the music was tough! We worked our tails off for three months straight getting this show up and running. Our T-shirt Design for the show The Plot Synopsis The plot of Urinetown is fairly straightforward. The scene is a city in a parallel universe in the mid 1900’s in which the majority of the citizens’ dreary low-class existence is compounded by a water shortage, which has lead to the institution of pay-per-use public bathrooms and the jailing of unsanitary offenders. Urine Good Company (UGC) is the Evil Corporation that runs these bathrooms, and the CEO, Caldwell B. Cladwell’s daughter, Hope, comes home from college, falls in love with Bobby Strong, the leader of the long overdue revolution....and... chaos ensues. In his preface to the published script, composer Hollmann talks directly to the actor in saying that - a joke is funnier when you don't smile while telling it. It was funny...and none of the characters smiled too much. THE SET Brennan Eller and Grace Knobbe in rehearsal for "Don't Be The Bunny" The design for the set was conceived by Mr. Schaefer and the technical theater classes and truly was a work of pure collaboration and improvisational design. Julianne Towers, Maddie Byrne and Kelley Manuel We spent quite a bit of time in the classroom with the libretto and the B-way cast album trying to get some visuals and sketches that came to mind for the world of the play. Then we went to computer labs and pulled all kinds of toilet and sewer imagery. During the three weeks of research and drafting, Mr. Schaefer began to dumpster dive for all kinds of stuff to attach and build into the bridge structure. The concept for the scenery became one word... "industry". The cast and Mrs. Romanowki really needed the set to block the show, because of all the scene changes and dancing, so we constructed the bridge pretty fast and they began to play on it very early in the process (we love when that can happen!) Caroline Siede (SM) and Laura Mitchler (ASM) on the show. They made a GREAT team! Brennan Eller as Cladwell telling his Daughter Hope, played by Grace Knobbe, ..."Don't be the Bunny" Technical Challenges Fog machine amd fan blowers- that were imbedded in the set to give the cool effect of steam shooting out from a big steel grate in the structure. Bobby's death fall - Thanks to Mr. Cady, we were able to have Bobby (Adam Schartz) fall 7 ft to his very comic death. We tied the lines to the grid and got to run practices in tech class to make sure it would all work forthe audience. It was brilliant! Caroline, Julianne and Erin cleaned out the top of the stairwell SR and we began to use that room as the dressing room for the next several shows COSTUMES We love to do a show occasionally that has the entire cast is ripped up and dirty clothes. SO much easier than "clean" costumes Adam Schwartz as Bobby Strong rallying the people to revolt We did have several fiun costumes to assemble and find. - 2 Policemen uniforms for Lockstock and Barrel - Lots of police hats and flashlights - A Great hot pink woman's business suit for Hope - an oversized baby-bump for Litte Beck Two shoes - Lab coats a plenty! - Two great suits for Cladwell and McQueen (they looked spiffy!) Chris Sears (as Lockstock) and Julianne Towers as (Little Sally) had incredible chemistry! CAST Chris Sears...............................Officer Lockstock Maddie Byrne..........................Ms. Pennywise Adam Schwartz.......................Bobby Strong Julianne Towers.......................Little Sally Jake Fruend..............................Mr. McQueen Greg Webb...............................Senator Fipp Jack Newsham.........................Barrel Grace Knobbe..........................Hope Cladwell Geoff Peasall...........................Old Man Strong Brennan Eller..........................Caldwell B. Cladwell J Joyce.....................................Tiny Tom Kelley Manuel.........................Soupy Sue Halet Day................................Becky Two Shoes Clayton Zimmerman...............Robby the Stockfish Carrie Weber...........................Mrs. Strong Jack Bourgeois........................Hot Blades Harry Sam Holden.............................Billy Boy Bill Andrew Dent...........................Dr. Billeaux Chris Sears, Adam Schwartz , Julianne Towers, Maddie Byrne and the whole cast singing"This is Urinteown" Mr. Kinworth had his hands full with this crazy cast and with the music in this show. The students really stepped it up for him and boy did they sang their hearts out. The score is incredibly difficult and it was a huge challenge to get all of the music ready in time. With a lot of rehearsal hours logged, the final result was a very impressive sound. - Lots of rigorous solos for the leads! - The chorus had their hands full with some of the most complex harmonies written for Off-Broadway. The audiences that saw this show to this day can't stop talking about it! The Cast and Crew of "Urinetown the Musical" at WGHS CHORUS Maddie Holtzman Katie Killeen Louise Love Alicia Trebus Caitlin Rodgers Scott McDonald Natalie Lester Cameron Thurman Julia Gray Jerome Riley Jim Schoulberg Sean O'Brien Tea Rose Pankey Katy Ibur Mary Zimmerman Audrey Meyer Ben Kryder Anna George Aubrey Wride Zoe Matthews Jack, Sam, Haley, Kelley, Julianne, Carrie, and Caitlin singing "....look in the Sky!" THE CREWS This show provided the students with a lot of technical challenges and opportunity. The effort paid and the results were fantastic! The amazing and talented student production team for "Urinetown the Musical" at WGHS Lighting.................................Colin Croy Tom Chudy Pete Schweiss 7th Hour Adv Tech Theatre Spot Ops................................Cameron Stelling Aaron Taylor Sound Design/Op..................Brandon Hopkins Sound OP..............................Bobby Schindel Fog Op..................................Max Buchan Anya Broadfield Curtain Op............................Maggie Mohr Fly Ops.................................Peter Schweiss Becca Theerman Thom Chudy Props Chief...........................Niki Swanson Props Assistant.....................Ryanne Fields Costumes..............................Mrs. Romanowski Stevie Trembley Anne Fedde Anne Romer Chief Scenic Artists..............Becca Theerman Mr. Schaefer Painters.................................Megan Navia Sarah Manuel Stevie Trembley Anna Fedde Katie Siede Aaron Buleski Thom Chudy Laura Mitchler Mel Bodkin Louise Love Megan Navia Colin Croy Maggie Mohr Cara Miltugh Jessy Boedeker House Manager....................Caitlyn McCann The DANCING The show had several very cool dance numbers in it for our brand new choreographer to tackle. Lots of different styles, requiring very complex routines. Robin Berger (owner of Leaping Lizard's Performing Arts Studio) joined our production and creative team on this show, and it was the best thing to happen to our musicals. She worked these kids out! Urinetown contained some of the best Broadway style dancing to hit our stage! Jack Bourgeois, Grace Knobbe, Haley Day and the cast singing "Snuff that Girl" The cast was extremely diligent in learning all the dancing, practicing every chance they got, and it required a huge amount of focus when the show opened. The dancing really brought an excitement and energy to this show...and sometimes it added even more laughs. There is only one Urinetown the Musical and we are so thrilled that we got the opportunity to make it come to life on the Jerry R. Knight stage. Thanks to everyone who helped make this show happen, including all the parents and friends who came out and supported the show by being our dedicated patrons!
Please note... these are very old shows, just presented for archive/fun purposes. See our CURRENT WORK and Ken's THEATRE PORTFOLIO for new work.
