This is Urinetown!

Oh, boy. We've talked about some productions before, but this one may take the cake. Urinetown. What a title. Just saying it makes you pause to consider what that could even mean. And let me tell you, it is even more absurd than you could imagine. Rich and poor, psychopaths, policemen, politicians, a hero, a damsel, the stage (you have to see what they have done to the Black Box Theatre!), the costumes, the choreography, the dialogue, the songs!

The basic ideas of Urinetown began to coalesce in the author's mind after a disdainful visit to a pay toilet. Months later, after the full creative process ran its course, it became a satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics. What a mouthful of diabolically interesting topics! I bring up this point to plainly tell you that this is a satire. I want you to be mentally prepared before you even enter the Theatre. Not because there is anything foul or inappropriate (for a show with urine in the title, there are surprisingly few unbecoming moments). But because I want you to be ready for how truly asinine this production is.

Some of the poor biding their time in between crazy dance numbers!

I've never been one to dance, but I can appreciate the talent and hard work that goes into choreography. Previous productions in KVTA's Black Box Theatre have utilized dance, but never more so than in this production where big song and dance numbers involving the entire cast are fit into the space of the Black Box Theatre. As the choreographer, Jordyn Clark, puts it, "This stage looks really big until you put people on it!" But somehow, the staff and cast made it work!

When's the last time you heard a five year-old master the most heart wrenching song in the show? You'll have to come see the show to figure this caption out!

The music in this show is some of the most complex and difficult that I have ever encountered. The majority of the cast sings in 4 to 6-part harmony, 2 to 5-point counterpoint, ridiculous intervals, and daunting vocal ranges multiple times in almost every song. Who in their right mind would ask a tenor 2 to hit a B4? But the complexities of the demanding vocals make it impossible to sleep on these songs. I think that we each have our own particular songs in shows that are kind of a comedown from big song and dance numbers that we patiently wait through until the narrative is advanced, while those we came to the show with are crying or cheering in our ears. In my opinion, you would be hard pressed to find one song in this show that does not have at least a part that will appeal to all audiences. The pompous big numbers, silly love songs, and cleverly ridiculous lyrics and situations intertwine to elicit reactions from the entire audience for each and every song.

KVTA's production of Urinetown: the Musical takes place at the Black Box Theatre on September 12-14. Tickets are available now at www.kvta.org. From the start of the production process, I did not envy director Sharla Ronchetto's task of putting this production together. And after spending 10 weeks of the 12 week (!) rehearsal schedule intensively involved in the production, I, of course, stand by my initial statement. This show is nuts! I hope you love it!

In my opinion, Dana James is a fantastic actor, as long as you ask him to play a jerk, an old man, or an old woman.