Imagine a world where you have to pay for the privilege to pee. And no, it’s not just a European McDonald’s; it’s illegal to pee anywhere other than state-sanctioned and privately owned “Public Amenities”. There are cops named Lockstock and Barrell, a hero named Strong, a rich evil tyrant named Cladwell, some ladders, a band, an abundance of puns and a love duet for the ages – wait, is this a musical?
You betcha, Little Sally. But it isn’t a happy one, and it isn’t a sappy one either. The Hayes Theatre Co is making a splash with its first show of 2023, presented in association with Heart Strings Theatre Co.
Creators Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis penned Urinetown around 1999, and have borrowed so heavily from Bertolt Brecht’s (and Kurt Weill’s) Threepenny Opera that a London critic dubbed it “the Spend-a-Penny Opera”. The musical is self-aware and firmly planted in the land of the meta-theatrical, with narrator Lockstock (Karen Vickery) and Little Sally (Natasha Vickery) commenting on the action as it happens, and reactions so broad you can’t help but giggle. It never lets you forget that it’s a musical, but that’s kind of the point.
...despite all the delightful musical references, clever puns, and exciting performances, Urinetown has something bleak at its heart
And the references don’t stop there, with numbers that play on West Side Story’s ‘Cool’ (in ‘Snuff that Girl’ – a highlight of the show), Les Misérables’ melodramatic minor chords, and the big chorus numbers of Hello, Dolly!, Guys and Dolls and more. It’s a delight to hear familiar refrains turned on their head, sending up the silliness and the earnestness you’d usually see in a musical (if you like all the references in Rachel Bloom’s musical tv series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as much as I do, you’ll enjoy Urinetown).
The characters, too, cleverly riff on the archetypes of the American musical. Hope Cladwell (played by Petronella van Tienen) is the earnest, big-hearted daughter of the evil, charming capitalist Mr. Cladwell (Max Gamble), who falls in love with the beautiful hero Bobby Strong (Joel Horwood). There’s a “big” chorus, office minions, cops and the money-minded “Ms Pennywise” (Deanna Farnell).
Ylaria Rogers’ direction, Cameron Mitchell’s choreography (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Catch Me If You Can) and design by Helen Wojtas (costume), Monique Langford (set) and Jasmin Borsovsky (lighting) work together to create a dank yet unreal aesthetic that matches Urinetown’s tone well. Pleasing shades of yellow run throughout both of the Cladwell’s costumes, and there’s a great visual language of “rich” and “poor” set up using easily changeable flannels and primary coloured office wear on chorus members. I almost wet myself laughing at the glittering golden toilet seats that were used as dance props in the ’40s-esque number ‘Mr. Cladwell’.
Van Tienen as Hope is almost insufferably earnest, with big vocals to match her big heart. Vickery as Little Sally, Joe Dinn as Ma Strong and Senator Fipp, and Dani Caruso as Pa Strong are all standouts – each bringing the outlandish cartoonishness and sense of humour required to sell a musical about, well, capitalism and piss. Lockstock and Barrell sometimes needed to lean further into the menacing precision required of their characters, particularly in ‘Cop Song’, but otherwise gave suitably camp performances.
And yet, despite all the delightful musical references, clever puns, and exciting performances, Urinetown has something bleak at its heart. You’ll be laughing all the way, and then, suddenly, the show closes on the foreboding line: “Hail Malthus!” It’s unclear whether this too is a send up, or if the musical isn’t truly Brechtian after all. It makes its argument, it’s just not a particularly comforting one. Nevertheless, Urinetown pushes the boundaries of what musical theatre can and should be; required (and hilarious) viewing for musical theatre nerds everywhere.
Urinetown plays at the Hayes Theatre Co, Potts Point until February 5, 2023. Find out more and get your tickets here.
