Urinetown: The Musical

 Our grandson took a part in another play production in the cities which, of course, we wanted to see. The rather unappealing title of “Urinetown: The Musical” nevertheless proved very entertaining, and throughout the show the actors took opportunities to make fun of it. Tongue-in-cheek prevailed throughout. Take for instance the name of our grandson’s character - Sergeant Lockstock and his patrolman partner Officer Barrel. Their characters were tasked with protecting the laws which were established by the dominating company, UGC, otherwise known as Urine Good Company.

The show was written as a satirical comedy musical which is meant to satirize the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics. (I didn’t write that previous sentence but stole it to use here and say better than I could.) The author of this work was “inspired” when he traveled in Europe and encountered pay-per-use toilets. The play hinges on that concept: you have to pay to pee.

It took a large cast and they all did well. Our grandson acted and sang a major role. His policeman figure narrated the show, and he really surprised us with the quality of his deep baritone voice. I took credit for his singing ability; however it could be the Knutson influence seeping in. He is earning a long list of performances under his belt, having acted previously in Shrek, Elf, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I still have a song from Joseph… “Any Dream Will Do” running through my mind and still like to listen to Donny Osmond singing it on Youtube.

As a professional production, it has won several awards from its peers. The production company does a great job. Urinetown’s cast was all done with high school age kids. Others we’ve attended featured a wide range of ages. Next up is “Little Shop of Horrors,” for which Lucas has earned a part. 

As we prepared to pack up to come home, I couldn’t help but notice a book The Great Gatsby on his desk that he is reading for upcoming classes. I asked if he’d read it and gotten to the last sentence in that book. He hadn’t, but will probably appreciate it someday when he has experienced the many trials of life: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”