By On stage, an older man clad in tattered clothes pleads for mercy while being forcibly dragged, kicking and screaming, to a labor camp by a totalitarian police force.
The audience roared with laughter from their seats.
The man’s crime? He tried to pee for free.
So begins “Urinetown: The Musical,” which premiered at the Long Beach State Studio Theater on Oct. 2 to a sold-out crowd.
“Urinetown is sort of a satire of political civic life,” said Ezra LeBank, professor and chair of Theatre Arts at CSULB.
Initially written in 2001 by Greg Kotis with music by Mark Hollmann, the play parodies corporations, capitalism and the shortsightedness of would-be revolutionaries.
A resolute Bobby Strong, played by Aidan McGuiness, leads people experiencing poverty in a revolution while a conflicted Hope Cladwell, played by Aya Sherian, struggles with allegiance to her new love or her evil but pragmatic father who runs the dystopian company Urine Good Hands in the musical “Urinetown,” on Oct. 2. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho
Urinetown is the second performance by the Long Beach State Cal Rep Company for the fall 2024 season, the first being an improv series.
LeBank said last year, an eight-person advisory committee of students, faculty and staff came together to “collectively envision” the upcoming season around a central theme, ultimately landing on “Laughing Together.”
“We can create meaningful work that is also funny, and our whole Cal Rep season is about celebrating diverse styles and voices through the lens of comedy,” LeBank said.
In choosing “Urinetown,” LeBank said with the current political culture and the upcoming election, the committee wanted a show that might inspire students’ civic engagement, “but in a funny way.”
Officer Lockstock, played by Nicholas Mayer (left), is a character and the narrator of “Urinetown: The Musical.” Standing to the right, Officer Barrel, played by Devin Addiego, sings and dances alongside ensemble members during the “Cop Song” number for opening night on Oct. 2. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho
Helming the two-act musical with a large ensemble cast is director and alumni Daniel Nakawatase, who received his B.A. in directing and theatrical production from CSULB before earning an M.A. in New York.
LeBank said hiring past graduates is intentional, as it is fulfilling for them and inspiring for students.
Theater arts performance major Aya Sherian, 20, who plays Hope Caldwell, said working with LeBank was a positive and enjoyable experience.
“It was my first time working with Daniel and he is spectacular, truly one of the best directors I’ve worked with,” Sherian said. “He has a very collaborative way of working with his cast and crew.”
Opening night started with greetings from narrator Officer Lockstock, who introduces the audience to “Urinetown, not the place, but the musical.”
Lockstock sets the stage with the song, “Too Much Exposition.”
After a drought, individual toilets were outlawed, and the corporation Urine Good Hands (in collaboration with the government) took control of public amenities.
Citizens must now pay to use public restrooms; violators are arrested and sent to the mysterious “Urinetown.”
“It’s a bad place, a place you won’t see until act two, and when you do, it’s full of symbolism,” Lockstock said.
Officer Lockstock, played by Nicholas Mayer, a character and the narrator of “Urinetown: The Musical,” brings the audience back to speed following the first act intermission during the Oct. 2 premiere show in the Studio Theater. Lockstock frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience and referencing his existence in a musical. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho
The plot kicks off when Bobby Strong (Aidan McGuiness) helplessly watches his father get taken away for public urination at Public Amenity #9.
A haunted Bobby meets and falls in love with Hope, whose talks of love inspire him to lead a revolt. Unbeknownst to him, Hope is the daughter of Caldwell B. Cladwell (Art Alvarez), the ruthless head of Urine Good Hands who commands the police force.
Hope is torn between siding with Bobby, leading a revolution, and Caldwell scheming to squash the rebellion while installing a pee-fee hike.
Although silly at its core, “Urinetown” plays with serious socio-political issues of classism, environmentalism and the role of government and business versus the rights of citizens.
Victoria Martens’ Penelope Pennywise reveals a shocking truth to Aya Sherian’s Hope Cladwell. At the same time, both characters are being held prisoner by the citizen bathroom rebellion in the Oct. 2 debut performance of Urinetown: The Musical. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho
“It’s insane because we’re singing about pee, but deep down there is this very sincere aspect to the show, which I think is beautiful,” Sherian said.
The show’s cast members displayed their on-stage chemistry throughout the performance, with one highlight being Hope and Bobby’s meet-cute duet to “Follow Your Heart.”
Criminal justice major Kaia King attended the opening night show. Although she had seen “Urinetown” previously at her high school, this production impressed her more.
“I liked it, it’s not conventional,” King said. “It’s different; there’s no musical that ends like this, and then you still go out and say, ‘Oh wow, that was so good!’”
