“Urinetown” and other spring performances

March 9th, 2008 at 11:20pm Cathryn Vaulman

This week, we had the opportunity to sit in on one of Guilford High School’s rehearsals for their Spring musical.  This year they are performing “Urinetown.”  The name surprised us a little, but we were definitely interested in finding out more about the play.  The story takes place in a city suffering from a severe drought.  Because of the drought, no one is allowed to use private restrooms.  Urine Good Company is in charge of the public amenities, which require a fee for every use.  The people living in the slums around Public Amenity No. 9 find it difficult to come up with the money they need to pay the fee, but the tough money collector Penelope Pennywise (Mingkhwan Zehner) shows no pity.  The janitor Bobby Strong (Kevin Conklin) wants to let them in without money; unfortunately, he can’t even help his own father (Derek Mallow) when he doesn’t have the money.  Old Man Strong refuses to pay, and after using the amenity, he is taken by the police to “Urinetown.”  No one knows what happens when you are sent to Urinetown, but they know it is a horrible punishment.   The head of the Urine Good Company’s daughter, Hope Cladwell (Krystal Castaneda), stops by Amenity  No. 9 and meets Bobby on her way to work.  The sparks of the romance are evident in their first meeting and her affection gives him strength to resist the fee.  The head of Urine Good Company (Matt Miller) is furious and demands Public Amenity No. 9 follows the rules.  Trouble starts in this complacent city and its future is soon at stake…

“Urinetown” has a satirical wit about it that made this play so much more than others.  This isn’t just a love story; it has a strong message.  All of that seriousness aside, though, it is a very humorous comedy.  Songs like “Urinetown” and “Peeing is a Privilege” keep a consistent, light tone throughout the play.  There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek comedy, as expected in a satire.  One of our favorite aspects is the blatant way Officer Lockstock (Robert Kisting) discusses the musical with Little Sally (Aly Burgess).  He makes comments like, “We can’t have too much exposition,” and “Well, it is the end of the first act” to point out important tips about musicals. 

We were very impressed with Guilford’s cast.  Even without sound and lighting perfected, we thought they looked and sounded like professionals.  The voice quality of the cast was incredible, and the dance numbers were very well put together.  The director, Melissa Thomas Wolf, is a great leader to the young actors and actresses and the pit was masterfully led by Rick Nolting.  The two leads, Kevin Conklin and Krystal Castaneda, have great chemistry and personalities that shine in their roles. 

We spoke with the leads for a bit in between acts.  It is the first time having lead roles for both them and Krystal is excited to be playing such a nice, sweet character.  Kevin told us how thrilled they are to be doing a fun and different musical.  They have been practicing since January, and we’re sure they are excited to see how the audience will react to their hard work.  You can (and should!) see one of their performances, either this Thursday and Friday at 7:00 P.M or Saturday at 2:00 or 7:00 P.M.  The cost is $6 for students and $8 for adults.

If “Urinetown” doesn’t strike your interest, there are plenty of other local shows to see this weekend (March 13th - 16th).  Boylan will be performing their musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”  Are we a little biased about Boylan’s play since we go there?  Probably. But we always are impressed with their musicals. They have three performances: Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:00.   The cost of admission is $8.

North Boone High School is performing “Pirates of Penzance.”  On Friday, the show is at 7:00.  On Sunday, the show is at 2:00.  Both of these shows’ tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students in advance, $10 for adults and $7 for students at the door.  Saturday’s show is preceded by a Beef Stew dinner at 5:00.  For this night, you can buy show-only tickets (like for Friday and Sunday) or you can purchase dinner-show tickets for $12 for adults and $10 for students.  Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance.  (EDIT - this information was previously wrong.  We’re sorry for the confusion, but we messed up with the whole dinner thing.  If you have any questions call Laura Kosla or Scott Aska at 815.765.3311.)

Belvidere North is putting on their first performance, “Once Upon a Mattress.”  They have performances this Thursday through Saturday at 7:30.  It costs $7 for adults and $5 for students.

Stillman Valley is performing “The King and I” this Friday and Saturday at 7:00.  Tickets cost $8. 

Byron has performances of “Brigadoon” this Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 and Sunday at 2:00.  The cost is $5 for students and $10 for adults.

So come out to any one of these great performances and support our young, local talent!

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized