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February 29 - March 23,
2008
Urinetown
Reviewed March 7 by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 2:25 - one intermission
A whimsical musical put-on performed with energy
and verve
Click here to buy the CD |
This highly stylized put-on with energy, verve,
a wonderful sense of whimsy and a consistently inventive imagination has
been providing audiences with a fun evening of theater since 2001 when
it emerged from the New York Fringe Festival to become a full fledged
Off-Broadway production, and then transferred to Broadway where it won Tony
awards for its score and book and ran for nearly a thousand performances. It
is a delightful ride for those who get into the spirit of the thing and
enjoy a distinctly off-beat humor. Perhaps it is because it makes as much
fun of itself as it does of any of the targets of its satire ... corporate
greed, capitalism, environmental waste and the gullibility of the public.
They all come in for ridicule within this musical with a title that even one
of its major characters says is awful. Somehow its insouciance seems to
inspire the best in cast and crew at any level - Broadway, professional or
community theater. Certainly, this production features as much energy,
enthusiasm and pure fun as could be wished.
Storyline: In a time when draught has made private toilets unthinkable
and a mega-corporation has a monopoly on pay toilets, a group of
underprivileged citizens stage a revolution. They take the evil monopolist's
naive daughter hostage, but she ends up as their leader when she recognizes
the people's "right to pee."
At heart, Urinetown is a very affectionate tribute to the genre of
musical theater which proves once again the old adage that a musical can
tell any story if it is done well. It observes all the rules of the form
while making affectionate fun of them. What more could you expect of a show
that begins with a narrator (Jay Tilley) setting out the show's "central conceit" in a discussion of how
much "exposition" a show's first scene can contain. If that sounds
suspiciously like the jargon you might find at a workshop on how to write a
musical, it may be because composer and co-lyricist Mark Hollmann attended the legendary BMI -
Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop where such things are studied.
Having set up a truly bizarre concept, the very tightly constructed book by
Hollmann’s colleague, Greg Kotis, carries the set-up to its logical conclusion
while using the many logically identified song spots for individual parodies
of some of the most identifiable moments in the history of Broadway
musicals. When the downtrodden rise up in revolution, out comes the mop to be
waved like the flag in Le Mis. Many times the references come in combination as the rumble-ish
dance for "Snuff That Girl" seems to put West Side Story’s finger-snapping
gang members
in Guys and Dolls' sewer. When I reviewed
the show on Broadway I remarked that "all
the second act's opener lacks from
Fiddler on the Roof is a bottle dance." Director Andrew JM Regiec, and
his choreographers Matt Anderson and Catherine Oh, correct the oversight,
using particularly appropriate utensils, plumbers' plungers, on the heads of
the chorus.
The lead couple, John Loughney, as the
youthful leader of the rebellion, and Sharon Grant, as the daughter who
comes to doubt her father (the
malicious monopolist
played by Bob Ashby), build to fine high points while Katie McManus seems to
be having a great time on stage as the belting proprietor of Public Amenity
No. 9. Tilley, too, throws himself into
his role as the narrating policeman. There's something about the part of
"Little Sally" which seems to spark the most fun for both performer and
audience, however. Here it is eighth grader June Schreiner and she's a delight.
Music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann. Book
and lyrics by Greg Kotis. Directed by Andrew JM Regiec. Music direction by
Elisa Rosman. Choreography by Matt Anderson and Catherine Oh. Design: Andrew
JM Regiec and Greg Steele (set) Carol Steele (costumes, makeup and hair)
Mary Jo Ford and Andrew JM Regiec (properties) Greg Steele (special
properties) Franklin Coleman (lights) Greg Pennington (sound) Joe Douglass
(photography) Kaiti Parish (stage manager). Cast: Bob Ashby, Courtney Basich,
Jim Bumbardner, Ashley edmiston, Greg Glofak, Sharon Grant, Ryan Green, Mark
Hidalgo, Kevin Johnson, Kate Keifer, Sally Kiernan, Laura Anne Knockernhauer,
John Loughney, Katie McManus, Sam Nystrom, Buz Ringler, June Schreiner, Jay
Tilley, David Tremaine, Jolene Vettese, Nathan Williams.
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March 2 - 24, 2007
Seussical the
Musical
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 2:00 - one
intermission
t
A Potomac Stages pick for
a great evening for the entire family
Click here to buy the CD
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And did you see the set? In a fantastic night of theater much of the credit
must go to Dawn Parket for a set that just sweeps you away to the forest of
Nool. With all of the primary colors and swirls and arches that generations
have grown up seeing in the illustrations from the
books and the cartoon versions on TV,
the Reston Community Players company captures the magic and marvels of the
worlds of Seuss. This is one of those shows that failed to impress the critics on Broadway (save for our very own Brad Hathaway) but
seemed to always enthrall the audience. In much the same way that a summer
movie isn’t supposed to be a masterpiece of art, neither is this meant to be
the pinnacle of musicals. Instead it is a feel good evening of music,
laughter and fun, with as many people in the audience wearing the signature
red and white stripped hat as there are cast on stage. Featuring a live
orchestra, great lighting, strong voices, and more dyed long-johns than
you’ve ever seen in your life, this is one show to which you can bring the
young and young at heart.
Storyline: The Cat in the Hat leads young Jo-Jo on an adventure in
Whoville while Horton the Elephant sits on the egg that Mayzie the Lazy
Bird has abandoned and Gertrude McFuzz tries to get him to notice her.
The young JoJo is
sweetly played by June Schreiner who has a lovely voice. The Cat in the
Hat, played by Kevin Ray Johnson, is dynamic and contagiously
enthusiastic. But the true joy to watch at this performance is Horton
the Elephant, played in a quietly suffering yet heroic manner by Michael
Hoskinson. Mr. Hoskinson spends the entire evening in what must be a hot
stuffy grey elephant costume, yet still manages to avoid letting the
adorable JoJo steal the show back from him. It is a delight when it is
hard to pick who was more enjoyable. The rest of the cast must also be
given credit for managing to stand around in long-johns all night and
not look silly, well…no sillier than they are meant to look.
Set Design and
Lighting come together to whisk us away into the world of Seuss. The
primary colors are just the right shades. The shapes evoke the memories
of everyone’s childhood. When the scene shifts to under the sea, the
costumes, the dynamic lighting and the cast’s evolution to fish are a
delight to watch. This is an evening filled with simple wonder, with
adults grinning like idiots, catching themselves, and then looking
around to see that they are not the only ones. Lacking the funding for
elaborate special effects or expensive sets and costumes, this
production manages to rise above the limits of its budget and find the
magic of theater that lets any space at any time be able to transport
the audience to a new world.
Much has been
written previously, both
here and elsewhere, on the nature of the show and the merits of the
music and lyrics. Once more, all that needs to be said is that when this
show is done right, and the RCP production could not be much better, it
is the perfect vehicle to introduce anyone to the joy that is musical
theater. Several shows are already sold out, so get tickets soon.
Starting with the trademark hat sitting lonely on the stage, developing
into the worlds of Dr. Seuss, and finishing, as with many of his works,
as a fading memory with only JoJo left on stage, this is everything
Seuss is meant to be. With their incredible vision and imagination, RCP
has exemplified the first song, which tells us: ”Oh, the Thinks you can
Think!”
Book by Lynn
Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn
Ahrens. Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle based
on the works of Dr. Seuss. Directed by Haley Murphy. Music Direction by
Matthew Heap. Choreographed by Heide Zufall. Design: Dawn Parket (set)
Farrell Ann M. Hartigan (costumes) Les Zidel (lights) Jim Girardi
(sound) Dana Schreiner (photography) Joan A.S. Lada (stage manager).
Cast: Lisa-Marie Cabrelli, Sally Cusenza, Amy Girardi, Jenny Girardi,
Marylee Girardi, Erica Glaser, David Gorsline, Earle Greene, Rosanna
Haddad, Mike Hoskinson, Kevin Ray Johnson, Kelsey Kolbe, Karl Meier,
Kate Meier, Julia Pennington, Amanda Pilmer, June Schreiner, Alana D.
Sharp, Lucy Todd, Susanna Todd, David Van Ormer, Nathan Williams, Alexa
Yarboro, Emily Zumchak, Alina Zufall. |
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