KAYSVILLE — Nine Tonys nominations. Three Tony awards. Not bad for a musical about pee. But that’s what happened when Urinetown by creators Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis hit Broadway in 2001. It remains a beloved musical and is, in my opinion, quite possibly the funniest theatrical production of all time. In the hands of Hopebox Theatre and directed by Jim Christian, Utah theatre fans again have the chance to see this widely heralded and beloved but unjustly ignored musical.
Let’s get this straight to begin with: yes, it really is all about human urination. Well, kind of. Like many great works of art (and onions), Urinetown has layers. On the surface, it seems like a story about dystopic future where a evil monopolistic government-corporation suppresses people by making them pay to pee (an idea that hit the show’s creator when he had to fork over his own money for Paris’ pay toilets). The monopoly, Urine Good Company, is run by an evil man who keeps raising the price, causing the lower classes to suffer. The people eventually rise up, but the consequences aren’t quite what the audience may expect.
Which leads us to what Urinetown really is: a deconstruction of the Broadway musical. The show takes great delight in subverting audience expectations. For instance, one musical cliche is the 11th-hour gospel number (think “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” in Guys and Dolls). Well, in Urinetown, the first time the plucky heroes stage a gospel number, it fails to save the rebel cause (and the hero). So what does the show do? Stage another gospel number! Like its black musical comedy cousin Little Shop of Horrors, the good guys don’t exactly win the day in the end, but the audience had such a fun time, it hardly matters. Also, pay attention to how the lyrics of the gospel numbers don’t make any sense (“You are the river / I am the river”), because just like in real life, an inspiring song isn’t actually enough to overthrow tyranny (as much as musicals want us to believe that’s true).
Hopebox’s production boasts a fantastic cast that made Saturday’s audience laugh often. The laughs start a little slow as the audience internalizes the show (“Am I really seeing what I think I’m seeing? Did they really just say that?”), but then grows throughout the show as the audience gradually accepts its mad genius. The show is double cast. There’s Teal and Silver (I saw the Teal) — which feels like a missed opportunity on the theater’s part: given the topic, why not Yellow Cast and Brown Cast?
Jokes aside, this production is full of them. Almost every line is laugh-out-loud hilarious with the right delivery, and Hopebox’s cast was more than capable. Romantic leads Jess Sannar as Hope Cladwell and Porter Beesley as Bobby Strong were a dynamic duo, with superb comedic and singing chops. Sannar’s gorgeous soprano seemed to effortlessly execute her singing parts, and she was so pitch-perfect in her line deliveries and physical movement, even though she had the largest female role, I wished it was bigger. As the revolutionary heartthrob whose heart ends up being bigger than his brain, Beesley smolders the stage with otherworldly dreaminess; his curly blonde hair, jugged jaw and peasant-hunk costuming by costumer Shelbi Raynor certainly don’t hurt either. He played the silly role straight, dead straight, and the musical benefits because of it.
Katie Jones as street urchin Little Sally garnered some of the biggest laughs of the night. She also had some of the best lines, like “when a little girl has been given as many lines as I have [in a musical], there’s still hope for dreams!” Dave Hanson was a physically and sonically commanding villain in Caldwell B. Cladwell. Travis Hyer played Caldwell’s weakwilled governmental flunkie Senator Fipp, who would do anything for a bribe. Their greatest twin ambition is to rip poor people off enough to fund a trip to Rio de Janeiro (an amusing plot point by itself). Hyer delivered a professional and enjoyable evil performance as the government official on the take. Also, shoutout to the chorus member who said the line “I guess he really is as evil as they say,” for earning the biggest laugh of the night with a truly sensational line delivery.
One of the most enjoyable and hilarious scenes that director Jim Christian staged was Bobby’s aforementioned gospel number, “Run Freedom Run.” In one great moment, Bobby directed the chorus like a true gospel choir, completely with stereotypically over-emphasized consonants. In another, he gave Hope a flirty look, who managed to swoon despite being bound and gagged.
Technical aspects of the production were appropriately community theatre-chic, which is to say, supremely functional. Set designer Tanaya Ropp created a satisfying depressing dungeon-adjacent set with faux rock walls, and a two-step platform in the middle surrounded by what looked like beige-painted cinderblock designs. The stage was painted in a yellow-and-green sunburst (or was it a pee-burst?). Lighting designer Alice Remley poured on blues for the evil cop number, the impressively entitled “Cop Song,” and likewise bathed the stage in red for Cladwell’s violent it’s-a-dog-eat-dog-world number “Don’t Be the Bunny.”
One of the many great things about seeing a show at Hopebox Theatre is not only are the plays consistently fantastic, the proceeds go to a great cause. Hopebox’s mission is “Bringing hope to families battling cancer through the performing arts.” Funds from each show go to a specific cancer survivor, and the person’s name and image are even worked into the show. This production is dedicated to Carla Avis, who has an aggressive type of breast cancer, so buying a ticket not only tickles your funnybone, it helps her, too.
As a community theatre in these troubled times, Hopebox is as plucky and heroic as the rebel leaders in this production. They truly are one of the good guys, and Utah audiences should check out what they have going first before looking toward bigger venues. Their production of Urinetown absolutely hits the mark. Any real theatre lover owes it to themself to this outstanding rendition of one of history’s greatest musical comedies.
MORE INFO: Urinetown plays through July 3rd. All performances are at the Hopebox Theatre located at 1700 Frontage Road in Kaysville. Tickets are between $18 – 25. Visit https://www.hopeboxtheatre.com for more information.
This production is double cast and this review is of the Teal Cast. A review of the Silver Cast is posted at Terrible Title, Terrific Production: Hopebox’s URINETOWN Has Heart (Silver Cast). As the two performances are attended by two different reviewers, each review provides a unique perspective and critique on the production’s common elements in addition to reviewing the different casts.