West Liberty University’s students will present Urinetown: The Musical as its spring production, April 6 – 10 in Kelly Theater, located in the Hall of Fine Arts.
A winner of three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards, Urinetown is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself!
The musical was staged once before at WLU in 2006 and the theater invites cast members of that production to join in a friendly “Coffee Before the Curtain” reception in the Nutting Gallery before the show on Saturday, April 9.
“We invited the cast from 2006 for an informal reunion of sorts, just before the show,” said WLU Theater Director Michael Aulick, “We are excited and this show is something to celebrate since it’s also our first production without face masks (COVID-19) since February 2020.”
With a large ensemble show, and few small roles, Urinetown offers students a chance to shine.
Described as hilariously funny and touchingly honest, the musical is set in a Gotham-like city where there is a water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought.
This leads to a government-enforced ban on private toilets and citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Until a hero rises up and plans a revolution.
“It uses the medium of theater to examine what happens to unrestrained capitalism. As part of my research for the show, I read a lot about something called “disaster capitalism,” which is when a for-profit company takes advantage of people due to a natural disaster,” Aulick said.
Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, the music and lyrics are by Mark Hollmann and the book and lyrics are by Greg Kotis.
Assistant Director for the musical is WLU’s biology professor Dr. Melinda Kreisberg and musical director is music instructor Dr. Douglas McCall. Instructor Jill Warren is the choreographer. Technical director is Meta Lasch and lighting designers are alumni Alex Franke and Crystal McNamara. Sound designer is Andy Blum, an alumnus and employee.
Stage managers are WLU students Benny Mounsey and Len Batson.
Curtain is at 7:30 p.m., April 6 – 9 and 3 p.m., Sunday, April 10.
Tickets can be purchased online at wluurine.brownpapertickets.com or at the box office on the day/night of the performance. The box office can be reached by phone at 304.336.8277.
WLU’s Theatre Department is housed in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts. For more information on WLU’s theatre program, please visit westliberty.edu/theater.
