Paying to Pee?

Urine Town comes to BU
By Martha Harris
Imagine living in a town where water is worth so much that every person is charged a fee to use a public bathroom. This is the premise for “Urinetown,” written by Mark Hollmann with Greg Kotis and directed by Michael Collins, which will run from Feb. 22 through the 24 at 8 PM and Feb. 25 at 3 PM in Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium.
“Urinetown” will be presented by the Bloomsburg University Players, and tickets can be purchased from the Haas Center for the Arts box Office for $8 or for $2 if a student has a community activities card. According to the official site, “Urinetown” is a satirical comedy where A twenty-year drought has caused a terrible water shortage,
making private toilets unthinkable. All restroom activities are done in public amenities (that is, public toilets) controlled by a private corporation,
the Urine Good Company (UGC for short). To control water consumption, people have to pay to use the amenities. There are harsh laws ensuring that people pay to pee, and if they are broken, the perpetrator is sent to a place called "Urinetown,” from which none return.
There are several characters in this musical. Bobby Strong (played by Joseph Popson) is the one who stands up against the imposer of bathroom privilege law and leads a rebellion. Hope Cladwell (Monica Johnson,) Bobby’s love, is the daughter of Caldwell B. Cladwell (local favorite Steve Lindemuth,) who uses these policies to make money. Other actors include Abigail Lottie, Joshua Cruz, Adam Johnson, Martin Pastor, Kymmie Dennis, Kate Hughes, Megan Keenan, Pim Sorber, Syreeta Watkins, Alina Yohn, Asude Yucel, Anthony Barber, Andrew Huard, Greg Hoagland, Mark Shollenberger, Aaron Stall, Michael Tkach Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble member Danny Roth and New York actor Samantha J. Phillips.
“Bobby is a really kind caring character with a difficult journey who wants nothing but the best for the Poor People,” Popson said. “I definitely think that he is a strong individual, and Hope is the one who really shows him how to follow his heart. “
In addition to the cast, many others are involved as crew members for set, props, sound and the orchestra. Furthermore, people worked on costumes and lighting, professional designers and BU alumnae Erin Baker with Zak Knoll; choreography, professor Sheila Kaercher; set design, Professor Ethan Krupp and piano accompanist, Jillian Bowman. Junior Noah Reese, as the musical director, teaches the cast the songs and conducts the pit.
“Dr. Baker was approached about being the musical director for “Little Shop of Horrors” last year but didn’t have time to do it, and he knew I had had experience with musicals, by being in them and directing, and asked me if I was interested,” Reese said. “Then “Little Shop” didn't happen, and when they decided to do “Urinetown” this year, I was brought back into the mix.”
According to many involved, “Urinetown” is a good experience for the actors and a show worth seeing.
“It is a really funny show,” Reese said. “The musical itself compiles various different styles in order to pay homage and make fun of other musicals. It
is fun to try and figure out the references if you are at all familiar with other musicals.”
“We (the Theater Division faculty) read the Musical and liked its themes, challenges and silliness, and we felt that it provided an opportunity for students to work on different styles of musical theatre,” Collins said. “Bloom Players has not produced a musical since 2004, so this is a nice change of pace from our usual fare. The content of the play is such that University students will enjoy its irreverence and verve. “
“Musical theatre is my absolute passion; I always knew I wanted to sing and be a performer since I was about 4 years old when my Grandmother would teach me old songs,” Popson said. “There isn't any better feeling or energy to me than walking out on that stage every night. The music is very catchy and uplifting, and the cast that we have is really dynamite too. We are going to light up that stage all 4 nights, and it definitely isn't something that you will want to miss!”

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