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'Urinetown' in line for good comedy
(by Herb Hammer - July 30, 2008)
'Urinetown' in line for good comedy
A lot of thought and hand wringing must have gone on before Chagrin Valley Little Theatre decided to go ahead and stage the wild and wacky Broadway musical "Urinetown."
What are they doing talking about urine right here in sophisticated Chagrin Falls? Well, they are, and they're doing one fabulous job of it.
The inventive director David Vosburgh has chosen an all-around terrific cast. They sing, they dance and create the looniest characters librettist Greg Kotis had in mind.
There is a story to go along with the 18 delirious songs by Mark Hollmann.
It takes half of the first act to tune in to the all-too-crazy script.
We're in any town you might want to think of. An endless drought has plagued the city. Private bathrooms are outlawed. The poor people must stand in long lines and pay crippling fees, apparently many pennies, to use the facilities.
The whole operation is run by the evil Caldwell B. Cladwell and his corporation UGC or Urine Good Company.
When one of the latrine workers falls in love with Hope Cladwell, the voluptuous daughter of the vicious company president, a revolution follows.
Comedy wins out. The writers have done send-ups of a dozen or so old Broadway shows. Each is funnier than the last -- "Les Miserables," "Fiddler on the Roof," "West Side Story" and several others. Watch carefully. Some of them may slip by.
Greg Kotis takes aim at everything Broadway. Boy meets girl, romance, meaningful asides, exposition and special effects all get a ruthless kidding.
The show is all a give-and-take process for the audience. Sometimes you love it, and sometimes you hate it. But as the first act is coming to a close, you're loving it once more and forever to the very end.
Eric Oswald plays the police officer and the narrator. He continuously reminds us that we're watching a musical comedy. He's splendid in the role, almost as though he's keeping things from going completely haywire.
Katelyn Vogias plays Hope, the daughter, and Kenneth Fadeley plays Bobby Strong, Hope's new boyfriend. Both are continuously wonderful.
Little Sally, played by Miranda Fantz, the smiley faced beauty, is fun to watch, as is Heather Hersh, as the evil Penelope Pennywise.
Rob Albrecht, as Caldwell B. Cladwell, is a hoot as a cruel executive with a pet rabbit.
Music director David Stiver and choreographer Pamela La Force help make this musical comedy what it is -- great.
The two dozen or so cast members can all sing. Their chorus numbers are the kind that have you begging for more.
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre may have gone out on a limb with "Urinetown, the Musical" by turning it into an off-the-wall musical comedy you won't soon forget.
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