Buy Urinetown Tickets Now!

Don't let the title put you off, URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL is a Tony Award-winning comic musical. It has keen satire that targets corporate greed, political corruption and sappy love, and it spoofs musical theater itself.

Underlying the frivolity, there's a warning against rampant consumerism and a reminder of the power of concerted action. Too much for one theater piece, you may think, but you'd be wrong.

Think about a 20-year drought and a desperate water shortage. Think about a greedy corporation that, through political connections and bribery, controls all the water and all the toilets in town. Everyone must pay outrageous fees to use company-controlled public amenities. If caught urinating elsewhere, they face exile to Urinetown. No one ever returns from Urinetown.

There's a rebellion, a handsome hero, a lovely maiden, a love story. Of course there are tragic consequences; of course there's a surprise ending. And by the time the play concludes, the audience has been regaled with a tongue-in-cheek revue of musical theater from Sigmund Romberg to Andrew Lloyd Webber.

University Theatre director Brad Myers has pulled together an energetic cast of more than 30. Scott Hancock leads a live orchestra and dance numbers are choreographed by Royce Matthews.

Kelly Sanchez portrays the romantic lead Bobby Strong. And wouldn't you know it, Strong, who leads the rebellion, falls in love with Hope (played by Sarah Lofgren) despite efforts by police officer Lockstock (Miles Gaston Villanueva) and her father Caldwell B. Cladwell (Darren Tharp) to prevent it.

There's a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" at every turn in this satire. To borrow from the script, "You gotta go!"

For more information, call the Theatre Box Office at 278-2216

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