Review by Brian Scott Lipton
One of Broadway’s stranger success stories, the musical Urinetown quickly went from Fringe Festival sensation to Off-Broadway smash to Broadway blockbuster, ultimately running nearly three years at the now-defunct Henry Miller Theatre and picking up a trifecta on Tony Awards in 2001, including Best Book of a Musical (for creator Greg Kotis) and Best Score (for Kotis and Mark Holliman).
Sadly, I would not expect a repeat performance (aka a Broadway transfer) from the less-than-ideal “revival” now being presented by City Center Encores! Part parable and part spoof of musical theater, the production, directed with a too-heavy hand by Teddy Bergman, takes its seemingly outlandish plot a bit too seriously, robbing the show of some of its much-needed laughs.
The rather thin story (for a two-and-half-hour show that should last 90 minutes) is about a drought-suffering town where all citizens must use paid public toilets to do their daily business or suffer serious consequences. It’s meant to skewer musicals as diverse as Threepenny Opera and Les Miserables, but at times – especially in Jordan Fisher’s overly earnest (if gorgeously sung) portrayal of the unlikely revolutionary Bobby Strong – it almost feels like we are watching the latest revival of “Les Mis.”
Bergman may have thought that in the age of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, we might not chuckle as heartily at the machinations of the town’s overseer, the greedy Caldwell B. Cladwell, but since savvy theatergoers can separate fact from fiction, the character needs to be more menacing and egotistical than he comes off in the capable hands of Rainn Wilson (dressed all in black by Sophia Choi). Here, he seems like a true petty tyrant and not a madman who will gladly sacrifice the life of his aptly named daughter Hope (Stephanie Styles, walking away with the show) for a few extra ducats.
Indeed, Styles, a surprisingly deft comedienne with a gorgeous soprano voice—reminiscent of the late, great Madeline Kahn—is one of the few performers who effectively captures the quirkiness of Kotis and Holliman’s vision, So do such invaluable ensemble members as Jeff Hiller, Josh Breckenridge, Jenni Barber, John Yi and especially Kevin Cahoon, shining in two different roles and never afraid (as his wont) to go over-the-top.
Conversely, while it’s wonderful to have the big-voiced Keala Settle back onstage – as urinal overseer Penelope Pennywise – she’s surprisingly humorless. Greg Hildreth is nicely wry (without too much ham) as the show’s narrator, Officer Lockstock, but he has little chemistry with the far-too-understated Pearl Scarlett Gold as the street urchin Little Sally (who turns a three-course meal into a snack). And the underutilization of the always wonderful Christopher Fitzgerald (in the admittedly small role of Officer Barrel) is a crime worthy of being sent to “Urinetown.”
As might be expected, Mary Mitchell-Campbell and the Encores! orchestra, perched atop Clint Ramos’ efficient set, brings the score to full-bodied life, especially on the lovely ballads “Follow Your Heart” and “Look to the Sky,” and the rousing anthem “Run, Freedom, Run.” Sadly, the latter song – the score’s true showstopper — still doesn’t land as strongly as it might (nor does “Snuff That Girl”) because of Mayte Natalio’s pedestrian choreography.
Still, the musical has enough giggles to warrant a visit – especially if you’ve never seen it. But like Brigadoon, I suspect Urinetown will vanish into the mist within days and perhaps not reappear for another 100 years.
Urinetwown continues at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street) through February 16. Visit www.nycitycenter.org for tickets and information.
Photo credits: Joan Marcus
