Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFreshmen to perform 'Urinetown' this spring
By Blake Rong
Posted: 10/6/08, 12:28 AM EST Section: Feature
First Year Players, a student-run musical theater organization, has selected the play for its annual spring show, "Urinetown," is scheduled for April 2-4.
"Urinetown" is a long-running off-Broadway musical that lets nothing slip past its farcical reach. The play describes the citizens of a small town that has suffered a water shortage who must use public facilities run by a corrupt, evil corporation. Since its opening in 2001, it has won three Tony Awards for Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.
The play satirizes corporations, social activism, bureaucracy and small-town politics. Co-producer Chris Cory, a senior public relations major, said the choice of "Urinetown" was appropriate.
"The play has a good fit for right now," he said. "It's got a lot of social and political themes; it makes fun of large corporations. Everything's a satire about the economy that they're living in, within the show, which is what relates to today's economy."
The members of FYP spent all summer preparing for the announcement. In May, Cory and co-producer Sammy Kanter handpicked their directors, choreographers and other executive board members, instructing each new staff member to research a handful of shows over the summer.
The group reconvened at the end of August with 22 different options to further research and debate show possibilities. They ultimately narrowed the field down to 12, then six shows by the first week of school. After careful deliberation, the group unanimously chose "Urinetown."
Cory and Kanter chose it because of its award-winning musical score as well as the thematic elements that were appropriate to current events.
"One of the plots in the show is about a corporation that charges people to use the bathroom," Cory said. "It's making fun of big corporations and the power that they have."
The show was also chosen because of the availability of roles, which allowed more students to participate. With a cast of freshmen or first-year transfer students, the play will allow more students the chance to transfer singing, dancing and acting skills from high school or to try out for the first time. First years will be under the guidance of staff and directors, who are mostly upperclassmen who continued after performing in previous FYP productions.
"Urinetown" is a long-running off-Broadway musical that lets nothing slip past its farcical reach. The play describes the citizens of a small town that has suffered a water shortage who must use public facilities run by a corrupt, evil corporation. Since its opening in 2001, it has won three Tony Awards for Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.
The play satirizes corporations, social activism, bureaucracy and small-town politics. Co-producer Chris Cory, a senior public relations major, said the choice of "Urinetown" was appropriate.
"The play has a good fit for right now," he said. "It's got a lot of social and political themes; it makes fun of large corporations. Everything's a satire about the economy that they're living in, within the show, which is what relates to today's economy."
The members of FYP spent all summer preparing for the announcement. In May, Cory and co-producer Sammy Kanter handpicked their directors, choreographers and other executive board members, instructing each new staff member to research a handful of shows over the summer.
The group reconvened at the end of August with 22 different options to further research and debate show possibilities. They ultimately narrowed the field down to 12, then six shows by the first week of school. After careful deliberation, the group unanimously chose "Urinetown."
Cory and Kanter chose it because of its award-winning musical score as well as the thematic elements that were appropriate to current events.
"One of the plots in the show is about a corporation that charges people to use the bathroom," Cory said. "It's making fun of big corporations and the power that they have."
The show was also chosen because of the availability of roles, which allowed more students to participate. With a cast of freshmen or first-year transfer students, the play will allow more students the chance to transfer singing, dancing and acting skills from high school or to try out for the first time. First years will be under the guidance of staff and directors, who are mostly upperclassmen who continued after performing in previous FYP productions.
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