Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFirst Year Players successfully come together to bring 'Urinetown' to life
By Talie Tebbi
Posted: 4/3/09, 12:24 AM EST Section: Feature
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From the sick minds of Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis comes "Urinetown," a strange musical about a town where citizens pay a fee just to pee. Until Bobby Strong (Davis Haines) starts a revolution, officers Lockstock (Mark Schenker) and Barrel (Ian Chin) enforce the law with some serious punishments. The show, on the other hand, is anything but serious. All the characters are aware they're in a musical, and they aren't afraid to poke fun at it, with some seriously entertaining results.
If the show is entertaining, it's nothing compared to the cast's talent. Their choreography, voices and ensemble work sell the show.
"Urinetown" calls for diverse choreography, but choreographer Christine Meglino was up to the task. Even when the cast wasn't mimicking iconic Broadway dances, the choreography was top notch. Stepping or marching in time, performing cheerleader-esque step routines or just creeping around the set, this cast moved beautifully. They even threw in a bit of tap dancing and a kick-line.
But "Urinetown" is a musical, and a musical is nothing without the voices. The first act opens with one thunderous voice, a rumble that could give James Earl Jones a run for his money. The voice is shocking enough, but then (after the audience looks around wildly for the source) it turns out the voice is coming from the redheaded guy onstage. Schenker, the police officer/narrator, has a voice like rolling thunder and a knack for timing. He arrived on set and set the stage for other beautiful voices to come out.
The vocal opposite of Schenker, Haines, the hero, hit high notes with a surprising amount of soul. Since the show references other shows ("Fiddler on the Roof," "West Side Story" and "Les Miserables"), the actors had to be able to cover all these styles - something they did it with apparent ease.
Daphne Moser, the ingénues, sang love ballads, then switched it up with a little gospel, hitting every crystal clear note. But the voices were best when they were together. Every chorus number flowed flawlessly. Even voices that seemed so distinctive in solos blended into the collective. And the collective was what mattered in this show.
The ensemble in "Urinetown" spends most of the show onstage. They can be frozen in a tableau, pantomiming in the background, or right in the action. They were always right with each other, feeding off each other's energy. If one person acted a certain way, the ensemble reacted. They were clearly comfortable onstage together, singing in each other's faces, pushing and shoving, and lifting each other through the show. The cast clearly worked together on this show, so that no one actor stood out.
"Urinetown" may just be FYP's best show in recent memory. Several cast members would fit in fine at an SU Drama performance. And with a show that's both entertaining and culturally relevant, FYP has produced a hit.
nstebbi@syr.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Rell
posted 4/03/09 @ 3:17 PM EST
Urinetown sucked two years ago when I saw it, probably will suck now.
Its just a terrible story.
Margaret Williams
posted 4/04/09 @ 9:25 PM EST
I thank the play was wonderful. Keep the good work up.Hope to read about you on Broadway one day.
Mrs Williams(aka) Big Mama
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