Lucy Fish
Contributing Writer
“Follow Your Heart” in “Urinetown.” Photo by Lucy Fish
For its spring musical, the theater department performed “Urinetown,” a satirical musical set in a dystopian future with a severe water shortage.
The musical follows the story of a revolution against the corrupt corporation controlling public restrooms using dark and satirical humor.
The dates to see “Urinetown” in the Jerry R. Knight auditorium were April 15, 16, and 17.
Senior Charlotte Snell, playing Hope Cladwell, said while she was excited for the show, she was also very nervous.
Snell said she was excited to put the show on for an audience, especially since the theater department has spent a lot of time preparing for the show to hit stages.
“I love how funny this show is, so I am really excited to see what the audience thinks of all of those funny moments. I also am so happy that we get to have a live band. The show sounds amazing. I am, of course, always nervous just for myself about memorization of lines, but I think the show is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to perform it,” Snell said.
Snell said this show has been in the works since their auditions in February, with many rehearsals to focus on the music and scene work.
“A show like this takes a lot of dedication from the cast and crew, and I think that everyone involved has really shown that,” Snell said.
Junior Eliza Thompson, playing Little Becky Two-Shoes, shared she was a bit nervous, but she knew she was prepared.
“Well, I am excited and nervous because I have a tap solo, and this is my first time tapping ever. It is definitely different from what I’ve done before because my old school did not have mics, so this is such a good upgrade for me,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the cast has rehearsed since the start of this semester, and they were able to try on their costumes finally.
Junior Myles Thompson, playing Cladwell B. Cladwell, said he felt a little overwhelmed with all the additions that were added to the runs, but the cast has been adjusting well.
Thompson said he feels more prepared for this show than he did for the previous shows he’s been in, and that the process for this show has been different than past shows.
“There has been so much prep done by everyone for this show, specifically in class. The show was cast out of our advanced acting class, so the cast has been working together on projects all year and are excited to be part of this big of a project together, especially with us starting the rehearsal process in February,” Thompson said.
Thompson described the show as very fun, with lots of surprises and unexpected moments, so the audience will be on its feet the whole time and will enjoy the show.
“There has been a lot of work done especially by [junior] Charlotte Jennings, who is an actor in the show, stage manager, student director, and props manager, and this is her first main stage production as an actor. I am very proud and inspired by all the hard work she has been putting in,” Thompson said.
Todd Schaefer, director, said they had some little challenges as they approached opening night, but that the cast adapted like pros. Schaefer said opening night and the following nights both went really well, and that the audiences enjoyed the performance greatly, adding that the cast has been on fire.
Schaefer went into this production with a new idea, planning to utilize class time to rehearse instead of after school rehearsals. Since the cast was produced from the Advanced Drama class, they all had the same class period to rehearse.
“This was an experiment, and it was a success. They learned a lot of the music and staging in class and then did a ton of rehearsal on their own with some video resources. All of the choreo was done by members of the cast and several elements of the tech were also handled by members of the class. All in all the show was a group effort and many had never done a project like this before or had never been in a musical before. Many had done shows before and they all lifted each other up. I wouldn’t have done anything differently,” Schaefer said.
Alongside Schaefer, Charlotte Jennings helped direct the show and worked as the stage director. Jennings said the show and lead up to the show were stressful, but that it was rewarding to see the show come together in the end.
Jennings wasn’t able to direct as much as she had expected, due to time constraints; however, her voice in decisions was still heard and respected as a director. Jennings also had a lot more creative liberties than she would have had as just a cast member.
“I think the cast listened more to my suggestions and followed my lead a bit more than they would another cast member. I think they also paid more attention to what I told them to do and when I gave them directions. Overall, I think everyone in the cast listened to each other pretty well, I just had a bit more structure to my role,” Jennings said.
Jennings said the show went well on all three nights it was on stage, although more rehearsals could have been beneficial for the cast.
Feature Photo: “Urinetown” cast takes the stage on Friday, April 17, the final main stage performance of the school year. Photo by Lucy Fish
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