Northern Stage's Summer Musical Theater Intensive Returns With URINETOWN THE MUSICAL

Northern Stage's Summer Musical Theater Intensive returns this year with the hilarious satire of capitalism, bureaucracy, and politics, all surrounding the privilege to pee. Urinetown the Musical will be performed by Northern Stage's talented young education department students, July 20-31, in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT.

For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults.

Northern Stage's Summer Musical Theater Intensive (SMTI) is a celebrated five-week, professional-level theater training program that culminates in a fully-produced musical at the Barrette Center for the Arts. It is an audition-based program designed to extend the professionalism of Northern Stage's main stage to young actors and is intended for serious theater students ages 12-18.

Urinetown the Musical tells the story of a not-so-distant future in which water is so scarce it is rationed by forcing people to use public facilities for their private business - and to pay for the privilege. When street urchin Bobby Strong falls for the optimistic heiress Hope Cladwell, she inspires him to lead a revolution against those controlling the water supply. Will their efforts be enough to bring equality to the masses, or will they be sent to the infamous "Urinetown"? This Tony Award-winning musical has music and lyrics by Mark Hollman and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis and was produced on Broadway in September, 2001, by the Araca Group and Dodger Theatricals in association with TheaterDreams, Inc., and Lauren Mitchell.

This outrageous satirical comedy will be directed by Eric Love, Northern Stage's Director of Education and Associate Artistic Director. Says Love of the production, "Urinetown is one of my all-time favorite musicals. With the threats of climate change looming large, this story of resource scarcity and unbridled capitalism is more relevant than ever. Equally resonant are the themes of hope and change and love. Add in 24 wildly talented teens performing the world-class Broadway score and over-the-top production numbers, and you get an irresistible night of theater that is sure to inspire!"

This cast of 24 area youth includes Paul Ashton (Hanover, NH), Elizabeth Chambers (Etna, NH), Liam Clark (White River Junction, VT), Tessa Cullen (Lyme, NH), Cordelia Durand (Quechee, VT), Norah Falcone (Plainfield, VT), Reeve Green (Plainfield, VT), Adrienne Guss (Barnard, VT), Lia Hammond (Hanover, NH), Sam Harrison (Hanover, NH), Eli Hoffer (Hanover, NH), Alexander Hoyt (Turnbridge,

VT), Alexis Husband (Hartland, VT), Bebhinn Knudsen (White River Junction, VT), Tate Mosenthal (White River Junction, VT), Grace Munroe (Lyme, NH), Maria Munteanu (West Lebanon, NH), Beatrice Raiken (Sharon, VT), Madeline Reed (Norwich, VT), Eva Roux (West Lebanon, NH), Alicia Sanyal (Hanover, NH), Emmett Smyth (Orford, NH), Skylar Spiro (Norwich, VT), and Atlas Warren-Lutes (Hartland, VT).

The professional creative team, led by Love, includes Sasha Schwartz (Scenic Designer), Austin Blake Conlee (Costume Designer), Hannah Kerman (Lighting Designer), Mirah Kozodoy and Nina Field (Sound Designers), Jaclyn Pageau (Production Stage Manager), Matt Jachim-Gallagher (1st Assistant Stage Manager), Isabel Taxman (2nd Assistant Stage Manager), Rob Grant (Acting Coach), Sam Empey (Assistant Director), and Lucky Densmore (Directing Production Assistant).

Performance times are Tuesday (7/26 only) and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. (7/28 only) and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults. Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are $5 and are available for any performance while ticket supplies last. The Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts is located at 74 Gates Street, White River Junction, VT.

For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Northern Stage will NOT be requesting vaccination status OR proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Masks WILL be required inside the Barrette Center for the Arts at all times.

The Summer Musical Theater Intensive began in 2015 with an outdoor production of 13, performed by 13 area youth on the Dartmouth College campus. Subsequent Summer Musical Theater Intensive productions have included sold-out productions of School of Rock (in partnership with Tuck's Rock Dojo in 2016), The Drowsy Chaperone (2017), James and the Giant Peach (2018), and Legally Blonde (2019). Northern Stage replaced the company's traditional Summer Musical Theater Intensive last season with a Summer Shakespeare Intensive, resulting in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream performed outdoors in the company's newly-built Courtyard Theater.