Review: URINETOWN THE MUSICAL at Osceola Arts

After a year-long hiatus from staging productions, Osceola Arts has officially returned! While their regular facility near St. Cloud, off Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, undergoes a major renovation, the company brought their latest production of Urinetown: The Musical to the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

I walked into the theater not knowing much about the show. As a judge and troupe director for the Florida Thespians, I knew it was popular in schools and had heard a few of the songs, but the full story was new to me. Ultimately, Osceola Arts did a fantastic job bringing it to life. Their small cast of 18 performers was incredibly talented, working cohesively to tell this bizarre story with immense energy. 

Any issues I had with the production had absolutely nothing to do with the company itself, but rather with the book. With music by Mark Hollmann, book by Greg Kotis, and lyrics by both, Urinetown left me with more plot questions than answers. 

If you know anything about Urinetown, you know it is a self-aware satire. From the very beginning, the characters frequently break the fourth wall to remind the audience that they are, indeed, watching a musical (complete with jazz hands every time it is mentioned). Set in a dystopian society that could exist in the past, present, or future, the story centers on a 20-year drought. The government has enforced a strict ban on private toilets, forcing citizens to pay a corporation for "the privilege to pee" and harshly punishing those who cannot. In pure musical theater fashion, a class system divides the world, and a love story blossoms between a rich man’s daughter and a down-on-his-luck poor leading man. 

While I love both satire and dystopian settings, I found significant holes in this script and craved more thorough world-building. At one point, the narrator dialogues with another character who asks, "What about hydraulics?" to which he replies, "I think we need to focus on one thing instead of a bunch of things." To me, that line perfectly sums up the plot: the script tries to focus on a bunch of things, rather than doing one thing well.

The original Broadway production was a moderate success, opening in 2001 and running for over 900 performances before closing in 2004. It also took home the 2002 Tony Awards for Best Direction, Best Book, and Best Score. Though I personally did not care for the narrative as a whole, I appreciated how the show paid homage to classics like Les Misérables, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Newsies. Some of these nods came directly from the score, while others were brilliantly pulled out through the staging and choreography of this specific production. 

One of my personal favorite highlights was the stunning costume design by Kimberly Murray-Patel. In the beginning, the ensemble is dressed in muted, drab colors. However, during the scene inside the Urine Good Company office, the cast transforms into gorgeous costumes of rich greens and golds, beautifully elevated by coordinating belts, jewelry, and accessories. 

I entirely understand why this show is such a massive draw for schools. It can be set in any time period, features a large ensemble focus, and offers heavy themes of capitalism to dissect. However, as an audience member, I wanted just a bit more context to make the narrative feel whole. 

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