Urinetown
St James Theatre
Reviewed on Friday 7th March 2014
The London Underground is famously bombarded with theatre posters, but with the hustle and bustle of day to day life busy commuters rarely take much notice. However, for the past few weeks I have witnessed Londoners stopping and starring at posters for the London premiere of Urinetown. "Urine as in wee?" and "A musical? Surely not?" are just a couple of the questions I have overheard, but what is Urinetown about? Well it's simple really, musicals often explore love, relationships, dreams and ambitions. However, how would the world cope if we lost the right to urinate? Urinetown is set in a world where humans have to pay to use the toilet, and if they don't or can't afford to they are taken to Urinetown...
I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis' musical, which ran on Broadway between 2001 and 2004, winning three Tony Awards (including Best Score). The opening sees Officer Lockstock (played by Jonathan Slinger) directly addressing the audience, and when he said "Welcome to Urinetown, not the place, the musical" I thought 'oh no, here we go...' but the satirical style of comedy becomes a treat. It took me a short while to warm to Urinetown and become used to its quirky style, but as soon as I did I loved every second.
Jamie Lloyd strikes again and has directed the piece with such focus. Urinetown is staged on two levels but the focus is clear throughout which meant that while there is plenty going on I never missed anything key. Jamie's attention to detail is always sublime. When the show came to an end I didn't want to leave the St James Theatre, I would have happily stayed and watched it again. The running time is speedy and left me wanting more. Like The Book of Mormon, Urinetown is engaging from start to finish and is just under two and a half hours long. Not one moment drags and I was left hysterical with excitement during the interval and grew impatient waiting for the show to restart.
The score is catchy, punchy and smart. There are too many incredible numbers to go into detail, but my favouirte song was 'Run, Freedom, Run!' which I have been humming constantly. Soutra Gilmour's design is suitably Gothic and I loved that you rarely see cast members walk off stage, instead they disappear into the darkness. Urinetown is suited to the intimacy of the St James Theatre but I think it would work equally as well in a larger West End venue.
The leading cast are beyond faultless and the ensemble are always on point. A word is yet to be created which accurately describes the talents of Jenna Russell who gives another flawless, award deserving performance as Penelope Pennywise. If you are an aspiring musical theatre performer watch and learn. Jenna knows how to work an audience, last year she took the West End by storm in Merrily We Roll Along and once again she proves why she is worthy of her 'West End legend' status.
Bobby Strong is the perfect role for Richard Fleeshman. Although Richard is unable to showcase his astounding vocal talents in the same way he could in Ghost, this role allows him to show his versatility as an actor. His understanding of the comedy allows him to shine as he plays every moment perfectly. It's a demanding role but Richard's performance is nothing short of triumphant.
If you can't get your head around the title and can't allow yourself to accept the subject matter, Urinetown certainly isn't the show for you. Some will find the sarcastic, satirical comedic style baffling, while others will be delighted to finally find a musical which isn't afraid to take the piss out of itself (sorry, I couldn't resist) and tries something different!
The moral of the story is interesting and the outcome isn't bright, but Urinetown is surprisingly electrifying. For the past few months I have been longing for a really exciting piece of theatre to open in London... and Urinetown has certainly been worth the wait.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Urinetown runs at the St James Theatre until Saturday 3rd May 2014.
Photo Credit: Johan Persson
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