Big corporations are not charging us to take a leak — yet.
But the way things are going, you never know.
That dystopian — dysto-pee-an? — premise is the heart of “Urinetown.”
The curtain rises next week on Staples Players’ production of the Tony Award-winning satirical musical. There are 5 performances only: Thursday, March 12 (7 p.m.); Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14 (7:30 p.m.), and Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15 (2 p.m.).
Grayson Jandora (center) as Officer Lockstock, with the ensemble of “Urinetown.”
This marks the third time that Players directors David Roth and Kerry Long have staged the darkly humorous show.
As with all Players revivals, there are important differences. The show is set in no specific time period. The first 2 times, Roth and Kerry imagined it in the 1940s. This time around, it’s a time “adjacent” to ours.
For the first time, there will be port-a-potties on stage.
And — in a nod both to “Urinetown’s” winking references to “Les Misérables,” and Players’ stunning production of that show last fall — Colin Walker, Jordan Janota and his tech crew have built a barricade out of toilet paper.
“Audiences who saw ‘Les Mis’ will definitely get the reference,” Long says.
She and Roth are as excited about this version as they were the first two.
“It’s very funny. The music and characters are great,” Roth says.
“And it’s really relevant today — the whole idea of big corporations taking advantage of poor people, and resources drying up.” (A 20-year drought has caused a government ban on private toilets; a single company now owns all the paid public toilets.)
Cat Betit (Penelope Pennywise) with Harry McLaughlin (Old Man Strong), and the ensemble. (Photos/Kerry Long)
The directors know that a show called “Urinetown” may cause parents with children to hesitate.
“It’s very appropriate for younger kids,” Roth says. “If your kids talk about peeing, this is fine for them.”
“Children will get the potty humor,” Long adds. “But adults understand the bigger themes — and they’re not as silly.”
As always, Players will collect donations for a good, theme-related cause. This time it’s a UNICEF’s Safe Water for Every Child Fund.
In a special twist, actors will be stationed at restroom doors during intermission. They won’t charge audience members to go — but they will have buckets for cash.
(Tickets are on sale now for “Urinetown.” Click here to purchase, and for more information.)
