Urinetown: The Musical -- Last Call!

On Saturday, July 26, I saw Mile Square Theatre’s production of Urinetown: The Musical, the first show of theirs with a “pre-professional” (God, I hate that term) cast of 18-25 year olds. Yes, it does have the feel of a high school musical, but that’s largely due to the intimacy of the theater, the minimalist set design (one sliding panel, basically,) and costumes that look like DIY Halloween outfits.

The cast, on the other hand, rocks: Gianna Mainor as Penelope Pennywise has a voice made for BIG theaters. She raises the roof and then some on her numbers. Collin Eagen and Ethan Young, as the rebel Bobby Strong and the Mr. Burns-like villain Cadwell Cladwell respectively, look ready to replace Matthew Broderick as Broadway’s next musical comedy leading men. And I have to mention Tiffany Albornoz, the knockout redhead who plays the ingenue, Hope Caldwell. If I’ve learned anything in 40 years, it’s how to spot charisma - and she has charisma. Also of note, the ensemble is fantastic whenever they sing together - which is often, since the show deliberately mocks the big production numbers of Les Miz.

The cast - and I won’t say “the young cast,” because almost none of them look too young for their roles - delightfully captures the nudge nudge-wink wink meta aspect of the play. You’re always made aware you’re watching a musical, which makes it all that much more fun. The production can dive headfirst into any show biz cliche if they’ve already let it be known that we’re watching a form of entertainment that’s pretty much all cliches. Musical comedy, you gotta love it.

Oh, except for the fact that MST failed to mention the “orchestra” anywhere in the program. There’s a keyboardist, a drummer/percussionist, and someone I couldn’t see (but who probably plays the violin, since I did get a glimpse of a bow.) Take a bow; you killed it.

One performance left: Sunday, July 26, at 3 p.m. If you’re looking for a fun - and kid-friendly - way to spend the afternoon, see if there are any tickets left (Saturday’s show was close to a sell out.) Visit www.milesquaretheatre.org and check out the upcoming season while you’re there.