Don’t Be the Bunny – Urinetown

Right from the beginning, when the conductor is led on stage accompanied
by two police officers, you can tell that you are not going to be treated to
your typical evening at the theatre. The next clue is when the narrator shows up,
and starts talking about plot devices with “Little Sally”, the precocious orphan.
And it just grows from there.

There are two ways you can look at Urinetown – and its success depends on which of
the two you choose. The standard view is that it is a parody – pure camp, picking on
the musical genre in general, with some more direct references thrown in from time to
time as well. In that vein, it’s largely successful. If, however, there is actually
supposed to be a point, I think I missed it. As one of my friends said, it’s all a
little disturbing in the end. In the final number, the narrator muses
that the audience may not have liked being told that their way of life is unsustainable. Is
that what we were told? I think I missed that part.

But anyway, because I had a good time, and want to like the show, I’m going to go with the first
choice, and say it’s all in fun. There are the typical characters – the romantic lead,
his star-crossed love interest, the greedy capitalist. Among these, John Cullum really excels
as the head of Urine Good Company, the company which controls all the public bathrooms.
I enjoyed every scene he was in, and most especially “Don’t Be the Bunny”. Hunter Foster and
Jennifer Laura Thompson are really good as well as the kids in love.

However, my favourite parts were definitely the group numbers – in particular, “Snuff that Girl”
with its dance break that stole the show, and “Run, Freedom, Run”, which I thought worked
the best of any song in the show.

I was looking forward to seeing Jeff McCarthy as Officer Lockstock/the narrator, since I’d
heard really great things about him, but we had Don Richard instead, who was very funny as
well. Spencer Kayden as Little Sally has some of the funniest lines of the show, and she
delivered them all perfectly.

Overall, I have to say that I laughed quite a bit and had a good time – but the show may not
be for everyone. As overheard at intermission from the lady from the bus tour in front of me:
“I know what I like – and this isn’t it.” 🙂