Courtesy of Sean Elliot
Between March 1. and 3., the Connecticut College Theater Department performed their spring mainstage musical production, Urinetown, at the Athey Center at Palmer Auditorium. Based on the original Broadway production which premiered in 2001, the satirical comedy musical was directed by alumnus and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theater Tess Cruz ’16. Originally written by Greg Kotis, the musical has won significant critical acclaim, being nominated for ten Tony Awards and winning three.
Unlike most Broadway musicals, Urinetown directly satirizes and criticizes capitalism, bureaucracy, and even the greater genre of happy ending musical theater itself. The musical takes place in a world in which a twenty-year drought has caused private toilets to be banned and public urination is punishable by death. Instead, the megacorporation Urine Good Company (UGC) owns and operates all public toilets which charge high rates people must pay to do their business.
With such a dark plot on the surface, the musical may seem to be challenging for audience members to understand. However, the musical does not consist of sequences full of dense philosophical discussion on public policy or the misguidings of capitalism. Instead, the musical is privy to the audience’s concerns and consistently utilizes commentary from characters to lighten the seriousness of the musical’s themes. In the opening scene, Little Sally (Miya Lasher ‘27) directly asks Police Officer Lockstock (Erin Flanagan ‘24) what everyone in the audience is thinking: who would want to watch a musical with a plot like this and a title as such? While Officer Lockstock does not directly answer the question, it is clear to the audience that the show knows what the audience thinks. Throughout the musical, Little Sally would continue to ask the questions audience members had on their minds. This offered both understanding and well-natured humor for the audience.
Outside of the script, the College’s Theater Department had no trouble keeping the audience engaged. Featuring impressive set design designed by Elizabeth Olson and eye-popping costume design headed by Department of Theater Chair Sabrina Notarfrancisco, the musical immediately attracted the attention of the audience. With choreography by Ava Dobro ‘26 and Emily Brankman ‘26, the cast’s talent was fully on display through well choreographed dance sequences simultaneously featuring singing.
More impressive was the lack of experience Dobro and Brankman had prior to serving as choreographers for the musical. “I have had no experience choreographing for musicals/plays, or for people who I wouldn’t consider dancers first,” said Dobro. “Emily had some experience in High School…but for me it was not only a new genre of choreography, that being theater, but also a rather new way of teaching, given the different levels of comfort with dance [among the cast] as a whole.”
However, the process was not an incredibly difficult one for the two. “I would say the whole process came rather naturally, much credited to those we were working with,” said Dobro. “I would say that Urinetown has a very distinguishable vibe to it, that Emily and I chose to really sink into, which made generating content so much easier.” Collaboration between the choreographers was also key to success. “Collaborating throughout the choreography process definitely made it easier, and we had so much fun coming up with everything and teaching the cast,” said Brankman.
Cast members all impressed in their individual roles. Each time male protagonist Bobby Strong (Ian Albanese ‘24) sang, there was a palpable silence in the crowd enjoying the tangibility of each of Albanese’s notes. Murmurs of approving spectators muttering “wow” could be heard each time Albanese hit high notes with impressive accuracy. Leading female protagonist Hope Cladwell (Ellie Best ‘27) was equally impressive performing as the idealistic and driven daughter of UGC CEO Cladwell B. Cladwell (Kian Miranda-Rodriguez ‘26) and love interest of Strong.
Officer Lockstock and Officer Barrel (Giuseppe Piccirilli ‘25) excelled in their roles as police officers juggling the responsibility of having to uphold the town’s draconian measures. In particular, in the musical number “The Cop Song,” the officers impress in conveying the people’s fears of Urinetown. Lockstock and Little Sally provided much needed comedic relief to the often dark plot of the musical, giving audience members something to look forward to between larger cast scenes.
While short, the cameo of Old Man Strong (Jonah Hane ‘26) left a lasting impression on audience members. Penelope Pennywise (Brielle Blood ‘24) left an equally lasting impression on audience members through the character’s large role in bringing the audience to question the social irresponsibility of many of the characters which allows such an advantageous system for the rich to exploit the poor.
Much of the work for the musical was done outside of the school year, from students driven by passion. “The majority of the work was done during the intensive week, where the entire cast came back a week early from winter break,” said Dobro. “We worked on the much larger numbers that needed the most time to settle, and then throughout the semester we attended rehearsals a few times a week, working on what needed attention.”
Through hard work and the script’s clever humor, Urinetown masterfully showcased the impressive talent of the theater department and brought a feeling of community to the cast.
