‘Urinetown’ Brings Satire to the Bathroom

On a Friday night, celebration of “the porcelain god” is something keg-tapping college students try hard to avoid. Not so at the Adams House Pool Theatre, where this weekend’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical “Urinetown” unabashedly paid homage to all things toilet-related.

“Urinetown,” running through November 10, is a satire that juxtaposes politics and bathroom humor. In drama, this divisive subject matter must be carefully presented in order to provoke laughter instead of offense. The script, written by Chicago artists Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis, and its production by the Adams House Drama Society manage this feat with an absurdist mix of bald honesty and self-deprecating asides.

With a touching air of realism, the play focuses on a town so plagued by drought that a soulless corporation, Urine Good Company (UGC), has created and monopolized a market for all public toilets. The town’s penny-scrounging denizens are furious about this fee-to-pee policy, but don’t do much more than cross their legs and hold. At last, a revolution blooms when an old man is apprehended for publicly relieving himself and banished to Urinetown, a restroom that evokes Orwell’s Room 101. The remainder of the play indiscriminately parodies corporate greed, dreamy ideals, musical clichés, and everything in between.

“Urinetown” is a musical that leaves a lot of room for dramatic creativity but flows best when everyone involved is faithful to the show’s self-effacing nature. This weekend’s performance accomplished just that. In the sunken, small, and aged Pool Theatre, a strong sense of modesty is crucial to the production of a high-profile play. Director Anna C. Smith ’09 and producer Max A. Hume ’09 made clever use of low-tech stage equipment in the set, designed by Smith and Stephany Y.Z. Lin ’11, and kept the focus on the superb leading actors.

Peter C. Shields ’09, as Officer Lockstock, presented a range of tone and physical comedy that filled the room and carried the show. As narrator, Shields’ unctuous tenor and bawdy gestures sweetened the tone of the show’s uriniferous notes. Other highlight performances included that of Rachel E. Flynn ’09 as Penelope Pennywise, the coin-collecting bathroom bouncer. Her hysterical intonations and clear voice commanded the stage and provided dazzling comedy.

The peak of Flynn’s performance was her breathy interaction with Mr. Cladwell (Dan E. Catomeris ’11), UGC tyrant and a love interest of years past. Catomeris was somewhat inconsistent in his portrayal of money-grubbing evil, although his hopping performance of “Don’t Be the Bunny” was the play’s high point. Knowing laughs ran through the crowd when he asked, “Did I send you to the world’s most expensive university to feel conflicted or to learn how to manipulate masses of people?”

These three leads dominated Act One but had less prominence in Act Two, which chronicles rioting and revolution-bred romance among the denizens of Urinetown. Sloppy choreography and the tendency of smaller characters to exhaust parodies prevented the choral groups from creating a cohesive story and allegory. However, the act was salvaged by Benjamin K. Glaser ’09, who dependably and humbly gave a strong performance as a romantic revolutionary in the cookie-cutter role of Bobby Strong.

“Urinetown” was worth the time, faithful to the tone of its script while allowing dramatic leeway for talented leads. These leads helped compensate for points when ensemble performances were lacking. The story was effectively conveyed—and satirical enough to suggest an underlying message that was, shockingly, about more than just bodily functions—but light enough that the point never felt belabored, and comedy reigned.

—Reviewer Erin F. Riley can be reached at eriley@fas.harvard.edu.