Thomasville Times Enterprise By William Huff July 23, 2024

By his own admission in his Director’s Notes, Urinetown director Ransom Young was just as baffled as anyone else when he heard of a musical called Urinetown.

“I have always loved super kooky musicals with a sense of darkness behind them, all with a subtle underlying message that makes the audience think, and that’s exactly what Urinetown, the musical is.”

If you want a brief synopsis, it’s Georgia Owell’s 1984 set to the backdrop of a public restroom in the best way possible.

The story is centers around a “not-so-distant future” where a terrible drought has led to a water shortage, ultimately leading to a government ban on public toilets and forcing citizens to pay to use public bathrooms. It’s a story of the classic societal struggle between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots.

The show has all of the classic features of a dystopian story. A down on his luck, unlikely hero, an evil totalitarian who is as selfish as he is cruel, an ever present symbol of foreboding, a revolution and, of course, an aura of obvious mystery surrounding the mythical “Urinetown”.

However, this dystopian musical truly shines in its comedy. Specifically the fourth wall breaking, which is expertly and hysterically done by Officer Lockstock, played by director Ransom Young, and Little Becky Two Shoes, played by Ava Bass. The pair often interrupt the show to explain various elements and breaking the traditional illusion of theater to almost let the audience behind the curtain. The actors’ chemistry and the dichotomy of the characters makes for excellent comedy that never seems to get old, and if you’re a real comedy buff then you’ll appreciate the multiple styles of comedy. This show features everything from word play to slapstick. The actors play off of each other well and even use their height as a means of comedy.

Another highlight of the show is the excellent singing. I’ve been to many local theater performances in my life and whenever it’s a musical I don’t always look forward to it. However, the singing talent embedded in, not just the main cast, but the entire ensemble is genuinely pleasant to listen to and sometimes powerful. The show features uptempo and slower, more deliberate songs, powerful ballads and light, bouncy songs.

Then there is the theme. As Young said in his Director’s Note, “Urinetown shows us that the customs of human life can always reach an utmost extreme, and we need to fight to stop it before it’s too late, even if those on the uprising are the underdogs of society.” Urinetown, does not act as a usual dystopian story does, typically analyzing the dangers of totalitarianism and absolute power through the eyes of the underprivileged. Urinetown, instead analyzes what happens when things go too far on both sides, choosing to put a magnifying glass on society as a whole.

All-in-all, the Young Actors Troupe production of Urinetown is absolutely worth seeing. The thought provoking story combined with excellent singing and laughter inducing comedy makes this show a very good way to spend an evening. Urinetown will have three more showings this weekend at Thomasville On Stage & Co. on Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 28, at 2 p.m.