Musical Society makes real splash with modern show
by David Flynn
Athlone Musical Society continues year after year to stage different and unexpected shows and audiences have loved their choices. This year’s production, Urinetown The Musical, was the most ambiguous show the society has ever produced, and audiences were unsure of what to expect, but on opening night, last Friday, the show’s energetic performances received a long and enthusiastic standing ovation at the end of the night.
The show is unknown to many audiences and its title, Urinetown, left most unsure of what would be happening. However within moments of the cast emerging on stage, the action and music was non-stop before the unique story unfolded.
Urinetown the musical was first staged on Broadway (after an earlier production in New York, and then an off-Broadway production) on September 20, 2001, which was just nine days after 9/11 happened in New York, and it ran until January 2004. Charles Shaughnessy, (who spent most of the 1990s starring on the TV series, The Nanny) played Caldwell B. Cladwell in the Broadway production. The Athlone production of Urinetown has another American actor, the hugely talented Joe Steiner, play the Caldwell role.
Alfie Kilduff who has a long history with musical theatre was at the helm of the Dean Crowe Theatre show as its director. Alfie worked with some of the most talented dancers, actors and singers to ever grace the local stage. The musical director, Ger Madden excellently threaded music through the Urinetown show, through a great variety of singers, which complimented the orchestra, which was the complete backbone of the whole show.
The world of Urinetown is a dystopian world where anarchy is about to break down among a downtrodden people who have been humiliated after a drought caused a ban on public toilets in this large town. The remaining toilets were overseen by a council, and usage was severely limited, and users were required to pay money to use the toilet.
The town dwellers felt unfairly treated by the largely unseen local government, which was controlled by the brash Caldwell B. Cladwell.
Bobby Strong, played by Shane Kelly, is a young man who began to rebel against the system, bringing the unhappy people with him. He has problems from Officer Lockstock, played by Jonathan Kilduff (whose performance was on the button from his first scene) who upholds the town’s rules, through dastardly means.
Penelope Pennywise, who works at the main public toilet, keeping the people at bay while making sure they pay for the toilet usage, also becomes a thorn in Bobby’s life.
Along the way, to make things difficult for the citizens' rebellion Bobby falls in love with the young Hope, daughter of Cladwell. The vigorous performances of both actors in the first half was superb, and Hope’s involvement in the second half was energetic, considering she was mostly tied to a chair! Bobby and Hope, played by Shane Kelly and Caoimhe Croasdell, greatly enhanced the production of the show, with their believable performances and great singing.
Aoife Digan too was very believable as the little girl, Little Sally, who shouted ‘pearls of wisdom’ into the air making her too one of the main focuses of the show. Petrova Mulvey as Penelope Pennywise sang so brilliantly that the only complaint can be that there weren't more musical numbers for the character, and the same goes for Linda Murray’s role of Ma Strong.
Tomas Glynn as Mr. McQueen had one of the funniest roles and performances. Another noteworthy continuous funny performance was Hannah Dowling as Officer Barrel. The supporting cast and the chorus had some of the best chemistry that was ever seen among groups on the Athlone stage.
The show is ambiguous and has many different facets including class distinction in a dystopian world, where human suffering is the order of the day, and authority appears ambivalent. The chorus in particular portrays that world on the stage, as if they really were in the Urinetown of horrors.
The Romeo and Juliet/Upstairs Downstairs element of the show is portrayed alongside the world of Urinetown, and all are brought to life by the thorough planning of the directing team.
A special shout-out should be deservedly given to the choreographer Chris Corroon, who was a star of many former musicals.
Urinetown is thought-provoking with its battles for fair play and justice, and no little comedy especially in the shape of Little Sally and Mr. McQueen.
The set’s red bricked walls framed the set of Urinetown and gave the audience a picture of a very unforgettable story, told through catchy music with great Athlone singers. The show shouldn’t be ignored when AIMS awards are given out later this year.
Urinetown continues on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with curtains at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.deancrowetheatre.com