Concordia University proudly hosted a production of Urinetown, The Musical in the Al and Trish Huen Theatre with multiple performances throughout March. Urinetown has a reputation as being a much-lauded, irreverent contemporary musical satire. It certainly holds true to its colourful reputation!
Urintetown was staged by acclaimed Edmonton actor/director, Michael Peng with musical direction by Kim Cosineau. In a dystopian near future, decades of drought have created water shortages so severe that private toilets have been outlawed. An evil corporation runs all the public amenities in the city; corrupt policemen govern and enforce harsh laws forcing the people to live without hope. All is grim and gloomy until we meet an unlikely hero.
Bobby Strong, a custodian, finds the courage to lead the people against the tyranny they are experiencing. Bobby and the catharsis he brought to the performance oddly inspired me. Unlikely for a comedic musical!
About the musical part, I should address that: I normally dislike musicals, yet the musicality of Urinetown was a delightful mix of social satire, romance and humour. It certainly wasn’t the typical ‘musical’.
This performance was a labour of love, without the collective hard work of the theatre community it could not be possible. Betty Kolodziej, who recently created the costumes for CUE’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream designed the costumes for this performance. Resident special effects guru, Josiah Himestra oversaw production design and technical direction. CUE student, Olivia Babiak, choreographed the entire show. The show was stage managed by Makenzie Ferfuson and the assistant stage manager—Stephanie St. Onge.
Student performers and production crew from the Concordia Community include: Alex Berry, Andrea McHenry, Arsalan Ayyaz, Brenden MacIntosh, Darian King, Erin Strand, Hailey Mills, Jaden Demas, Jessica Penhale-Laxon, Joel Dinicola, Joey Chartier, Macalan Boniec-Jedras, Megan Vickers, Nathan Hall, Teagan Kamstra, and Tyson Goudreau.
An absolutely absurd, original and hilarious show. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I still don’t know what I was delivered! One to keep you on your toes.
Kudos, to the team at Concordia for a great run.
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Contributor Lisa Lunney |
Locale Edmonton |
Topic Theatre |
