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<br> <iframe name="I3" marginwidth="1" marginheight="1" height="250" width="170" scrolling="no" align="center" border="0" frameborder="0" src="../../../tp_banners/tp_budget_banners_3_right.htm"></td> </tr> </table> <p><br> <font color="#990033" face="Verdana"><b> <span lang="en-au">Urinetown</span><br> </b></font> <i><font face="Verdana" size="2">Presented by: <span lang="en-au">PEP Productions</span><br> Venue: </font></i><span lang="en-au"><i> <font face="Verdana" size="2">Maroondah Secondary College Theatre</font></i></span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i><br> Reviewer: <span lang="en-au">Anne Carne</span><br> Date Reviewed: </i></font><span lang="en-au"><i> <font face="Verdana" size="2">24th February 2007</font></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Right from the start I have to say WOW! </span> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">PEPS production of “URINETOWN” is one of the best and funniest shows I have seen in a while so don’t be put off by the title or perverse subject matter! </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">The story is witty and wickedly subversive and takes place in a city somewhere in time of horrible drought so bad that private toilets have been banned to conserve water (conserving water sound familiar?) and people must line up and “pay for the privilege to pee” use the toilet in public restrooms all owned by the “Urine Good Company.” Don’t even think of jumping into the bushes or relieve yourself in a jar as you will be caught, punished and sent to “URINETOWN”, a place no one knows much about but are frightened of as no one ever returns from “URINETOWN”. It is about Corporate greed and full of comic satire, sight gags, wordplay and jibes at musical numbers from every corner of Musical Theatre that music theatre goers will appreciate including “Cabaret”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, a revolutionary march as in “Les Miserables”, a Gospel scene parodying “Guys and Dolls” and a scene similar to the Jets and Sharks one in “West Side Story” and so on. </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">There are 23 reasons why you should go along and see PEPS “URINETOWN” and they are Marcus Fleming, Nick Kong, Alana Kiely, James Kearney, Kieran Tracey, Lisa Athans, Leah Anderson, Glen Barnett, Helena Plazzer, Gerard Schneider, Richard Humphries, Jen Biggs, Trent Bockman, Michelle Crupi, Noni Garratt, Elyce Johnstone, Lauren McCormack, Deana Moore, Ryan Purdy, Kathryn Sherrard, Amy Spruce, Mark Woods and Jenter Zilm, they are all such a dazzling and equally talented cast I feel they all deserved a mention. I could have been sitting watching a professional show…such was the standard.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Nick Kong as the romantic/comic hero Bobby Strong played the role of the leader of the “freedom to pee free” rebellion with confidence and ease. His voice is a standout and was a highlight of many of the musical numbers. Watch out for this talented boy…remember his name!</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Alana Kiely as Hope Cladwell, daughter of the unscrupulous Caldwell B. </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Cladwell head of UGC looked sweet and had a great voice and played her airhead character to perfection then shocked the socks off everyone with her belting rendition of “I See A River”, talented girl.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Marcus Flemming played Officer Lockstock with tongue in cheek confidence narrating to the audience and then becoming part of the show. He has a good voice and there were some hilarious scenes with his sidekick Officer Barrel played by Kieren Tracey who has great comic timing and great facial expressions and played the role a bit like Shaggy in Scooby Doo…very funny…well done guys!</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Little Sally the ingenious street urchin played by Lisa Athans a-la Fanny Brice and dressed like Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz also has a good voice and had some of the best and funniest lines and sometimes thought provoking lines in the show with Marcus, they worked well together in their scenes and I feel could play up to the audience even a wee (sorry about that pun) bit more for extra laughs.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Leah Anderson as Penelope Pennywise in charge of collecting money at Amenity no 9 acted and sang with gusto, she has a nice belty voice and flaunted herself around the stage but I would have liked to have seen maybe the addition of some net stockings to her costume or just something to tart her up a bit more. Go for it girl!</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">James Kearney played the greedy, conniving, corrupt Caldwell B Cladwell fabulously with a touch of Rowan Attkinson/Black Adder thrown in, so funny. He had a fantastic accent and the facial expressions, the arched eyebrow and his evil grin and a great singing voice as well….were a joy to watch, James.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Glenn Barnett/Senator Fipp, Richard Humphries/Mr McQueen, Gerard Schneider/Hot Blades Harry, Helena Plazzer/Little Becky Two Shoes, Jen Biggs/Josephine Strong and everyone else were terrific and held their characters really well and I would like to make special mention of Lauren McCormack who stood out as Cladwells Secretary Mrs Millennium…Lauren did not faulter with her character and her facial expressions were wonderful…well done, Lauren.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Congratulations to the production team, Director Julia Roper who has done a great job with the casting, her direction was tight and not once did I see anybody lose character on stage, every cast member was someone and nothing distracted them. Well done, Julia, you are a very, very talented lady.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US"> The Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Fawcett was very together and complemented the singing, there was only once or twice when they appeared a bit loud and a few words were lost on stage but they sounded great and Malcolm has done a wonderful job with the performers and the ensemble singing was by far some of the best and tightest I have seen. Nice work, Malcolm.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Choreography by Gemma Purdy was a pleasure to watch, lots of variety and lots of cleverness yet simplicity, balance and good direction…everyone looked confident and comfortable with what they were doing, excellent job, Gemma.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Lighting designed by Damian Calvert on the whole was simple and effective and I particularly liked the effect in Act 2 when Bobby falls, quite clever. A couple of times spotlight cues were a bit late but it was opening night and as the run goes on I am sure that will right itself.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Sound was spot on and nice to see the mikes were placed in not so obvious places, well done Rodney Hird.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Costumes by Yvonne Abott were in keeping with each person’s character and looked really good right down to the shoes. Yvonne also designed the Set which stayed on the whole time and was simple and looked affective and didn’t distract from the performers. I would have maybe liked to have seen a little bit of a change in the set in Act 2 when the Rebels were in hiding but the flashing SECRET HIDEOUT sign was very inventive and funny and actually distracted from the fact that there was no scene change and worked very well.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Also maybe a couple of signs held up in the rebel scene like “Do you hear the people pee” or “Don’t hate-urinate” etc. as they did in the professional show would have been good value for the audience! But that is probably more in the Director’s/props department than sets and also my warped sense of humour. The Dunny rag waving and toilet brush swinging definitely gave the audience a clue as to what show was being jibed.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">PEP is a new company and “URINETOWN” is their first show. If this is the standard of their productions to come then we have a new Star in the Eastern suburbs.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Show PEP some welcoming support and do yourself a favour and get out to Maroondah Secondary College to see “URINETOWN”. It only runs from Sat 24<sup>th</sup> Feb –Sat 3<sup>rd</sup> March so don’t miss out and at only $25 a ticket and $20 for concession it is great entertainment value.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Be prepared to laugh a lot it is a funny show but also leave some room for thought that “URINETOWN” the place not the Musical is your town - if you dare to look! </span></font></p> <hr> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <span lang="EN-US">Anne is well known in Musical Theatre circles and has over 30 years experience in both professional and non professional Theatre, pantomime and Television appearing in commercials and on Rove Live last year in comedy sketches. Anne has played many roles in Musical Theatre including her favorites Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly” and Miss Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls”, receiving a Music Theatre Guild nomination for Best Actress. She has worked with many theatre groups including Whitehorse, CLOC, Dandenong, Festival Theatre, Nova and Eastern Musical Theatre. Anne has also designed sets for many shows and also Directed and Choreographed shows at the Karralyka Theatre in Ringwood including “Oklahoma”, “Oliver”, “The Boyfriend” and “Charlie Girl”.</span></font></i></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%"> <p align="right"><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <a href="../../../reviews">Back To Reviews </a></font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="950" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </div> <script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> _uacct = "UA-1362902-1"; urchinTracker(); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-15093227-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 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