Saturday, 15 October 2005 11:15 pm
Pissin' the niiight awayyy
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deckardcanineWow, another play to review already, this one a musical. It was at a theater I had not attended before. The tiny space, featuring a raised wooden platform with no normal curtains or backstage, reminded me of some of the theaters at college. The theater was not designed for sound, so we occasionally couldn't make out words over the instruments.
Nevertheless, I must give them credit for making the most of their paltry resources. The best thing about the performance was the choreography, not just for dance numbers but for visual interest throughout. I believe that's the main reason the 2 1/2 hours flew, altho the acting and costumes didn't hurt.
What did hurt IMO was the playwright's approach to the whole thing, almost from the title: Urinetown.
My parents heard summaries from two friends, both a little inaccurate. It's a comic dystopia set in, as the program puts it, a Gotham-like city suffering a hyperbolic drought. The plutocrat solution: require everyone to pay good money to pee, and they can't do it anywhere but the public amenities. Those who do not comply face the threat of "exile to Urinetown," left deliberately vague to stir people's fear. The reality is worse than it sounds.
There has been much applause for this play, both during its run here and on Broadway, but my folks and I are glad we saw Hairspray there instead. Personally, if I were a director and flipped thru the play without seeing it, I'd reject it in two minutes. For the last half-century or so, it's been way too easy to make fun of musical theater in general, and others have done it better. The combination of 100% low-brow and inconsistent gallows humor is deadly to my appreciation. My parents were especially annoyed by the frequent commentary breaks. It was during those times, I noticed, that the play was directly self-deprecating, a practice that rarely flies with me because the putdowns are too true.
Urinetown as a script unabashedly has no soul. It offers no true ethos, no true hope (despite the broad humor of characters noting the name of Hope Cladwell), just a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't attitude. Basically, imagine a bad Philip K. Dick novel trying to pass itself off as screwball comedy.
Now I'm going to stay online a while before I go to bed. I need to enjoy something.
Nevertheless, I must give them credit for making the most of their paltry resources. The best thing about the performance was the choreography, not just for dance numbers but for visual interest throughout. I believe that's the main reason the 2 1/2 hours flew, altho the acting and costumes didn't hurt.
What did hurt IMO was the playwright's approach to the whole thing, almost from the title: Urinetown.
My parents heard summaries from two friends, both a little inaccurate. It's a comic dystopia set in, as the program puts it, a Gotham-like city suffering a hyperbolic drought. The plutocrat solution: require everyone to pay good money to pee, and they can't do it anywhere but the public amenities. Those who do not comply face the threat of "exile to Urinetown," left deliberately vague to stir people's fear. The reality is worse than it sounds.
There has been much applause for this play, both during its run here and on Broadway, but my folks and I are glad we saw Hairspray there instead. Personally, if I were a director and flipped thru the play without seeing it, I'd reject it in two minutes. For the last half-century or so, it's been way too easy to make fun of musical theater in general, and others have done it better. The combination of 100% low-brow and inconsistent gallows humor is deadly to my appreciation. My parents were especially annoyed by the frequent commentary breaks. It was during those times, I noticed, that the play was directly self-deprecating, a practice that rarely flies with me because the putdowns are too true.
Urinetown as a script unabashedly has no soul. It offers no true ethos, no true hope (despite the broad humor of characters noting the name of Hope Cladwell), just a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't attitude. Basically, imagine a bad Philip K. Dick novel trying to pass itself off as screwball comedy.
Now I'm going to stay online a while before I go to bed. I need to enjoy something.
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