Theo Ubique: Urinetown
The ensemble of Urinetown
Theo Ubique Presents URINETOWN Review – No Taxation for Urination!
TLDR: A satirical farce in a make-believe dystopian town, Urinetown takes a ragtag bunch of revolutionaries up against the big capitalist company that’s taking away their right to pee. Set in an immersive theater-in-the-round staging, Theo’s production is chock full of tongue in cheek humor and crystal clear vocals as the cast uses every corner of the stage.
Luke Nowakowski and Amanda Rodriguez
The Revolution Starts With the Poorest of the Poor
Sometimes after you’ve lived with something for so long, you stop questioning whether it’s right or wrong. You accept that’s just the way it’s been. You keep your head down thinking if it’s not affecting you, it can’t be that bad, right? One revolutionary in the making, Bobby Strong (Luke Nowakowski), is in that camp until one of his own family members is sent to the mythical Urinetown for breaking the law (though those laws were passed by the Urine Good Company who keeps a senator on their bankroll).
A simple public amenity assistant turned revolutionary leader, we watch Nowakowski rally his fellow poors to fight against the UGC. When it seems like the revolution is losing steam, he launches into a rousing rendition of “Run, Freedom, Run.” His voice rings throughout the theater ending in that last crystal clear note as the ensemble backs him up. It rouses us all back into the fight and we’re ready to go back up against Caldwell B. Caldwell, CEO of the UGC.
Accompanying him are the talented Amanda Rodriguez and Alicia Berneche as Hope Caldwell and Penelope Pennywise. Berneche’s operatic soprano is dramatic and commanding, perfect as the head honcho in charge of keeping her district in line. Rodriguez has the doe eyed look of a naive ingénue down pat as she flutters her eyelashes innocently and sings about following your heart.
Under the direction of Danny Kapinos, the cast amps up the melodrama with each dramatic twist and plot reveal. There’s prolonged longing glances between past lovers. Huge gasps as revelations are made. And over dramatic cries of “What??” whenever there’s a surprise twist. Urinetown is a full on farce as it’s hard to take anybody in the cast seriously when they’re gleefully doing the Charleston while holding an axe.
Ryan Stajmiger acting as Officer Lockstock and the narrator breaks the fourth wall and gives us just enough to give us the lay of the land here at Urinetown the musical. He takes his job seriously as if he were Javert from Les Mis, but with the comedic delivery of a Monty Python character with the sense of absurdity that comes with his character. Paired with Maya Tanaka Allwardt as Little Sally, the two bounce off each other as an unlikely exposition pair.
Running the capitalistic takeover is Drew Longo as Mr. Caldwell himself. He feels like a combination of Dr. Evil and Daddy Warbucks as he flaunts his wealth and proudly heralds his daughter coming to work with him at the UGC. He feels like he should be holding his pinky up to the corner of his mouth as he devises his dastardly plans with little care to who he hurts along the way.
The cast is all exceptional and energetic as they sing and dance their way through Urinetown.
Makes Me Want A Hand Sanitizer Real Bad
We enter the Theo Ubique space that has been transformed to the depths of the sewer and we take our seats after passing through a large pipe entrance.A urinal fountain sits proudly in the center. Everything has a sepia hue to it, but it’s definitely not a camera filter trying to tell us we’re in Mexico or the ol’ West. As the drought continued, all water sources dried up and made everything look dry and, well, urine stained. We can’t help but feel like we need to have hand sanitizers on hand every time the cast touches a piece of the set.
Their clothes are made up of scraps and a patchwork of fabric and other regular household items the townspeople could fashion into a wearable piece of clothing (costume design by Cindy Moon). On the complete opposite side for the wealthy and authority figures, all their clothes are clean and impeccable - the pristine mint blue uniforms of all those who work for the UGC and the freshly pressed three piece suits and fur jackets of the office workers.
We get a chance to look at all the details put into the costumes as the cast moves throughout the theater. The usual Theo cabaret tables are now placed right in the center around the fountain and other platforms are placed around them to create this immersive, theater in the round staging. Though theater in the round is tough to create good sightlines for every section of the audience, the cast flows throughout the space popping up in the middle between tables, up in the corner platforms in the spotlight, and even using the theater’s bathrooms to make sure during every scene and song the cast is rotating throughout the space for everyone to see.
Ryan Stajmiger and Reginald Hemphill
The After Party Thoughts
Urinetown has all the tropes of standard musicals - a cause to believe in, a villain, a love interest, full cast dance numbers - that it will eventually make fun of each and every one of those tropes. The cast hits all the jokes of script that have us all laughing out loud and when they all go over to that urinal fountain and dip their hands in, we are cringing right along with them.
Though a revolution against the 1% seems timely for our current political and economical climate, we do ultimately get the message of Urinetown that ends up being satirical, like don’t put people in charge who don’t know what they're doing. But we remember Little Sally’s wise words about how we have to look at all the factors and possibilities to solve the problem paired with Hope’s cry of not living in a place of fear. We take away those nuggets of wisdom we can apply to today and we leave the theater also in higher spirits after having a good night laughing.
For those that are not fans of immersive theater and prefer straight forward humor or serious dramas, this show wouldn’t be a good fit for you. However, if you love comedic satires, immersive theater, and well sung musicals, Urinetown would be an excellent fit for you!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
When
Now through January 4, 2025
Where
Theo Ubique
721 Howard Street
Evanston, IL 60202
Runtime: 2hrs 15min, including an intermission
Tickets
$30+
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (773) 939-4101.or through the Theo Ubique website
Photos
Liz Stenholt Photography
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
Ryan Stajmiger
CAST
Ryan Stajmiger (Officer Lockstock)
Maya Tanaka Allwardt (Little Sally)
Drew Longo (Caldwell B. Cladwell)
Luke Nowakowski (Bobby Strong)
Amanda Rodriguez (Hope Cladwell)
Alicia Berneche (Penelope Pennywise)
Reginald Hemphill (Ensemble / Understudy Officer Lockstock)
Matt Frye (Ensemble / Understudy Caldwell B. Cladwell)
Mai Hartwich (Ensemble / Understudy Hope Cladwell)
Alex Madda (Ensemble / Understudy Penelope Pennywise)
Kevin Chlapecka (Ensemble)
Natalie Henry (Ensemble)
Christopher Ratliff (Understudy)
Aidan Leake (Understudy)
Kelcy Taylor (Understudy)
Alicia Berneche and Matt Frye
CREATIVE
Danny Kapinos (Director)
Aaron Kaplan (Music Director)
Brenda Didier (Choreographer)
Kevin Zhou (Assistant Music Director)
Eleanor Kahn (Scenic Designer)
Ellie Fey (Lighting Designer)
Cindy Moon (Costume Designer)
Mark Park (Wigs, Hair & Makeup Designer)
Ab Rieve (Properties Designer)
Harrison Hunt (Sound Designer)
Corbin Paulino (Stage Manager)
Mags Sowell (Assistant Stage Manager)
Nick Peebles (Technical Director)
Jackson Mikkelsen (Production Electrician)