Urinetown: The Musical
Posted by
tgirsch
So this afternoon, my wife and I caught a matinee of Urinetown The Musical at Playhouse on the Square. What a fun show. That’s really the best way to describe it. It was a hoot. I can’t really tell you anything at all about the story without spoiling anything, so I’ll just say that if you live in Memphis, go see it. Bill Andrews, Carla McDonald, Megan Bowers, and Rachael Saltzman turned in show-stealing performances. There are only four shows left (Thursday thru Sunday), and it’s worth it. The Saturday night shows tend to sell out, so reserve tickets now.
Also this weekend, we went to see The Story, and while it was quite good (and quite serious), it wasn’t up to the level of Urinetown (a phrase that sounds as odd to me as it does to you). The Story is a good one-act tale about a newspaper tracking down leads on a racially-charged murder. It has a very good (and very candid) look at subversive racial issues that still exist beneath the surface today. By the end, I found myself unable to really like or dislike anyone — all of the characters had a little of both. It’s the kind of play that leaves you with more questions than answers, and I mean that in a good way. The Story is playing at TheatreWorks through July 30th, so see Urinetown first if you can.
As an aside, the quality community theatre in Memphis is one of the unabashedly good things about this town. I’ve seen at least half a dozen shows at POTS, and while I didn’t like them all (personal taste), they were all good productions, and I must say I very much enjoyed most of them. Urinetown is probably the best production I’ve seen at the theatre, and that’s saying a lot.
