“I don’t think too many people are going to come see this musical, Officer Lockstock,” Little Sally whines during the second act of Signature Theatre’s production of Urinetown. And sure, it has what Sally calls an “awful title” and is, after all, about a town where times have gotten so tough, people have to pay in order to pee. But D.C. theater lovers should certainly beg to differ with young Sally’s assessment; Signature’s current production is an uproarious treat.
The musical, first an unlikely success off-Broadway and an eventual smash when it moved to the Broadway stage, starts with a Brechtian-style tale of oppressed masses and takes it to absurdly comedic conclusions. Urinetown’s acerbic, self-referential book, aided by Signature’s knowing, frenetic staging, manages to send up both typical Broadway cliches, from jazz hands to kicklines, and many well-known musicals, from “Evita” to “Les Miserables”, without ever succumbing to mere parody. Creative staging, lighting and spirited choreography move the show along.
The cast functions very well as an amusing chorus with soaring vocals, goofy expressions and strong dancing. Some of the supporting characters don’t stand completely on their own; Steven Cupo’s Hot Blades Harry can’t quite carry “Snuff That Girl” and Jenna Sokolowski’s Little Sally often is a grating presence. But these are the exception rather than the rule. Stephen F. Schmidt smoothly anchors the madness as the deadpan Officer Lockstock. Erin Driscoll, a beaming beauty with killer pipes to match, swings effortlessly from simpering to downright batty as the vacantly optimistic Hope Cladwell. Christopher Bloch is gleefully sinister when leading two of the show’s funniest numbers, the showstopper “Mr. Cladwell” and the ridiculous “Don’t Be The Bunny.” Will Gartshore as the hero Bobby Strong earns laughs with every romance novel-cover pose and Thomas Adrian Simpson’s Senator Fipp is an oily, seedy riot.
Urinetown runs from Aug. 16-Oct. 9. Tickets are $31-$35 and can be purchased online. Signature is located at 380 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington.
Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre
