The debut production from Heart Strings Theatre Co. brings the hilarious award winning Urinetown the musical to the Canberra Theatre.
Urinetown has won three Tony awards including Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, two Obie awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, Two Lucille Lortel Awards – and the Canberra Theatre Centre’s own award for Worst Title.
The story is set in a dark, grungy city one might compare to Gotham; however, in Gotham you don’t have to pay to pee. The city is 20 years deep in a drought-induced water shortage that saw the government outlaw private toilets. Citizens must use public amenities, which are regulated by a single company making a profit from the people’s most basic of human needs. Sick of this treatment, a hero arises, determined to lead them to freedom and their own toilets through a revolution.
A satire of the legal system, social irresponsibility, municipal politics, corporate mismanagement, and musical theatre itself, Urinetown hits the nail on the head of current global problems including scarcity of resources (here’s looking at you, lettuce), harsh droughts, environmental catastrophe, and social injustice. All this, while also addressing the age-old question of how the fortunate should assist the less fortunate.
Heart String Theatre Co. is a semiprofessional theatre company, founded just last year by Ylaria Rogers. She believes paid opportunities for professional performance artists in Canberra are scarce, particularly for those in musical theatre, so, much like the hero of Urinetown, she decided to do something about it. The company is dedicated to ensuring every artist is paid for their involvement in productions. They aim to achieve the maximum possible return to the artist through profit share arrangements.
This play also uses recycled sets and costumes to cut down on production costs.
Catch Urinetown the musical at the Canberra Theatre Centre, 14- 24 July; tickets available here
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