Urine and singing: what better combination is needed for a high school musical? Del Val’s winter musical, Urinetown, is a comedy directed by Mr. Ambs. In short, the musical is about a town in which the citizens are required to pay in order to use the public bathrooms. Now, is this musical a hit or a waste of your time?

    Although the title may seem a little off-putting, I was pleasantly surprised by the production. Throughout the musical, the audience was met with many humorous songs sung by characters with very powerful voices including “Cop Song” performed by Officer Lockstock (Will Pearce) and Officer Barrel (Alex Foreman), “Look at the Sky” performed by Bobby Strong (Thai Branowski) and the poor citizens, and many more. Urinetown features many comical scenes that suit everyone’s sense of humor. Whether it was a joke about urine or a giant heart in the sky, you were guaranteed to let out a laugh while watching this production. The actors portrayed their characters very well, and the distinct character personalities added to the humor. For example, Hope Cladwell (Ashley Henderson) had a “I’m sweet but a bit of an airhead” personality which took her silly lines and made them even more comedic.

    Other than the acting, the music and the special effects were elements of the musical that made it very enjoyable. The pit orchestra did a great job of fitting the music to the mood of the scenes and controlling their volume level. The music never drowned out the vocalists and complemented the lyrics very well. During scenes of conflict or high intensity, the orchestra made sure to match the tempo to emphasize the importance of the scene. The special effects added both humor and entertainment to the play as a whole. When characters who had died would make an appearance on stage, they were represented as ghosts. They would be standing on a stool under blue lighting with cans of fog being sprayed below them. The backstage crew made the arms spraying the cans very visible, and the actors of the dead the characters mocked the typical voice of a ghost by elongating their words which gave these scene a light-hearted feel.

    The choreography in Urinetown was also very praiseworthy. Similar to the music, the choreography matched the mood the scenes. During “Cop Song,” the dance was silly and included what some people might call “dad dancing,” giving the stage a fun and light-hearted atmosphere. In contrast, the song “Follow Your Heart” produced a more serious atmosphere (although Bobby does have a few comical bits) in order to build up the relationship between Bobby Strong and Hope Cladwell. The choreography is not flashy or fast, but is instead slow and smooth for this song.

    Urinetown is a production that will make you laugh but also appreciate the environment. The show was performed very well with a great amount of energy from the actors. Overall, this musical was full of talented students, and who knows, maybe urine jokes are just your cup of pee?