MAC Theatre Guild to Present "Urinetown"

Capitalism, populism, social irresponsibility and local municipal politics are the themes of Mineral Area College’s next Little Theatre Guild production, a musical comedy called “Urinetown.”
 
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and performances are at 7 p.m. nightly, April 15-18, in the Fine Arts Theatre at the Park Hills Campus. Tickets are available at the MAC Bookstore or at the door on the night of the performances, and are $7 general admission, or $3 for MAC students and senior citizens. The play is rated PG.
 
The show opens on a town that’s experienced a great drought for the last 20 years, causing draconian measures to be taken to conserve the public water supply—no one is allowed to have their own bathrooms, and everyone must pay high tariffs to use the disgusting, filthy, public toilets to relieve their bladders, or, if they heed the call of nature IN nature, they’ll be arrested and sent to a mysterious place called Urinetown. No one has ever returned from Urinetown.
 
Amid the singing and dance numbers, the mystery is solved and an answer is achieved…but is it the answer everyone wanted?
 
The play, written by Greg Kotis with music by Mark Hollman, was reportedly inspired by  Kotis’s post-college traveling around Europe, where it’s common to pay to use public toilets. The play debuted on Off-Broadway’s American Theatre for Actors in May 2001, and since then has been performed at thousands of playhouses and stages around the nation’s cities, colleges and high schools.
 
MAC Theatre Director Chuck Gallaher said this will be the first time that ‘Urinetown’ has been done south of the St. Louis area.
 
“The show is a complete satire on everything from a government's effect on its population, to how big businesses are operated, to the themes of justice,” Gallaher said. “In the meantime, it’s making fun of every major musical genre that currently exists including the show itself. I think the audience will really enjoy the humor, songs, themes, and characters used in this show."
 
Little Theatre Guild’s cast list includes: 
 
Officer Lockstock: Josh Cashion, Farmington; Penelope Pennywise: Shiloh Burt, Crystal City; Bobby Strong: Mark McEntire, Farmington; Little Sally: Kaylin LaBruyere, Desloge;  Dr. Billeaux/Tiny Tom: Jason Boes, Bismarck; Mr. McQueen: Logan Shropshire, Bonne Terre; Senator Fipp: Josh White,  Farmington; Hope Cladwell: Leslea Walter, Pacific;  Old Man Strong/Hot Blades Harry: Aaron Gamble, Potosi; Soupy Sue: Gracie Trokey, Farmington; Little Becky Two Shoes: Destini Hopson, Park Hills; Robby the Stockfish/Business Man 1: Alexis Naeger, Ste. Genevieve; Caldwell B. Cladwell: Lucas Robinson, Park Hills; Josephine Strong/Old Woman: Summer Vroman, Park Hills; Billy Boy Bill/Business Man 2: Christopher Hahn, Cameron, N.C.; Cladwell’s Secretary: Rachel Gann, Park Hills; and Mrs. Millennium: Caitlyn Emert, Pilot Knob.
 
Auditions for the Little Theatre Guild’s next performance, “12 Angry Jurors” (performances June 25-27) will take place May 10, 2 p.m., in the Fine Arts Theatre at MAC in Park Hills. Roles are available for 15 men and/or women.