Welcome to Urinetown. It's impossible to resist laughing at this "satirical salute to American musicals." The strength of the show was evident in its every excellent component. With energetic performances from the entire cast on Sunday night in the Shapiro Theater, this piss was worth the money. Urinetown is an unhappy musical with ridiculously happy music, about a city in a parallel universe. The dreary, low-class existence of most of its citizens is aggravated by a water shortage that has given rise to a pay-per-piss law in the public bathrooms.

An evil, monopolized corporation, The Urine Good Company, acts as adversary to the common folk, as compassionless CEO Caldwell B. Cladwell (Alex Fleming '09) inspires the people to revolution. The rebels, led by young Bobby Strong (Justin Becker '09), soon kidnap Cladwell's daughter, Hope (Kara Manson '08). Blood is shed, the people win, yadda yadda yadda. Suffice it to say, this awkward story is not the charm of the play.

Despite its awful, displeasing name, this production was a jewel because of the small cast's strong talent. It was eye candy to see the cast's exaggerated expressions when they needed to pee, the rather complicated and exciting dance numbers and of course, the hilarity of the wild war scenes. Even more impressive than the already praiseworthy acting was the general musical skill of the actors, who showed off their flexibility and wide range in several small a cappella and gospel-like numbers, from the soulful number "Run, Freedom, Run" to a typical, full-cast finale with demanding vocal parts.

Josh Mervis '08, as the narrator and a corrupt police agent, gave a notable performance. His seductive baritone voice, though sometimes lacking in diction, was a pleasant change from all of the over-the-top squeaky voices of the cast. A familiar face at Brandeis performances, Mervis was, as always, a crowd-pleaser. New face Becker also gave an astonishing performance, hitting his high notes easily and passionately. With his Prince-Charming voice, he was an appropriate hero for Urinetown.

Fleming was a riot to see on stage as the grinch of Urinetown, CEO Cladwell, with his great gesticulations and Dr. Evil-like demeanor. As Hope Cladwell, Manson tactfully stayed in her ditzy, saccharine character without going too over the top. But Sierra Kagen '09 had the best-developed character, as Little Sally, with a perfectly childish dialect to match her quirky costume.

The pit's primary reed player mustered up great solos, especially in "What is Urinetown?" with a Brandeis-friendly Jewish jig. But as is the curse of the Shapiro Theater, the orchestra was often too loud to hear the stupid, yet entertaining and crucial lyrics. Nevertheless, minor flaws such as the occasional imbalance of sounds and a mediocre setting were negligible due to the cast's strength in making the stage come alive.

Adding a real-life twist to the play, crew members positioned in the bathrooms with donation cups during intermission certainly merited the awkward stares they received. Collecting money for a charity, Urinetown's joke turns into a serious reflection on the true Urinetown situations in El Salvador and Honduras, where there are inhabitants who suffer every day from a deficit of usable water as a result of poor filtration.

The beauty of Urinetown, shameful jokes and all, is that whenever it can possibly turn to clich, it does. but then instantly breaks that clich through something completely original, effecting a sigh of relief. It's something different from the recent series of depressing theater productions at Brandeis, but edges away from your average friendly musical.


Editor's Note: Aaron Mitchell Finegold, an assistant director, house manager and performer in Urinetown, is the Advertising Editor for The Justice.