Who/what/where: Urinetown, St James Theatre
What's on Stage do several group outings over the course of the year, usually offering a reduced-price ticcket and some goodies. In this case it was a drinks voucher and a post-show meet and greet with the cast.
The St James Theatre is a fairly new venue, and sits outside the West End. It's close to Victoria and, having only opened in 2012, is a very modern theatre. The main theatre has capacity for a few hundred with some very steep seating. Unless the person in front of you is about three feet taller than you, you are unlikely to have an obstructed view. Below the main theatre is a studio venue, capable of seating a smaller number of people, but proving to be a nice environment for the smaller, more intimate, shows like Barbershopera.
Urinetown is not your typical musical, and therefore, despite how good it is, it's not one you get to see very often - this is the UK premiere of the show in fact. Part of the reason for this will be covered in the spoilery section of this article. The setting is fairly dark, a dystopian world where water is a scarce resource and one man, Caldwell B. Cladwell, holds the monopoly on public toilets, charging for these earns him a fortune and he has a scheme to become richer still. Plus there's a bit of blood, which may put off some audience members.
The public object to the fee increases, and soon a full-blown riot ensues, led by the hero of the piece, Bobby Strong, who feels gulty over his actions earlier in the show. Naturally, there's a love interest, in this case Hope Cladwell, the daughter of the show's antagonist.
The show is more than capably narrated by Johnathan Slinger (in his first musical role) as Office Lockstock, a deliciously cynical character who provides several moments of self-referential humour, giving exposition while at the same time criticising musicals that give lots of exposition. Several of these scenes take place with Little Sally, explaining information to her, and through that, to the audience.
There is a lot going on, and the two wardrobe people must have a hell of a job performing quick-change acts on a cast of around twenty. There's a fairly elaborate set, the show frequently taking place on one of two levels on stage, sometimes both. And, as an added bonus, part of the stage can revolve.
The show is presently in previews, having been open only a week and a half when I saw it. It's due to run until the 3rd of May and I absolutely recommend that not only do you get yourself a ticket, but that you get me one too as I could definitely cope with seeing it again. The night I went to see it was a sell-out. We had a last-minute cancellation and returned a ticket about 45 minutes before the show and they managed to sell it without a problem. As such we ended up next to and chatting with a lovely American girl who was studying musical theatre.
Here beginneth the spoilers.
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There's a couple of plot twists which are relatively expected, such as the identity of Hope's mother, but it's a rare show which will kill off the main character two-thirds of the way through the show. At that point Hope takes over the rebellion, leads them into killing her father, and allows free peeing for everyone. Unfortunately, that doesnt end so well as the water dries up thanks to this unrestricted usage, and pretty much everyone ends up dying anyway. So not the happiest of musicals, but they do warn us of that, and it is very fitting for the show.
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In short, go see it.
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