March 6, 2014
Volume 36, Issue 24
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Haley Di Virgilio and Jason Bonham (center) perform as Hope Cladwell and Officer Barrel in “Urinetown,” a production from MSU Denver’s Theater Department, Feb. 25 at the Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theater. Photo by Trevor L. Davis • tdavis84@msudenver.edu
Theater department takes a potty break
MSU Denver continues season with “Urinetown” By Stephanie Alderton salderto@msudenver.edu The MSU Denver theater program kicked off the second half of its performance season with a high-energy production full of rousing music, dancing and — pee. “Urinetown,” a musical satire by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, opened Feb. 27 in the Eugenia Rawls Courtroom Theater at the King Center. “The play is centrally about corporate control of resources in the mythical town of Urinetown,” said director Scott Lubinski. “The people of Urinetown are led to a revolution by the Poor’s leader, Bobby Strong, who eventually wins over the heart of the daughter of Mr. Caldwell B. Cladwell, the head of the ‘Urine Good Company.’” The Eugenia Rawls stage was overtaken by a set of dingy, rust-stained walls and dirty pipes, which formed the stark outlines of buildings when lit up. Before the play started and during intermission, the sound of dripping water played overhead. The world of “Urinetown” was bleak, uncomfortable and painfully funny. As Bobby (Andy Nuanhngam) started
the rebellion, one hilarious musical number followed another in rapid succession. Discolike spotlights swooped around the stage and the audience, actors ran in from every corner of the theatre and the music loudly parodied everything from gospel (in “Run, Freedom, Run!”) to traditional Broadway ballads (“Follow Your Heart”). They play is a very high-energy production and the MSU Denver cast did all they could to meet the challenge. “Every single actor in this show is so dedicated and talented, so it’s not a big surprise that I think this production is full of energy and spunk,” said Haley DiVirgilio, who plays Hope Cladwell. “The crowds have actually been really wonderful. So far they’ve gotten all of our jokes and reacted really well to some of our more cheesy moments.” The cast represented their characters purely, and DiVirgilio and Bryan Anderson, as the villainous Cladwells, were particularly good at creating their characters. A highlight in the show was the interaction between Little Sally (Stephanie Ferguson) and Officer Lockstock (Eli Stewart), two characters who often stepped out of the story to narrate what happened.
During the prologue, they list all the things that could ruin a play: “too much exposition,” “poor subject matter” and “a bad title.” All of which, as they explained, apply to “Urinetown.” The show broke the “fourth wall” in several other ways, too, such as one moment when a stagehand came out to untie Hope from a chair. “This play is unique in that it recognizes in itself that it is a play,” said student lighting designer Kendrick Fischer. “The director wanted to play up this element and expose elements of the play to the audience.” It’s definitely hard to criticize a story that spent so much time mocking itself. But it spent an equal amount of time mocking political stances that would resonate all too well with current audiences. At one point, the Poor hoist hand-written signs with slogans borrowed from the Occupy Movement. “This production’s timing was interesting considering the current world conflicts about corporate control of resources and land,” Lubinski said. “The progression of the conflict in Ukraine has encouraged our actors to have discussions about how these conflicts parallel our play’s theme to some degree.” Contiuned on page 11>>
MetSports Long ball blasts Metro softball, twice By Mario Sanelli msanelli@msudenver.edu Not until the third game of a tripleheader against Chadron State College did the Roadrunners give the Eagles a taste of their own medicine. Metro salvaged the final game of Feb. 28 with an 11-3 win over the Nebraskans who took the first two at the Auraria Field. Metro senior catcher Kelsey Three innings Tillery. after the opening pitch of the series crossed home plate, Metro had a 3-0 advantage, scoring one run in each of the first three frames. Contiuned on page 16>>