Urinetown: Part 1 of 4, Act One addresses today’s issues

Photo by Ben Baxter

Rehearsals for “Urinetown,” the MHCC winter musical, are in full swing, with opening night at about two weeks away.

The first act of the musical has a underlying hum of drama, tension, and revolution, leaving the audience in heavy anticipation for what’s to come in Act Two. The opening exposition highlights the setting and title of the production: “Urinetown,” a society severely impacted by a water shortage. One corporation has a monopoly on the town’s water usage and charges the inhabitants of Urinetown to use the public restrooms.

Mt. Hood’s theater director, Mace Archer, calls the mood of Act One “comedically oppressive.”

“It is my favorite kind of musical,” Archer said. The production addresses corporate greed and unequal wealth distribution in a satirical and topical way, which sets it apart from shows that Mt. Hood Community College theater have taken on in the past, he notes.

“‘Footloose’ and ‘(The) Drowsy Chaperone’ weren’t saying anything about our society,” said Archer, who is enthused to be finally “telling the story of today’s issues.”

Hope Cladwell is among the major players in Act One. In the opening number, she sets out to her first day at work at her father’s company – Urinegood Co. – the corporation that has monopolized the water supply in Urinetown. Having just graduated from “The Most Expensive University in the World” (yes, that’s what the university is called), Hope is ready to begin her career. Until she runs into protagonist Bobby Strong on the way to her first day of work, that is. She falls for him, and according to actor Hannah Hensley, who portrays Hope onstage, discovers she is “completely led by her heart and not at all her mind.”

In the midst of Act One, Hope encourages her new love to “follow his heart.” By the finale, she discovers that his heart is leading him to some serious conflict with her family. “He kidnaps me,” Hensley divulged. “It ends with him picking me up and carrying me away with the mob.”

The CEO of Urinegood Co., Caldwell B. Cladwell, is played by veteran actor Michael Tippery. His character is reasonably irked by the kidnapping of his daughter, Hope.

“I naturally send policemen that I pay to find him and beat him senseless,” said Tippery of his character. “I mean, he kidnapped my daughter!” Tippery said that Cladwell has a stable demeanor through most of Act One, and though he is greedy and driven by money, his ruthless side really begins to show once he pursues Bobby Strong.

“They call me the villain of the play, but I don’t kidnap anyone’s daughter,” Tippery said. In essence, he explains, Act One is about the “stirring of unpopular rebellion against an unbreakable institution.”

The MHCC ensemble for this show was highly praised by everyone interviewed, with Hensley calling it “the best ensemble I’ve ever worked with.” She added that almost everyone in the cast has had at least some acting experience, but there were many who had never worked on a musical before. “I’ve been doing musicals my whole life,” she said. “I’m really impressed with how they’re doing. They’re working really hard, that’s for sure.”

“Urinetown” looks to be shaping into a great success. With lots of hard work being put in by the cast and crew and a riveting plot line, the production seems, , to put it lightly, worthwhile. Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for MHCC students, seniors, and Mt. Hood staff members. See: mhcc.edu/TheatreBoxOffice/

At the door, tickets will be priced at $15 for adults and $12 for students, seniors, and staff members.

The performances are set for 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 19-20 and Feb. 26-27, and 2 p.m. on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28.

Advocate Staff