But with a name like Urinetown, leaves some of us scratching our heads. Why Urinetown?
So I did what any good blogger does, I asked the Director, Douglas F. Bailey II, why Urinetown? Also asked why he thought it was important for Mighty Goliath Productions to do it, and now that he is also our Board President, how does that play into his approach?
Why not Urinetown??? Seriously though, I elected to pitch Urinetown to our board of directors for about a thousand and one reasons. My initial attraction to Urinetown was that it's my all time favorite musical, and in my opinion it is under produced by the community theater world. It is an in your face comedy with very serious undertones. When deconstructed to it's furthest degree, Urinetown is a musical about being responsible with our natural resources and not destroying our home and planet. Layer in a love story, a greedy and corrupt organization, and two narrators who have no problem poking fun at themselves and the show, particularly the name of the show, and you've got a hilarious romp that leaves you thinking as you leave the auditorium.
Another HUGE attraction to Urinetown is it's constant callback to other iconic musicals. Each musical number was modeled after a past show, from Hello Dolly! to West Side Story toFiddler on the Roof, there is something in show to get everyone's toes tapping. Finally, like all Mighty Goliath shows, Urinetown is family friendly and fun for all ages.
"Why do we go to the theatre?" Theatrical experiences are about entertaining the audience, but more over, I believe we as performers, directors, etc have a responsibility to use the power of theater for good. Mighty Goliath does that in raising funds for the performing arts of Avon Lake, but I think it is also important for our productions to have "take aways" for the audience. Last year's Seussical: the Musical was about inclusion and self worth; Urinetown is about overcoming corrupt entities and working to preserve this beautiful rock that we live on. Urinetown is not Guys and Dolls or other Golden Age Musicals, but it is a funny, beautiful show with a wonderful message that can still pay homage to the great musicals that came before it. i think it's important to continue to expose people to the different types of productions that exist, while still keep the scope very specific to our organization.
Does being the board president change the way you approach the show?
The much longer answer is that art should not be tampered with based on the expectations of position. I respect my colleagues on the board and on my production team enough to trust that they know my vision for Urinetown and Mighty Goliath Productions as a whole are similar. We're here to raise funds to keep the arts alive. In order to that, we need to produce a fantastic musical. Urinetown was on my list of shows to pitch to the board of directors as the returning Director long before I became President of the Board. This production, with the support of the many talents of Might Goliath is going to be something that our audiences have never seen before. And I think they're going to LOVE it.
Auditions will be announced soon so stay tuned. We'll be very excited to hear from you soon!
