Resistance, queerness, and performance perfection
It’s only September, and Urinetown at the Theatre Pass Murielle has already given every other campus production a run for the Dougies. This TCDS production about Bobby Strong’s rebellion against the rising pee-tax made audiences cackle, cry, and think every night. As a long-time Urinetown fan, director Anusha Ramesh’s take might just be my favourite–she and her team have made a show that emphasizes the importance of resistance, love, and the arts itself.
The show starts the moment you enter the bathrooms, where stall doors plastered with posters of villain Caldwell B. Cladwell (played by Noah Meerboer) stare you down on the toilet seat, demanding your money. It’s hilariously invasive, preparing the audience for the absurd reality of Urinetown. Every detail in the set, props, makeup, and costuming extends this world, swallowing the audience whole. The rebels are dressed in well-loved rags and covered in grime, contrasting with the polished upper-class. Props, such a comedically large key and a sweet little bird, complement narrative highs and lows.
Music director Andrew Lowe and choreographer Eileen Lu made every number enrapturing and memorable. The Peetles, the show’s band, swept the audience up with the emotion of each song. One must also credit sound designers Sophie Khtolbina and Golshan Alaei; their hands were most obvious in the death scenes, all depicted through sound effects. While there were tech issues in the earliest run, they were fixed come closing night, creating a cohesive soundscape.
Vocally and dramatically, every actor’s performance was incredible. Maryam, Bellamy, and Aya embodied Little Sally, Lockstock, and Ms. Pennywise; Noah’s performance as Cladwell was uncannily impressive and nearly made me change my favourite song twice. The ensemble’s skill was central to numbers like “Mr. Cladwell” and “Snuff That Girl”, where everyone has stellar choreography and vocal solos. The cast blends comedy and sadness exceedingly well, especially in “Tell Her I Love Her”, a song that both mourns the execution of Bobby and exaggerates it to the point of laughter. Everyone bore the full weight of their loss and fear, instead of hollow absurdity.
Kathleen Kovacs plays Hope Cladwell, Bobby’s love interest. Her Hope is careful, restrained, and intentional with everything she does. Her father’s disinterest and his allies’ leering compliments about her booty “beauty” create an environment where expressions of “love” and “care” are simply means of power. When Hope does let herself care, we see someone who is desperately, hopelessly alone – both times I watched, Kathleen’s performance in the “Follow Your Heart” reprise instantly brought me to tears.
The Hero of Urinetown, played by Brenna McDonald, is gender-bent in this production. This choice adds depth to Bobby’s character, referencing young women like Greta Thunberg and AOC whose experiences of patriarchal oppression inform their fight against capitalism and systemic injustice. This choice also enriches her relationship with Hope; Bobby’s love is inherently political, explaining why meeting Hope so deeply inspires her choice to revolt. Her leap into resistance is complemented by Brenna’s joyfully queer performance, which is breathtaking in its own right. It is also wholesome to see a community that embraces its queer inhabitants – even as Bobby’s queerness influences her worldview, it doesn’t change whether her family or townspeople love her.
Like any piece of media about the failure of a resistance, “Urinetown” could easily slip into arguing that we should accept our corrupt status quo—rather, this production clearly rallies against that message. From beginning to end of the show, every act of love translates to an expression of shared humanity and a need for rapid, specific change, creating an electrifying and wrenching experience for the audience.