Ad disclosure: We were provided with press tickets for the purpose of this post.
Yesterday evening, Lydia and I headed over to the Guild of Students at Birmingham Uni to check out GMTG’s (Guild Musical Theatre Group) amateur production of Urinetown the Musical.
We’ve seen a handful of amazing amateur productions over the last few years at the Alex, but this is the first time we’ve been invited to a GMTG show – and it was fun to experience what one of our local theatre groups has been up to.
Urinetown the Musical is a satirical comedy with a totally bizarre storyline: after a decades-long drought, private toilets are outlawed and the public must pay to use government-approved amenities whenever they need to pee. Anyone caught sneaking off to relieve themselves in the bushes is swiftly arrested and banished to the mysterious “Urinetown,” never to be seen again.
Winner of two Tony Awards – Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score – Urinetown is genuinely entertaining to watch, with great music and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. The uni students making up the cast and crew did an incredible job bringing the show to life, and they definitely did justice to the excellent material.
The main characters are Bobby Strong, a poor worker at one of the Public Amenities, and his love interest Hope Cladwell, the privileged daughter of the CEO of megacorporation Urine Good Company. UGC charges increasingly exorbitant fees for the city’s poorest residents to use the toilets, with those at the top reaping all the rewards. When Caldwell B. Cladwell bribes a senator to legalise a fee hike, Bobby leads a full-on revolution.
With a hefty dose of snark aimed at musical clichés (including the excellent Les Miserables, of course), the narrator – corrupt cop Officer Lockstock – introduces the show and keeps the audience updated throughout, joined by street urchin Little Sally, who is hilariously insightful as she points out massive plot holes (much like the ones you find in almost all musicals!). The story contains some “big twists” that we all saw coming – but their over-the-top delivery had the ensemble in fits of melodramatic shock, which was very funny. The musical styles are varied too; at one point it felt like we’d wandered into Sister Act with a surprise gospel-style revolutionary number.
The main cast did a great job, and there are some seriously impressive voices and performers in the group. I loved Lucy Sherman’s performance as Little Sally – her mannerisms were spot on, and she has a fabulous voice. Kyle Gabriel smashed it as Officer Lockstock, keeping the audience laughing through every monologue. Sam Moore was an excellently evil villain, oppressing the masses without a hint of shame. As Hope, Hazelle Te delivered dreamy idealism with an amazing voice, and Sam Huxman’s portrayal of the “everyman” Bobby was equally strong with some great vocals.
Some standout supporting cast members included Josh Levene as the fabulous and funny assistant Mr McQueen, Arthur Jacobs with a hilarious take on Officer Barrel, and Hannah Vakis as the child-like Tiny Tom – a role that demands great comic timing, which she delivered. As a whole, the ensemble did fantastic work. They were on their feet singing and dancing for most of the show – you can tell they’ve put in the hours learning it all.
They made the most of the space in the Debating Hall by staging the show in a unique layout, with the audience seated in the four corners of the room and a cross-shaped performance area, plus a small stage at one end and a raised platform in the centre. This gave the cast freedom to move around the whole room and get right up close to the audience. At times it was hard to know where to look because there was action happening all around! It was a clever use of the space and added great energy to the show.
This set-up also allowed for some great choreography, with actors making full use of the unusual layout. The costumes were solid, and they definitely maximised the props they had – yes, it’s an amateur production on an amateur budget, but they really made it work.
There were a few niggles, though: several mic cues were missed – either late or not at all – so we sometimes couldn’t hear spoken or sung lines. And although the lighting was generally strong, there were a few unavoidable dark patches… but what could have been improved was making sure important props or jokes weren’t placed in those spots. The gag about the secret hideout being easy to spot because of the big sign completely fell flat because that sign was hidden in the gloom off to one side.
Overall Thoughts
GMTG delivered a lively, witty, and impressively ambitious production of Urinetown. The cast’s energy, the inventive staging, and the sheer commitment on display easily outweighed the small technical hiccups. It’s always exciting to see local performers take on something bold and quirky – and this production captured the gleefully chaotic spirit of the show while adding its own personality. If you’re into musicals with sharp humour, big ensemble numbers, and a bit of meta-theatrical silliness, this is absolutely worth catching.
Rating
We give GMTG’s Urinetown the Musical 4 stars – it’s definitely worth checking out if you’ve never seen the musical before, and of course it’s always great to support a local theatre group!
Lydia says: I think it was hilarious! Lots of funny lines and jokes that had everyone laughing all performance, while still being serious at some points. Several of the singers were absolutely incredible, and had beautiful voices. I also enjoyed the acting, as everyone was always doing something – it felt as if there were too many people to look at! Overall, I think it was a comedic, joyful musical and very well performed.
