'Hold It, Jake. It's Urinetown.'
Arts & Culture
SRQ DAILY FRIDAY WEEKEND EDITION
FRIDAY JAN 31, 2025 |
BY PHILIP LEDERER
Pictured: The cast of 'Urinetown' at Dingbat Theatre Project. Photo by Amanda Iglesias.
In a world where a 20-year drought has led to water shortages of apocalyptic proportions, where private toilets are outlawed and all public restrooms operate under the control of greedy megacorporations, the oppressed masses can’t even pee their pants without paying the price until two young lovers ignite a revolution against the Powers that Pee Be…
Welcome to Urinetown, the darkly satirical Tony Award-winning meta-musical that has everything from star-crossed lovers and filthy urinals to scathing indictments of corporate greed and a surprising amount of violence. Imagine equal parts Scorsese and Shakespeare thrown into a blender and served up by John Waters. Plus lots of singing.
It’s the latest show from one of Sarasota’s most subversive stages, the Dingbat Theatre Project, and it opens tonight with s’mores and champagne.
“With every show this season, we want to take controversial topics and look at them in new ways,” says Luke Manual, Dingbat’s founder and producing artist director, as well as Urinetown’s Little Sally. They point to the theater’s first show of the season, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as an example.“We set that at a drag queen story hour that was cancelled by anti-drag protesters,” they say, letting a small but heavily pregnant pause say the rest.
In Urinetown’s high-energy, not-quite-nihilistic, punk-rock-and-showtunes takedown of unfettered capitalism, Manual feels a similar Dingbat connection. “It sort of matches our vibe,” they say. And in keeping with that vibe—and the show’s environmentalist themes—all of the sets were built with repurposed materials.Costumes, likewise, were designed by recycling and re-using.
This will be only the second show in Dingbat Theatre’s new space in south Sarasota—their first—which opened this season. And between Joseph at drag queen story hour and Urinetown, the new roost aims to build a reputation with audiences looking for shows that make a splash.
“I certainly hope they have a good time,” Manual says, “while also thinking a little bit about how our habits are affecting our planet.”
Directed by Amanda Heisey, Urinetown opens tonight at 7:30pm at Dingbat Theatre Project, 7288 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
Pictured: The cast of 'Urinetown' at Dingbat Theatre Project. Photo by Amanda Iglesias.
« View The Friday Jan 31, 2025 SRQ Daily Edition
« Back To SRQ Daily Archive