The SJHHS Performing Arts Department has taken a step into satire. Introducing: Urinetown! A caustic musical that…drumroll please…makes fun of musicals.

“It pokes fun at itself. So people who don’t like musicals will like this because it’s actually making fun of what musicals are and how contrived and quirky they can be,” said Director Ms. Beilstein.

Urinetown takes place in a dystopian society that has been plagued by a 20 year drought, where the water shortage is so drastic that private toilets are outlawed. Consequently, everyone is required to use public toilets and pay a fee to the government controlling, “Urine Good Company.” Peeing outside of the pricy porcelain thrones is illegal. If someone breaks the seemingly ludicrous law, they get carted off to Urinetown, a depressing, desolate, no-where’s-land, banished indefinitely.

Written by Mark Hollman, the musical alludes to numerous other productions and continuously satirizes even the most revered, such as Les Miserable and West Side Story. 

Ms. Beilstein expects “…a lot of giggling [from the audience.] It’s very strange. It’s going to be lot of what people haven’t seen before, so when people come to see it I think they’re going to be taken aback at first, it might be kind of quiet and ‘WHAT IS THIS’ in the beginning, and then they’re going to get on board.”

Rehearsals lasted for five weeks, which is very short for students preparing for a two-hour show with in-depth choreography and musical numbers. In order to make it happen, students relied on their dedication to rehearsal attendance, catchy music, and fellow cast members.

Said Cassy O’Brian (12), “…we all had to be completely on top of everything, and I think that because everyone worked together nicely, we were able to accomplish so much in such a short time… [Usually] rehearsal processes are 8 weeks long.”

The continuous hard work of the cast will culminate at the musical’s premiere tonight the 21st-Saturday the 24th at 7:00, with a 2:00 matinee on the 24th. Actors encourage audiences to attend any showing, guaranteeing hilarious dialogue and bizarre, yet addictive, songs.

Said Jared Schrimp (12),“…the number Snuff That Girl…is just an extremely fun musical style and dance number to watch, and even given the subject matter, I personally love every second of it.”

Urinetown is PG- great for families (as long as one is familiar with the rhetorical device known as satire,) and two hours of your time well spent! Everyone is bound to grasp a reference or two to any number of the many musicals mocked during the show.

With over 40 students involved in this production, SJHHS can expect a genuine performance from the cast that has consistently stepped into roles of tragedy, joy, and drama during their high school careers. This show, however, will prove that no restraints are held on the actors, as they embrace their inner satirical selves and provide a spectacle everyone can laugh at.