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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
3/14/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -The Northwestern State Theatre will present the Tony-Award winning musical Urinetown March 22-25 at 7:30 p.m. in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium. Tickets are $10. NSU students are admitted free with student I.D.
"People should not let the title fool them," said director Scott Burrell. "The play isn't risqué. There is nothing in it which is objectionable.
"The play is a lot of fun. It is stylistic with a mish-mash of different types of music and some big, bold characters."
One of the most uproariously funny musicals in recent years, Urinetown is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year draught, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs.
Amid the people, a hero decides he's had enough, and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom. Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Urinetown is an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny. Praised for reinvigorating the very notion of what a musical could be, the play catapults the "comedic romp" into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit, and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.
Urinetown was nominated for an impressive 10 Tony Awards, winning for Best Book, Score, and direction. It also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical.
The cast includes Jarrad Baker of Donaldsonville as Officer Lockstock, Casey Barrett of Lake Charles as Bobby, Emily Bennet of Slidell as Ma Strong, Tracena Collongues of Slidell as Little Sally, Bonnie Gordon of Lafayette as Pennywise, Tibeau Hampton of Marrero as Billy Boy Bill, Ford Haeuser of Covington as Robby the Stockfish and Ryan Hazelbaker of Slidell as Hot Blades Harry.
Other members of the cast are Liz Maxwell of New Orleans as Officer Barrell, Billy Mowbray of Lake Charles as Tiny Tom, Abbey Peterson of New Orleans as Little Becky Two Shoes, Robin Rose of Natchitoches as Ms. McQueen, Jeff Springmann of Kenner as Caldwell Cladwell, Katie Springmann of Slidell as Hope Cladwell, Cara Waring of Alexandria as Soupy Sue and Jeremy Williams of Baton Rouge as Senator Fipp.
Rose is the assistant director. Aaron O' Quinn of Destrehan is the stage manager. Melissa Ralph of St. John's, Calif., and Ryan Reynolds of Fort Worth, Texas, are the assistant stage managers.