Note to Editors: To request a media pass to a performance or to schedule an interview with the director and cast members, call the CSULA Public Affairs office in advance at (323) 343-3050.
Water shortage, regulated toilets lead to musical revolt
‘Urinetown, the Musical’ at Cal State L.A. May 14-16, 21-23
Los Angeles, CA – Urinetown, the Musical—a tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold—will be presented May 14-16 and 21-23 at the State Playhouse on the Cal State L.A. campus.
With music and lyrics by Mark Hollman and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, the performances will be presented by Cal State L.A.’s Department of Theatre and Dance at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays.
In Urinetown, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, 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 described as “an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny.” It won Tony Awards for best book, score, and direction. It also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for best musical.
According to director Meredith Greenburg and artistic director James Hatfield, Cal State L.A.’s production highlights the direct correlation between the situation in Urinetown’s fictitious urban city and the current drought in California that prompted Governor Schwarzenegger to declare a “State of Emergency” this past February.
About the Cast
The cast of Urinetown includes Nathan Shrake, Whitney Tenney, Ben Caron, Alyssa Harris, Doniele Harrigan, Eric Charles, Paul Coutinho, Roberto Guzman, Oliver Mack Calhoun, Kolleen Richards, Adrienne Castillo, and Anthony Li.
The ensemble members include Concetta Verna, Lexis LaRue, Bryana Manly, Sophie Goldstein, Daphne Gabriel, Rosa Prado, Taylor Edwards, Susana Castillo, Minque Taylor, Wilmer Felix, Jose Moreno, Matthew Tsang, Demi Dustman, Ariana McCue, and Vashti Searcie, with a special appearance by David Olsen.
Ticket Information
WHAT: Urinetown, the Musical.
WHEN: May 14 and 15 at 8 p.m., May 16 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.;
May 21 and 22 at 8 p.m., May 23 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
WHERE: State Playhouse, on the CSULA campus. (For campus map or directions, go to /univ/maps/cslamap.php.)
TICKETS: $8 for students with I.D.; $12 for faculty/staff and seniors;
$15 for general admission.
INFO: Call (323) 343-4118.
###
Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu