The SMHS theater department is well-known in and outside the school for many of their past musicals, such as Alice in Wonderland, Addams Family, and Singin’ in the Rain.
This year, their production is Urinetown, a satirical musical set in a dystopian future where a severe water shortage has led to the outlawing of private toilets and the privatization of public ones, which are controlled by the corrupt Urine Good Company. The poor are forced to pay to use the public amenities, and those who cannot afford it face imprisonment in the mysterious “Urinetown”. A young hero and our main character, Bobby Strong, rallies the poor and oppressed in a revolt against the tyrannical system to fight for their freedom in an ultimate challenge against the tyrannical Caldwell B. Cladwell, the Urine Good Company’s ruthless owner. Urinetown initially premiered on Broadway on September 20, 2001, the same year that the book was released.
The main message of Urinetown is the idea of resource control, how people with seemingly benevolent interventions can really be bad, how certain actions can have unintended consequences, and the constant potential for power to be abused, even in the name of something “good”.
Senior Emma Dichard, who plays Hope Cladwell, Cladwell’s beautiful daughter, torn between her father and her new love for Bobby and begins as an innocent, naive angel but becomes vengeful and determined after being exposed to her father’s evil in the play, says “Urinetown is interesting because it is very satirical and a comedy, but also very relevant to our situation today, at least politically. I think it’s fun, and parents would love to bring their kids because there will be jokes that will go over the kids head but they’ll be able to understand.”
If you follow the @smhstheater account on Instagram and TikTok, you will receive updates and news about our theater department, as well as fun behind the scenes action and photos of the shows! If you want to check out Urinetown, there is a link to buy tickets on GoFan in the bio of the theater department’s instagram. Opening night is on Thursday, May 1st at 7:00 p.m. and two more on Friday May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. and another on Sunday, May 4th but at 2:00 p.m. VIP tickets are $25, general admission are $15 and students and seniors are $10. This show is unlike any other show, so you will not want to miss it. Do not be scared of the name, go buy a ticket!
