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Urinetown a timely social satire flush with top Broadway tunes

What: Urinetown: The Musical Where : Langham Court Theatre, 805 Langham Ct. When : Jan. 19-Feb. 3 Tickets : $33 ($31 for seniors and $27 for students) at langhamtheatre.
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Emilee Nimetz as Penelope Pennywise and Sean Baker as Robby the Stockfish in Langham Court's Urinetown: The Musical.

What: Urinetown: The Musical
Where: Langham Court Theatre, 805 Langham Ct.
When: Jan. 19-Feb. 3
Tickets: $33 ($31 for seniors and $27 for students) at langhamtheatre.ca or by phone at 250-384-2142

Urinetown: The Musical is a Tony Award-winning production with all the acclaim it could want. But the musical comedy bears a fairly unfortunate title, in addition to some gleefully uncomfortable songs (It鈥檚 a Privilege to Pee being one).

The production, about a global water shortage and the company that capitalizes on it, has plenty going in its favour. The songs in Urinetown are great, and the writing is whip-smart. It has everything 鈥 except for a winning moniker. That hasn鈥檛 kept audiences away, however.

The show ran on Broadway for nearly three years before closing in 2004. Nearly a decade and a half later, tickets for each date of Langham Court鈥檚 upcoming production are pretty much sold out.

So what is it about Urinetown, which was turned down by 100 agents and producers before finding a home at the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999, that has proved so enduring?

A play about a water shortage that spurs a ban on the use of private toilets certainly isn鈥檛 what you would call a sure thing.

鈥淚 have spoken to people who say: 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to go and see a play called Urinetown,鈥 鈥 said Roger Carr, who is directing the local production. 鈥淎nd [the writers] address it immediately in the play. There is constant fun made of the awful title and awful subject matter.

鈥淏ut a lot of people like to come and see a play like this, because it鈥檚 not The Sound of Music or Les Miserables. We鈥檙e looking at something with some edge and some attitude. And the title indicates the attitude we have in this play.鈥

Langham Court鈥檚 production is large in scale. When the play was staged at the Belfry Theatre in 2006, it had a cast of 19, the largest of any Belfry production to that point. Starting Friday night, 24 performers will be on stage at Langham Court, not including the four-piece band.

Managing a large cast is only part of Carr鈥檚 job. In addition to striking a balance between acting, choreography and music, he鈥檚 tasked with finding the happy medium between sentiment and satire. And when the satire is skewering that very medium 鈥 theatre 鈥 in which it is housed, failure is perilously close at hand, Carr said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenging play. It鈥檚 a musical and musicals are always difficult. But it鈥檚 also a play that takes a bit of thinking. It is a comedy, but at the same time, it鈥檚 a social and political satire. You have to find a balance between those things.

鈥淏ut there is some meat in it, which is quite lovely.鈥

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