This year’s senior musical, “Urinetown,” provided a fun and rewarding experience for many newcomers to musical theater. The production was filled with students who had not previously participated in any sort of theatrical escapade, but it was clear that all members of the company were happy to have performed.

            “Urinetown” chronicles a city’s struggles with a twenty-year-long drought. As one crude number says, “It is a privilege to pee,” and the opening scenes set this desolate tone. It is clear that the unavailability of water has ravaged the city; the set, costumes and makeup on the members of the “Poor Chorus” depict the consequences of the main water-control company, Urine Good Company, and its regulation of water usage.

            As the play progresses, the members of the many underprivileged citizens of Urinetown unite under Bobby Strong, played by Eliot Cohen, and eventually under his love interest, Hope Cladwell, played by Natalie Diacovo, and overthrow the tyrannical reign of UGC.

            The musical presented a very serious issue to our community in a satirical manner. “Urinetown” centers around a main conflict between UGC and the people of the city, a power struggle that poses many questions: Who has the power to regulate bodily functions? (Why) Should the company profit off of said bodily functions?

            The many ideas entwined in these questions also relate to our current society, though not in such a direct way. Daily television reports on the financial situation and censures on powerful companies like Goldman Sachs pose these questions to the general American public. The comical portrayal of police officers as bumbling, ridiculous individuals also enforced the idea that those in power (i.e. porn-watching SEC “regulators”) choose to use it in ways that do not benefit the general public.

            “Urinetown” is a highly political performance, with many secret negative opinions on the government, the establishment and “the man.”

            On a lighter note, the score, composed by Mark Hollman, seemed to uplift much of what the characters sang about with bouncy melodies and comical interludes. The band, which included MHS students Zach Upton-Davis ’11, Matt Weston ’10, Josh Kogan ’10 and Nick Gersh ’10, was an integral part of the musical. They set the tone, carried the general theme of the play and added poignant emotion to each character’s words and struggles.

            The main characters, Bobby Strong and Hope Cladwell, presented a slightly different perspective on the same issue. Their names, Hope and Strong, represent the imperative notion that, in times of disadvantage and dismay, it is necessary to remain optimistic and encourage strong hearts in those who look up to you.

            Throughout the play, Strong and Cladwell discourage those enveloped in rage and despair, such as Hot Blades Harry (Henry Nabholz ’10) from acting irrationally. They also manage to instill in their followers a sense of hope, as well as a sense of purpose, when their cause seems to have been defeated.

            In general, the senior musical seemed to please its audience members. Many of the actors’ friends and fellow classmates thoroughly enjoyed the performance and appreciated how hard its cast worked. “I thought the play was very well done,” Mari Crawford ’11 said. “I’m proud of everyone who was involved.”