Edina Thespians Ready to Poke Fun at Themselves with Urinetown

Director Tony Matthes acknowledges that some people will be put off by the name of the 2011 fall musical, but the title—like the rest of the show—is all in good fun. It is a musical that pokes fun at musicals in general and at itself in particular. Its name is Urinetown, something the musical doesn’t fail to mock within the first scene of the show. 

A satirical show that Matthes calls “so much fun,” Urinetown first debuted on Broadway in 2001. Ten years later, it’s hitting the stage at with the Edina Thespians. Matthes said he has wanted to do the show for some time, but hesitated several years ago when it had become popular with high schools and community theaters. Now Matthes feels the time is right to introduce Edina to Urinetown and he feels he has the team to do it.   

Though performing satire comes with its challenges, Matthes said he thinks this is “right up [Edina Thespians'] alley,” citing the popularity of shows like The Colbert Report and Tosh.0. He also anticipates the students will enjoy taking a step back and satirizing themselves as musical theater performers in a show with moments that reference Anything Goes, Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof. 

“I thought, how much fun are we going to have parodying our own shows?” Matthes said. 

Part of the interesting work of translating Urinetown for the stage, Matthes added, is figuring out how to spoof their own stuff. And there’s not a lot of time to do it in. Auditions for the fall musical began on just before the school year, with the final cast set by Labor Day weekend and rehearsals beginning straight away on the first day of school. The Edina Thespians are under the gun with a shorter than normal rehearsal schedule for the fall show, pushing the show up by a week to accommodate for the .   

The fall musical will open the weekend of Oct. 28. That means the Edina Thespians have just 22 days to perfect Urinetown and make it their own, and three days to rehearse before dress rehearsals begin. It’s a tight schedule, but Matthes is confident the troupe will be successful.  

"These kids are great," he said. "They’ll do really well." 

And there’s no shortage of enthusiasm from the students. Even though auditions were held in the summer, 80 students auditioned for the show, which has a cast of 45. Participating students auditioned through singing, dancing and line reading. At least one student auditioned with a performance of one of the musical’s more notably named numbers, “It’s a Privilege to Pee.” 

Don’t be put off by the references to urination. Matthes is confident this one will be a crowd pleaser.

“If you know musical theater you will really love the show,” Matthes said. 

And if you don’t, what better time than now to learn?