University of Wisconsin-Waukesha’s theatre department will hold auditions for the summer musical, Urinetown, by Mark Hollmann and by Greg Kotis on Wednesday, May 25 and Thursday, May 26 in afternoon and evening, by appointments only. Contact Director Steven Decker, associate professor of Communication & Theatre Arts at steven.decker@uwc.edu or 262-521-5209 to schedule an appointment.
Rehearsals will begin the last week in May and be held approximately three-to-four evenings per week with more added as the opening approaches. There are many opportunities off stage as well, and college credit is available for participation. Performances of Urinetown will be Friday and Saturday, July 15-16, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, July 22-23, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m.
Roles are available for men and women age 18 and up. Older adults and minorities are encouraged to audition. Actors may prepare 16 bars of a ballad or up-tempo song from a musical and provide sheet music for the accompanist or sing a cappella and will be taught music from the show to sing and perform cold readings from the script at the audition.
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Don't let the title scare you off – “Urinetown, the Musical" is a wacky, satirical and the newest Broadway musical ever to be produced at UW-Waukesha. It opened on Broadway in September 2001, winning three Tony awards, for book, score, and direction. "Urinetown" depicts a world wracked by ecological disaster and corporate greed. In a Gotham-like city, a depletion of the earth's water supply has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The privilege to pee is regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. A hero arises to lead the people to freedom, but the show defies Broadway musical tradition by forsaking a happy ending.
