Down to the Wire: Telluride Theatre’s “Urinetown” Opens 3/11/2014

07 Mar Down to the Wire: Telluride Theatre’s “Urinetown” Opens 3/11/2014

“Urinetown”  at the Palm Theatre in Telluride Tuesday, March 11-Sunday, March 16. Curtain at 8 PM (4:00 PM Sunday).

Sasha and Cast

Let’s start with a disclaimer: I have a meager history in theatre, and only a few readings with Telluride Theatre Fest on my resume in the past several years. But I am having a ball as a cast-member in Telluride Theatre’s Spring musical production of “Urinetown.”

With that out of the way, I can assure you that this is a very funny, take-no-prisoners piece of theatre, lots of attitude, ready to skewer any number of sacred cows, including the genre of musical theatre itself.

I also find myself in the fascinating position of observing (and being directed by) Sasha Sullivan. Fascinating because Sasha has such a clear vision of what she wants out of this play and us players, and yet is open to suggestions from the cast. Being open to listening doesn’t mean a guarantee the suggestion will be adopted. In one personal case, I had a suggestion about a major event in my character’s role and Sasha said to try it. We ran it that way and there was no comment at the time. However, in that night’s notes the director said she liked it better the original way. I had been heard, we tried it my way, and she decided the original was closer to what she wanted. As an actor, you can’t ask for more than that.

Working on the Set

Throughout the rehearsal schedule the one through line has been: Support each other; this is a collaborative process. Now we are coming down to the wire, I’ve come to respect and love my fellow actors, and I can see the blending of all the talents. This is going to be a fun play to take part in, and I believe the audience is going to have a great time, too. To top it all off, one might gain a little insight about what a world without water might be like. Perhaps some second thoughts about precious water being used to bring up petroleum products?

See you opening night!