It’s the musical with the ickiest name ever: “Urinetown.” That’s a pun, of course: You’re in town. Get it?
Still icky. That’s the point. “Urinetown” is about as sharp and wicked as satire gets. Set in a future that’s not nearly as distant and improbable as you’d like to think, the play involves the fight for a basic human right: the right to pee freely.
People have lost that right in “Urinetown,” where a 20-year drought, oppressive laws and an evil corporation have made it, as one song says, “A Privilege to Pee.” Let flow without coughing up some dough, and you’re shipped off to a penal colony.
This is the stuff of revolution, of course, as the huddled and extremely bladderful masses launch a rebellion, take hostages, suffer losses and discover the serious meaning behind the title pun.
That icky town? You’re already there.
All of which may seem like awfully strong stuff for high school actors, not to mention their wary parents and doting grandparents. If a critique of everything Americans hold dear — capitalism, corporations, mob justice, “infinite” natural resources — sounds a little too icky for you, don’t get pissed. A wide variety of great performances, the vast majority of them by students, will shine on Clark County stages in upcoming weeks. This is your big chance to check out our new crop of young thespians as they take on everything from Cole Porter to William Shakespeare and cutting-edge drama to classic musical comedy.
There’s even an original twist on a current movie musical: A nonmusical version of “Beauty and the Beast,” written and directed by Hudson’s Bay High School junior Caitlyn Hansen.
SPRING THEATER PRODUCTIONS
Heritage High School
• What: “Much Ado About Nothing,” by William Shakespeare.
• When: 7 p.m. April 20-22.
• Where: 7825 N.E. 130th Ave., Vancouver.
• Tickets: $10, $5 for children under 12.
Cedar Tree Classical Christian School
• What: “Anne of Green Gables,” by L.M. Montgomery, adapted by Sylvia Ashby.
• When: 6:30 p.m. April 21-22; 2 p.m. April 22.
• Where: Manor Grange, 17901 N.E. 72nd Ave., Battle Ground.
• Tickets: $8.
Battle Ground High School
• What: “The Addams Family” by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.
• When: 7 p.m. April 27-29, May 3-5.
• Where: 300 Main St., Battle Ground.
• Tickets: $10; $7 for students and seniors.
Firm Foundation Christian School
• What: Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” by Lindsay Price.
• When: 7 p.m. April 28-29.
• Where: 1919 S.W. 25th Ave., Battle Ground.
• Tickets: $7; $5 for students.
Ridgefield High School
• What: “Urinetown” by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis.
• When: 7 p.m. May 4-6, 11-13; 2 p.m. May 6, 13.
• Where: 2630 S. Hillhurst Road, Ridgefield.
• Tickets: $10; $7 for students and seniors.
Love Street Playhouse
• What: “Leaving Iowa” by Tim Clue and Spike Manton.
• When: 7:30 p.m. May 5-6, 12-13, 18-20; 2 p.m. May 7, 14, 21.
• Where: 126 Loves Ave., Woodland.
• Tickets: $17-$20
Hudsons Bay High School
• What: An original, nonmusical version of “Beauty and the Beast,” written and directed by theater student Caitlyn Hansen.
• When: 7 p.m. May 5-6, 12-13.
• Where: 1601 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancouver.
• Tickets: $5; free for students and seniors.
Clark College
• What: “Stop Kiss” by Diana Son.
• When: 7:30 p.m. May 12, 13, 18-20.
• Where: Frost Arts Center, Decker Theater, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.
• Tickets: $13; $11 for seniors; $9 for students and alumni.
La Center High School
• What: “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder.
• When: 7 p.m. May 18-20.
• Where: 725 Highland Road, La Center.
• Tickets: $5.
Mountain View High School
• What: “Anything Goes,” by Cole Porter.
• When: 7 p.m. May 18-20, 25-27; 1 p.m. May 20.
• Where: 1500 S.E. Blairmont Drive, Vancouver.
• Tickets: $10; $8 for students, seniors, children under 12.