Essay Front Attachment
Type of Performance: Comedy Musical/Satirical Plat
Site of Performance: West Valley College Theatre (WVC)
Time and Length of Performance: 1 hour
Proof: (Weatvalley.edu)
The event attended was the play ‘Urinetown’ held at West Valley College theater hall. The play was satirical based presenting themes of legal system incompetence and capitalism in the world. The key messages delivered focused on exposing the ridiculous state of government affairs and the authorities’ incompetence. The imagery was used in the visual presentation as well as characters dialogue and audio visualization descriptions. The setting was a town which had been struck by a drought for a very prolonged period. The scarcity of resources led to monopolistic domination by one single corporation. The corporation exploits the people, and a hero rose to fight the evil on the people’s behalf. The time setting is contemporary times.
The ‘Urinetown’ performance was presented as a musical comedy and satirical play, making it diverse and interactive. The play was presented in an empathetic and candid fashion, bringing forth several thematic concerns. The most prominent ones were selfishness and revolution. Greed is seen in the selfish and monopolistic exploitation of the locals taking advantage of their unfortunate situation. The regime only cares about making profits, and does not have any care for the oppressed and desperate locals.
The 20-year drought in the unfortunate town renders basic amenities unavailable and unbearable. Toilets, for example, are affected by the lack of water making them very dirty and unusable. Citizens are then forced to pay exorbitant fees which cause a lot of financial strain on the locals. Consistent choreography directed by Carol Abohatab provided expressive emotions and mood which showed the state of the people. Other issues brought to fore by the musical and play combination were populism, mismanagement of corporate, social responsibility and irresponsibility. Also, capitalism, municipal politics and the legal structures in society today are explored and satirized.
The message set across in the events verisimilitude is the necessity of reaction and action when corruption and greed interfere with life. Carol Fischer, the director, aimed at sending a message which promotes consciousness and awareness of one’s rights. The eventuality of the musical play leads to the eventual fruitful regaining of control of the town from the corrupt regime. When the pressure becomes too much, reaction comes from the pitiable people. As expected, the pressure becomes too much, and a hero rises from the oppressed masses. The course for revolution is then set.
The hero emancipates the people and leads a revolution against the tyrannical leadership. There was a vivid description of the situation of the people in the play. The musical ‘Cop Song’ performed by the police forces explain how Urinetown reduced even the toughest character to weak and diminished shadows. The system thrives by having such vivid, exaggerated urban legends spread around town. The play was able to represent the absurdities and ironical state of the affairs in the society through characterization and plotting twists. Such critically helped in the storyline progression.
The word choice was carefully selected to elicit emotions which encapsulated the revolutionary mood. A sample of the words from the characters such as “from every hillring out the people’s anthem” represent the impact of the word choice. The call for revolution’s urgency and intensity is well presented in these words. There is a ring of inclusivity, unity and summative call for action. Another sample is “It is time to learn the secret of Urinetown”. The words are uttered on stage in a loud, guttural and bold voice tone. The utterance and tone made equip the words with the right delivery to convey the finality and desperate urgency of the locals.
The people were then able to face the corrupt Officer Lockstock with the empowerment of self and external speech motivation. The naming of the characters was also another critical word choice element that presented various thematic concerns. Aptronym is used conveniently to reflect the traits of characters in Urinetown. The hero of the play, Bobby Strong has a name that reflects his character and role of hero (Strong). The daughter of Strong’s protagonist also has a name that alludes to her role and impact in the play. Named, Hope Cladwell, she joins Strong in his bid for revolutionary changes. She is also in love with strong showing the compatibility of strength and hope (Hope and Strong).
The imagery was well applied in the characterization and setting representation. Characters such as Hot Blades Harry were clad in dark and gothic costumes. The weapon wielding character portrayal of Hot Blades Harry brought out the character and imagery of the dangerous rebel. Billy Boy and Robby the Stockfish were clad in tattered and low-quality garments. The costuming with the clothes helped to show the audience the oppressed and poor state of the two characters. The overall Urintown’s poverty state is then represented in the stage performance. The poor and oppressed citizens such as Tiny Tom moved in reluctant, slow and labored movements. There was a certain degree of lethargy in the economically oppressed characters as opposed to the corporate and rich honchos. Mrs. Millenium and Dr. Billeaux are dressed in affluent garments and are ferried by classy rides and entourages. Other Aptronyms apart from Strong and Hope are Penelope Pennywise, a money scrounging, and cunning cheapstake.
Works Cited
