Urinetown, The Musical, the oddest sounding musical to have ever opened on Broadway, makes its international debut in Manila through Atlantis Productions on December 5.
The musical has been hailed by The New York Times as "extraordinary, hilarious and entirely original… simply the most galvanizing theater experience in town." Fresh, witty and endlessly entertaining – Urinetown is the perfect musical to take the entire family to over the holiday season.
Featured in the cast of this Tony Award winning show are rock icons who has been bitten by the theater bug, Jett Pangan as Officer Lockstock; Miss Saigon and The Who’s Tommy veteran Jinky Llamanzares as Pennywise; theater veterans Noel Rayos and Cathy Azanza as lovebirds Bobby Strong and Hople Cladwell; theater actress Pheona Baranda as Little Sally and award winning actor/director Michael de Mesa as Caldwell B. Cladwell.
It is a simple story of a boy and a girl who fall in love in a city in the middle of a water shortage. Urinetown, The Musical is directed by Bobby Garcia, choreography is by Val Trono, lighting design by Gerry Fernandez, and musical direction by ManMan Angsico.
I asked the cast members what they read while in the bathroom. Here’s what they had to say:
JETT PANGAN: Maxim, Stuff, Buy and Sell, Questionnaires, FHM, CD Inlays, car magazines, guitar magazines.
MICHAEL DE MESA: Newspapers and magazines mostly. Sometimes when a book is really engrossing, I take it everywhere. I also check my bills, while in the bathroom.
JINKY LLAMANZARES: Aside from newspapers and magazines, I check out the labels and instructions on bottles of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste…
NOEL RAYOS: FHM, various aquarium magazines, and the major dailies.
CATHY AZANZA: I’m not one to take literature to the bathroom. But since I’m a skincare product nut I take to reading the labels on all the stuff I have at home – and wonder if they really work!
PHEONA BARANDA : Most of the time, I concentrate on surrendering myself to the call of nature. So, no reading takes place. Just quiet moans of relief. But reading my text messages is always an option.
Urinetown, The Musical runs from December 5 to 21 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. For tickets, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or Ticket World at 891-5610.
The Reading Club also recommends IN StYLE. This month’s issue has helpful tips on the perfect pair of trousers.