I was supposed to see Urinetown on the Friday but due to cast illness the show had to be rescheduled. After limited hours of rehearsals, they returned on the Saturday morning with Daniel Walford taking on the role of Penelope Pennywise and making it his own. The cast and crew remained very professional despite the setback and given the limited time to re-block and learn lines, returned with a near perfect performance.
The venue, Brighton Little Theatre, was small and intimate which contrasted the huge, comic characters. From witty narrators, Little Sally (Elsie Lovelock) and Officer Lovestock (Tony Blight) to the loved-up couple of the show Bobby Strong, played by Ollie Wray, and Ellie Earl as Hope Cladwell.
As an ensemble, the cast worked well together, performing exciting dance routines, and singing almost professionally whilst still being in character. The choreography, by Katy Markey, was humorous when it should be and really tied the story together.
The best way to judge a show is how did the audience respond and the audience were left laughing and discussing the quality of the performance. I heard a lot of praise specifically directed towards Daniel Walford for stepping up to a whole new role and to the sheer professionalism of the cast. There was also discussion around how the cast and crew took such a small venue and utilised every bit of space.
My only criticism would be that occasionally there needed to be more projection vocally and some actors were hidden in some of the sets, although this was not a frequent occurrence. However, as a whole the performance was funny and quirky and I think that is what so many enjoyed the most about it.
A musical about pee sounds like my kind of show :D