Over the past month, we at Official London Theatre feel we’ve been enlightened about the Urinetown The Musical rehearsal experience. Through Jenna Russell’s weekly insights we’ve learned about becoming a revolve pro, we’ve got our heads round line learning and grappled with creating a Brooklyn twang. In the office, we now all ask for ‘woiffee’ when someone’s doing a tea round.
Above all, what’s shone through in Russell’s accounts of creating the show is the sense of fun and enjoyment in the rehearsal room run by director Jamie Lloyd.
Now, thanks to Johan Persson’s images, we get to see the cast, include Russell, Richard Fleeshman, Mark Elliott, Jonathan Slinger and Simon Paisley Day, in the rehearsal room.
Urinetown The Musical, which begins previews at the St James Theatre this weekend, tells the story of a futuristic city decimated by drought where private toilets are a pipe dream. This dry metropolis is ruled by Caldwell B Cladwell, a tycoon who has made millions monopolising public toilets. Anyone peeing without permission faces punishment in the form of a one-way trip to Urinetown, from whence no-one ever returns.