When associate professor of theatre Cason Murphy talks about Urinetown: The Musical, his enthusiasm fills the room, much like the musical’s over-the-top humor fills the stage.
Set in a dystopian future where a corporation controls public toilets amid a decades-long drought, Urinetown ridicules capitalism, regulation and environmental collapse.
“I’ve always had an affinity for the show,” Murphy said. “But I’ve never quite understood it. I wondered if directing it might allow me to better understand it”.
This fall, Murphy gets that chance. Iowa State University’s Department of Music and Theatre is bringing the satirical musical Urinetown to Fisher Theater under Murphy’s direction. It’s set to be equal parts hilarious and thought-provoking.
Murphy first performed in Urinetown back in 2008, early in his theatre career. Revisiting the show 17 years later, he finds it newly relevant.
“As I watched the news this summer, the lawn watering bans, the nitrate pollution in Iowa’s waterways, I realized this is the perfect moment to direct this show,” Murphy said.
“It’s funny and absurd, but hits close to home,” Murphy said. “It’s a story written 20 years ago that somehow feels like it’s creeping closer to our reality.”
Despite its heavy themes, Murphy insists that Urinetown is not a lecture; it’s a comedy.
“It’s a political musical, but at heart it’s satire,” Murphy said. “It makes fun of everything it puts on stage. Nobody escapes unscathed.”
As both a director and professor, Murphy sees every production as an extension of the classroom.
“My goal is to make myself obsolete by opening night,” Murphy said. “If I’ve done my job, the cast and crew take full ownership of the show.”
This semester, Urinetown features a 35-member cast and extensive student involvement in directing, design and stage management.
“Our undergrads get opportunities here that they wouldn’t at bigger programs,” Murphy said. “They’re learning by doing and leaving fingerprints all over the production.”
Ultimately, Murphy hopes the production will entertain and provoke reflection.
The ending is also designed to leave audiences questioning.
“I want people to leave a little conflicted,” Murphy said. “To say, ‘That was hilarious… but I don’t know how to feel about it.’ That’s when I know the show worked.”
Whether he’s lecturing in his musical theatre history class or leading 35 students through complex stage pictures, Murphy approaches both roles the same way: storytelling.
“Teaching and directing are both live events,” Murphy said, “You plan, but you respond to the energy in the room. You find ways to surprise people, to keep them awake and alive.”
“I just want them to walk away with something that sticks,” Murphy said. “Maybe they won’t realize it right away, but someday they’ll look back and say, ‘That reminds me of Urinetown.’ That’s the kind of legacy I want.”
Urinetown: The Musical, will be shown at Fisher Theater, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Adults $25; youth and ISU students are free. Tickets may be purchased in person (including free ISU student tickets) at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free tickets are not available to reserve anywhere else.
