Holgate, Noll, Hewitt Headline Urinetown Tour; Floodgates Open June 24 in San Fran
By Kenneth Jones
10 Jun 2003
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Tom Hewitt in rehearsal for Urinetown, the Musical.
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| photo by Joan Marcus | Tony Award-winner Ron Holgate is Caldwell B. Cladwell, Tom Hewitt is Lockstock, Christiane Noll is Hope and Charlie Pollock is Bobby in the new national tour of Urinetown.
The tour, which also spotlights Beth McVey as Miss Pennywise and Meghan Strange as Little Sally, launches June 24-July 27 in a regional theatre setting — San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre — before traveling the country, spreading the satiric tale of a drought-stricken city where water usage is controlled by an evil corporation.
Opening is July 1. This marks the West Coast premiere of the Broadway show, which many consider the funniest musical comedy this side of The Producers.
Hewitt might be best known as Frank N Furter from the recent Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show (for which he was Tony-nominated). He takes on the role of the oily narrator of Urinetown, Officer Lockstock.
The musical won three major Tony Awards in 2002: Best Book (Greg Kotis), Best Score (Kotis and Mark Hollmann) and Best Direction of a Musical (John Rando).
Holgate often cuts an elegant figure in shows, and he'll be "clad well" again. He won the Tony for playing American patriot Richard Henry Lee in the musical, 1776. His credits include Lend Me a Tenor and the recent Annie Get Your Gun.
Noll starred as Emma in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Pollock comes from Broadway's Urinetown, where he played rebel Bobby Strong after original star Hunter Foster left for Little Shop of Horrors.
McVey was a member of the original companies of The Phantom of the Opera and 42nd Street.
The company also includes Katie Adams (Soupy Sue), Anne Allgood (Josephine Strong), Jim Corti (Old Man Strong/Hot Blades Harry), Frank Holmes (Billy Boy Bill), Todd A. Horman (Robbie the Stockfish), Dennis Kelly (Senator Fipp), Jamie Laverdiere (Mr. McQueen), Richard Ruiz (Officer Barrel) Sheri Sanders (Little Becky Two Shoes/Mrs. Millenium), Meghan Strange (Little Sally) and Christopher Youngsman (Dr. Billeaux).
Reprising their Broadway chores, John Rando directs, John Carrafa choreographs and the Broadway design team remain intact: Scott Pask (sets), Gregory A. Gale and Jonathan Bixby (costumes) and Brian MacDevitt (lighting).
Tour stops following ACT's production include Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland.
The national tour of Urinetown, The Musical, is made possible in part by producers The Araca Group and Dodger Stage Holding with TheatreDreams, Lauren Mitchell, and American Conservatory Theater.
The darkly satiric musical with the most unlikely title on Broadway was first seen in 1999 at the New York International Fringe Festival, where commercial producers plucked it up and the writers refined it toward an Off Broadway run in summer 2001, and then to a Broadway move in September 2001.
The staging continues at Broadway's Henry Miller Theatre, with TV star Tom Cavanagh starring as Bobby.
The show is currently being developed for the movies by The Araca Group and Killer Films.
Tickets for Urinetown, The Musical at ACT range $16-$66 and can be purchased at the Geary Theater Box Office, located at 405 Geary Street. Call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act sf.org.
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The ACT run is made possible in part by executive producers Deedee and Burt McMurtry and Producers Barbara and Gerson Bakar, Mort and Frannie Fleishhacker, Robert and Susan Green, Heather M. Kitchen, J. Sanford and Constance Miller, Jackie and Howard Nemerovski, Chuck Raben, and Russ Selinger.
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