About the Production

Urinetown, the musical, was Sod House Theater’s first co-produced theater event in which our group of professional actors developed a production from start to finish with a community theater in greater Minnesota. The performance was directed by the Artistic Director of the Lake Benton Opera House, Mark Wilmes.  With a cast and crew of over 50 actors, musicians, technicians and volunteers we performed the show 10 times to a near capacity house. As part of the 5 week residency, Sod House Theater professionals led acting, singing and dance workshops for the Lake Benton community in which some of the participants traveled over 50 miles to participate.   

Why this Subject Matter is Important:

Urinetown was selected because the play's theme of water scarcity illuminated the water issues facing our state, especially in Southwestern Minnesota where lakes are receding and ground water is vanishing. In a January 18th article in the Star Tribune, bold headlines were used to quote Governor Mark Dayton who echoes the words of the lead character Bobby from Urinetown, "Water belongs to all of us." 

The project was also unique because of the lack of accessible theater training in the Lake Benton area. Lake Benton is 185 miles from the closest Minnesota professional theater.  A crucial question that drove the project was, ‘how can we use a popular form of theater to ignite education around essential environmental issues that face our world today and ultimately inspire audiences to get involved and make a difference?’  This partnership provided a rare opportunity for community actors to train and perform with professional actors, singers and choreographers and helped to address the recent tension cited in the Minneapolis Star Tribune between urban and greater Minnesota, with urban districts receiving the lion's share of the resources provided by the state. Urinetown was designed to address Lake Benton Opera House’s organizational and community goals by providing an extended arts learning experience to community participants.

Production Staff

Mark Wilmes, Stacey Voit, David DeBliek, Sonya Karels, Pauly Schramm, Josh Reese, Cameron Nelson, Sariah Cheadle, Elise Meseck, Nate Gates, Elise Meseck, Jana Votava, Jared Zeigler, Sandy Hanson, Anika Finzen, Mark Wilmes, Anne Lichtsinn

Actors

Jeremy Wilhelm, Sara Richardson, Marissa Condon, Joseph Cheadle, Aubree Cheadle, Luverne Seifert, Eukariah Tabakah, Noah Tiegs, Darcey Engen, Lauren Dopp, David DeBliek, Joseph Dagel, Cameron Nelson, Shania Deutz, Andrea Caron, Alexis Christenson, Josh Reese, Sariah Cheadle, Annilia Nichols, Sabel Christenson, Channa McCurdy, Sandy Hanson, Liz Voit, Sean Roelfsema-Hummel, Jocelyn Klein, Mary Sue Porter, Morgan Benson, Graham Peterson

Musicians

Stacy Voit, John Ginocchio, Ross Anderson, Jim Tabaka, Steven Leek