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Some peeved over Chesterfield high school ‘Urinetown’ production

Posted at 6:36 PM, Dec 04, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-05 06:42:43-05

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- A high school production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Urinetown" is causing a bit of a brouhaha in Chesterfield County.

In fact, the plywood sign outside Manchester High School advertising the school's upcoming performance has caused more than one person to do a double take.

"I just saw it, read it, I had to look twice at it," Alex Souza said.

For several years, the high school has also used the corner lot on Hull Street near a convenience store as a way to alert drivers to their upcoming performances. But when "Urinetown" was painted on the wood, it was just too much for some customers. As a result, the sign was removed.

Meanwhile, there was a much different reaction to the show in the neighborhood across from the high school.

"He came home one day and said, 'Mom, there's this play called Urinetown,'" said Regina Carr-Goodwin, whose son attends the school. "I said, 'Wow, Urinetown? What's that about?'"

Carr-Goodwin said her son explained that the show was a satirical musical about a town dealing with a water shortage which drills down on capitalism, conservation, municipal politics, mega corporations and the legal system. She said all that sounded interesting and that she planned to see the show.

The play's offbeat name has piqued the interest of others.

"It's intrigued me and I'm trying to see if I can maybe go see it," Ellen Polyak said.

This is not the first time Chesterfield County Schools has performed the musical, which took home three Tony Awards in 2002.

The play runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting at 7 p.m. Click here for more about the show.