Denison University's Singer's Theatre Workshop, an ensemble of students who perform musical theatre works, will perform "Urinetown," a comic musical tale of love, greed and revolution, for its spring concert. The ensemble will perform twice, once at 8 p.m. on Saturday (April 29) and again at 3 p.m. on Sunday (April 30), both in Burke Recital Hall. The program is directed by Belinda Andrews-Smith and conducted by Kevin Wines. The music and lyrics for "Urinetown" are written by Mark Hollman, with the book and lyrics by Greg Kotis. Admission is free and open to the public.

Winner of three 2002 Tony Awards, "Urinetown" is set in a town plagued by a 20-year drought that has prohibited the existence of private toilets. The town's public toilets are controlled by a greedy corporation that makes the underprivileged citizens pay a fee to carry out their "private business." This injustice inspires a hero to lead his fellow citizens against this corrupt corporation, but things do not turn out as planned. Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, "Urinetown" also pokes fun at many traditional elements of the great American musical.

Andrews-Smith is the coordinator for the vocal studies department at Denison and earned her bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Bowling Green State University, with her master's and doctoral degrees at the Ohio State University. In addition to teaching, Andrews-Smith maintains an active opera career and has performed with Opera Columbus and the former Columbus Light Opera.

Lead roles played by Denison students include Bobby, the hero, played by Ben Jacoby '09 (Maplewood, N.J.); Hope, the heroine, played by Kristin Cox '07 (Traverse City, Mich.); Officer Longstock, the narrator, played by Marten Carlson '06 (Franklin, Indy.); and Caldwell Cladwell, the villain, played by Jesse Koza '07 (Lancaster).

Other Denison students performing include: seniors Michael Goldsberry (St. Louisville), Caitlin McCown (Beloit, Wis.), Emily Meagher (Evansville, Ind.), and Mary Sheridan (Troy); juniors Natalie Berndsen (Columbus), Christopher Carr (Weymouth, Mass.), Julie Rogers (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Lauren Schwartz (Hilliard), and Christian Vernon (Matthews, N.C.); sophomores Katie Knisely (Loveland) and Matt Coon (Bryan); and freshmen Megan Ansbro (Conneaut), Davis Bourland (Columbus), Charlie Fear (Bath, Maine), Stephen Geering (Mason), Raymond Havey (Wilmington), Jake Henkle (Sedalia), Taryn Hicks (Newark), Robin Kamin (Rockford, Ill.), Brynn Lewallen (Centennial), Stephanie Sferra (Toledo), Sam Smith (Hudson), Jordan Wolff (Medina) and Evan Zuzik (Canfield).

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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