Fringe Q&As: Urinetown's Joel Schaefer on rebellion and why he loves Kevin Bridges

Urinetown is a weird little gem of a show with a terrible title that is at once farcical, but incredibly topical, and relevant. It’s very much a pastiche, paying homage to, and making fun of so many tropes of theatre and musical theatre. It’s got everything from Fiddler on the Roof to Les Mis. It’s completely hilarious, and incredibly witty, but at the same time, it’s a biting political satire and commentary. It’s set in a dystopian future, where society has run out of water almost entirely. Because of this, a company, Urine Good Company, whose CEO, Cladwell B Cladwell sets up a system whereby it is illegal to urinate, or perform bodily functions at all unless it is in a public amenity (a public bathroom). The punishment for disobeying these harsh laws is being sent to a mythical place called Urinetown, a place you’ll hear a lot about, but won’t see until the second act.

As you can imagine, having to pay to pee, especially for the poor, is not exactly ideal, so the seeds of rebellion are planted by a young man named Bobby Strong, who, along the way, fights with Cladwell B Cladwell, and meets a young girl named Hope. But all is not as it may seem, and sometimes the greatest consequences are not the ones you would expect. What is Urinetown? Will the rebellion prevail? Will Bobby win Hope’s heart? Will Old Man Strong ever get to pee? I guess you’ll have to come to find out.

How does it feel to be playing the Fringe for the first time?

It’s incredibly exciting to be in a fringe at all, let alone the biggest one in the world! I’ve had the opportunity to see a couple of fringes in my home country of Canada, and have been in awe of how the performers perform often several times a day, with no days off, and still find the energy to kill it every day! I’ve always wanted the opportunity to perform in a fringe, and the fact that I get to do so in what is without a shadow of a doubt the best, most exciting, biggest fringefestival in the world is exhilarating!

Best live act seen at Fringe?

The best live act I’ve ever seen at Fringe was called Hugh and I, a musical written about the life of Hugh Hefner. I had no idea what the show was about, and then I quickly realized. But the songs were quite good, the cast was absolutely top notch, and it was so weird and wonderful at the same time. That’s why I think Fringe is so awesome, because it gives opportunities to such strange things as a musical about Hugh Hefner. Because why not?

Best thing about the Fringe?

The best thing about the fringe is having absolutely no idea what you’re going into. You show up one day, and you could see a show about anything. All you need is something to catch your eye, and you’re watching something you absolutely never would have expected.

Worst thing about the Fringe?

I think the worst thing about the fringe is a double edged sword: the crowds. It’s really amazing to see so many people excited about theatre, and doing and seeing so many cool things, but at the same time, if I wanted to bump into a bunch of sweaty strangers, I would be in a sauna. Or more likely, I would put all of the other people in a sauna, and then go see shows by myself!

If you were not a performer/comedian what would you be doing?

It’s kind of cheating, but if I weren’t a performer, I’d be performing in a different way, I’d be a preschool teacher. My job is to make kids happy, colour, and act like a doofus all day. Like I guess, if you’re going to force me…Of course I want to make a good of myself in front of three year olds! That’s the dream!

What do your family think of your show?

When my family first heard the name of our show, they thought I said “You’re In Town”, so they thought that it would be funny to make the joke that our show was called Urinetown, like, “Haha, that’s funny, your show sounds like pee town, that’s such an unfortunate name!”. So I then had to tell them, that, no in fact, it is called Urinetown, and yes, I am doing a show entirely about peeing. So after they had a good laugh at that, they’ve heard some of the music, and they really enjoy what they know so far! But of course, they still think that it’s hilarious that I’m doing a show that is only about pee.

How do you combat pre-gig nerves?

I’m very lucky, in that I don’t get nervous until 2 minutes before I have to go onstage. Of course, then all of the nerves that everyone else has been feeling over the course of the day happen to me at once, but as soon as I step onstage, they’re gone. All I can do is have a drink of water, trust that I’ve done my work, convince myself that I don’t actually have to go pee, and then go out there and just have fun!

Worst on stage experience?

The worst thing that’s happened to me onstage is one time, I was just about to enter, and the lights went off. They just stopped being on. Everything went really black. But as the saying goes, the show must go on! But it’s a lot more difficult to continue when you have to climb a bunch of blocks, and then do a really intimate scene with someone. It wasn’t a matter of the light operator falling asleep or something, the lighting board crashed, so we were just performing a musical in the dark. Luckily, the lights came back on fairly quickly, but it’s not ideal to be doing an intimate scene when you think the person is right in front of you, but when the lights come back on, you realize they’re five feet ahead of you and you aren’t even facing them!

How do you recover from a hefty heckle? Do you have a set of stock replies?

You know, normally, my tactic is to just ignore it, and push through, but this time it’s very exciting because, not only am I playing a police officer, but I’m the narrator, so I can do whatever I want. So if someone feels like heckling me, that’s fine, as long as they realize that I will take out my baton and just lightly bludgeon them!

What do you love about Scotland?

What I love about Scotland is the history. Where I come from, you’re lucky to find a building that’s 30 years old. Here, it isn’t rare to find one that’s 300 years old. That’s older than my country. That’s just absolutely incredible to me, it’s almost unfathomable. And the Scottish people are so in tune with their history, and have so much pride in their identities as Scots, I think that’s just amazing!

What do you like about Edinburgh?

The castle. Like do I have to say more? It has a literal castle. That I can go into. Edinburgh wins life!

What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?

The most Scottish thing I’ve done is without a doubt dancing on the stage of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, in a shirt with a deer on it, in a kilt, to the song Loch Lomond, accompanied by a bagpipe, while the lights were making a humungous Scottish flag right behind me. I’d say that’s just a little Scottish.

Who’s your favourite Scottish comedian?

I mean, I gotta go with the classic, Kevin Bridges!

Favourite joke?

This one’s a little unorthodox, but I like it!

A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She says she's going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank; she has the title, and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there. Two weeks later, the blonde returns and repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely; but we are a little puzzled. We checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is - why would you bother to borrow $5,000?" The blond replies....."Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”

Either that, or:

A man walks into a bar. Ouch.

Urinetown: the musical will be performed at the Assembly Hall from August 6-16, 18-23 and 25-31.