The Kelly Critics is a joint program of the Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh CLO in which students of high schools entered in this year's Gene Kelly Awards review other school's musicals.

Pittsburgh Perry High School successfully presented "Urinetown: The Musical," March 28-April 6, in the Perry auditorium. In spite of its odd name and even odder subject matter, the original Broadway cast won three Tony awards and countless other awards. Having seen the original Broadway cast of Urinetown in 2001, I wondered how a high school could handle such difficult material. The answer is: they did it differently, and did it well.

As presented by Perry, "Urinetown" was an ensemble piece, and the entire cast worked to the show's benefit. They really pulled it off. It didn't hurt having some great leads, including Paul Victor (Bobby Strong), Layana Biglow (Penelope Pennywise), and Matt Dorman (Caldwell B. Cladwell). Victor was an effective and believable leading man. He made me cheer and cry in all the right places; his voice had the right timbre to handle the score. Unbelievably, this was Layana Biglow's first time on stage. She evidenced no timidity and her voice was strong throughout. Matt Dorman, playing Cladwell, was particularly smarmy, making me believe his character. His "Snidely Whiplash" characterization made me want to hiss whenever he came on stage.

It was extremely impressive that students took multiple roles within cast, crew, and production team. Of note, Victor not only played the lead, he was also the student choreographer, and Claire Grabowski not only played Officer Barrel but was also costume mistress. Other cast members also played key roles in the production team.

Another character of note was Hot Blades Harry, played by Gerri Viloria. He danced onstage on rollerblades. He made it look so easy. Not only did he jump and dance across the stage in his blades, but he did it in such a way that he didn't upstage the rest of the cast. Such ensemble work is to be complemented.

The physical set was well done and accessible to the audience. The lighting was overly dim at times, but overall it was effective. On the night I attended, the sound was less than optimal and at times detracted from the show. (I saw it at the beginning of its run, so I'm sure this was fixed.)

The orchestra, consisting of seven students led by student music directors Julie Cosentino and Alec Chapman, was conducted by Rick Lane. It played extremely well, especially considering it's a tough score to play --and at times to listen to.

The cast was successful in making me believe their story. Though it is disturbing, the cast's great chemistry and energy kept the audience engrossed through to the very end.