When the bizarrely titled Walmartopia became one of the few must-see hits of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival, haters of Wal-Mart and lovers of musical theater at last had something in common, thus repairing a breach in modern culture. Also taking note, apparently, were commercial producers, who have taken and freshly retooled Walmartopia, now to cash in on the show’s popularity and the utter goofiness of its idea.
Vicki Latrell, the central character, is a single mom and a Wal-Mart employee—or, as some would call her, victim. Unlike Wal-Mart, which artfully aims to cover up its wanton loathing of its employees by giving them just enough benefits to quiet them down but far from enough benefits to make them feel human, Latrell is no longer interested in dancing the corporate Kabuki. She speaks out against working conditions and, like Norma Rae in the $1.99 summer-sandal aisle, demands what Wal-Mart fears most: change.
She and her young daughter are then transported to the year 2037—and the only way to find out how that happens is to join the union label and buy a ticket for the show. All we’ll tell you is that in a terrifying dystopia in which Wal-Mart is literally dominating the entire world, Vicki meets the single most terrifying, Orwellian thing you can imagine: the disembodied head of the late Sam Walton, Wal-Mart’s founder. All else is a shopping—and musical—extravaganza.
Walmartopia is the dotty brainchild of two former Wisconsin citizens, book writer Catherine Capellaro and composer-lyricist Andrew Rohn. The story of how they moved from the land of milk to milk and honey could probably, we hear, fill another musical.
The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (betw. 6th Ave. & MacDougal St.), 212-307-4100; $45/$65.
Vicki Latrell, the central character, is a single mom and a Wal-Mart employee—or, as some would call her, victim. Unlike Wal-Mart, which artfully aims to cover up its wanton loathing of its employees by giving them just enough benefits to quiet them down but far from enough benefits to make them feel human, Latrell is no longer interested in dancing the corporate Kabuki. She speaks out against working conditions and, like Norma Rae in the $1.99 summer-sandal aisle, demands what Wal-Mart fears most: change.
She and her young daughter are then transported to the year 2037—and the only way to find out how that happens is to join the union label and buy a ticket for the show. All we’ll tell you is that in a terrifying dystopia in which Wal-Mart is literally dominating the entire world, Vicki meets the single most terrifying, Orwellian thing you can imagine: the disembodied head of the late Sam Walton, Wal-Mart’s founder. All else is a shopping—and musical—extravaganza.
Walmartopia is the dotty brainchild of two former Wisconsin citizens, book writer Catherine Capellaro and composer-lyricist Andrew Rohn. The story of how they moved from the land of milk to milk and honey could probably, we hear, fill another musical.
The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (betw. 6th Ave. & MacDougal St.), 212-307-4100; $45/$65.
