This week, justArts spoke with Caitlin Crane-Moscowitz ’20, who played Hope Cladwell in Tympanium Euphorium’s production of “Urinetown” this past weekend.

justArts: How did you react when you found out you had gotten one of the lead parts in the show?

Caitlin Crane-Moscowitz: It’s kind of a funny story. So, Derek [Scullin ’18], who played Bobby, sent me a text that [said], “So excited to work with you!” and I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Basically, he was like, “Oh, you got Hope!” And so I tried calling my parents, because I was overwhelmed, and they didn’t answer, but I was crying, I was so happy! It was early in the school year, and I was very overwhelmed with college at the time, and it was exciting. I was happy, and nervous too, but very happy!

JA: What’s been your favorite part of being in “Urinetown?”

CCM: I think the most rewarding thing is when you have a funny line or something, and the audience laughs at it, because you lose track of what’s funny and what’s not. Just things you never thought were funny or things you thought had lost the humor still being funny for people who haven’t seen it — that’s definitely the most rewarding thing — and Hope’s a comedic role, so it was really fun!

JA: What was the hardest part of your role?

CCM: This last week alone — in tech, we changed a lot of Hope’s motivations, and even characteristics. Especially [at] the end, when she has a speech about a new age of Hope — it’s a time when some morale is low. So, that was tricky, and then the character becoming this new optimistic figure just became a challenge in itself, and gradually it worked itself out with time, and that was definitely the most challenging moment of the whole process.

JA: If you had to do it all over again, is there anything you would do differently?

CCM: Start memorizing my lines earlier! I feel like that’s the most obvious thing of all!

JA: What was your favorite scene to act out?

CCM: I love Act 2 — the whole beginning of Act 2, when I don’t do anything at all — being tied to the chair and gagged, because you feel like, as an actress, there’s so little you can be doing, but you get to figure out these little things, like facial expressions you can make. That was by far the most fun, and then they lifted me in a chair, which is crazy! It’s such a little event in the show, but it was so much fun!

JA: Do you feel like you’ve gained anything valuable from playing Hope?

CCM: Definitely. So, I came into this role thinking I really could not do it, because it’s a very high soprano part, which is not something I’ve ever done. So, with a lot of encouragement from Gabe [Walker ’19], our director and Jason [Teng ’17], our music director, and even Rachael [Schindler ’19], our choreographer — I just gained a lot of confidence in my ability to sing that range, and it was really rewarding.

—Lizzie Grossman