Walmartopia Returns for One Night Sendoff Show in August

Walmartopia is not over yet. The musical -- about a struggling Wal-Mart employee jolted into a Wal-Mart controlled, Big Brother-type future -- enjoyed so much local acclaim it broke Mercury Players Theatre's box office records. In August Walmartopia will even go national at the New York International Fringe Festival. We sat down with the musical's creators, Catherine Capellaro and Andrew Rohn, to ask about Walmartopia's success, their future plans, and if Wal-Mart might come after them.

Madison Magazine: Why do you think Walmartopia was so successful?

Catherine Capellaro: Everyone we know has suffered through some kind of indignity at a job. Wal-Mart is kind of the epitome of that in the way they treat their workers. It really focuses on one person, Vicki, who struggles to rise up through the ranks. She's facing the same thing a lot of women are there, with the sex discrimination lawsuits. Also, Andrew's music is very fun and entertaining, so it's got all the elements that you want for a fun musical but it also covers a real topic that's happening right now.

MM: You've obviously received a lot of positive feedback. Has there been any praise that stood out to you?

CC: Personally, I really like hearing when the show changes somebody's mind. I like hearing that people are rethinking the place that they want to put their money. Especially if they start to get the idea that maybe supporting a local business or a downtown retailer might be a better choice. I also love it when I hear people say, "I hate musicals but I love yours!"

Andrew Rohn: I like it when people say they cried. Even though it's mostly laughs, there are serious moments.

CC: That's something that's changed. Our one-act version set all in the future was just complete zaniness. But when we added the first act we set it in the present and really tried to develop the character of Vicki. She's a single mom struggling to get ahead and it's painful to think about how real that is for so many people.

MM: Have you received any negative feedback?

AR: The Progressive praised it a lot but ended on the note, "are they just preaching to the converted?" I disagree with the reviewer. I don't think it's necessarily pitched towards hip Madisonians or dyed-in-the-wool progressives.

CC: We think it's important not to preach. I don't think anyone enjoys that sensation and we've all had it. It's something we work hard at so that if someone accuses us of it, it gets my dander up. I know a lot of people need to shop [at Wal-Mart] -- I'm not ignorant of those realities. But I also feel like this company shoves its way into communities and puts small businesses out and then offers people $8 an hour jobs with few or no benefits. I feel like it doesn't take a liberal to react to that, it's just human nature.

MM: So you're going national with the New York International Fringe Festival in August -- do you have any other plans?

CC: I think this show would do really well in other places and we're ready to test that theory. We did one tour with Temp Slave and it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too.

MM: Your last hit Temp Slave was also very popular, with four sold-out runs. What made you think of turning instances of worker oppression under giant corporations into musicals?

CC: We both did a lot of temping. In my mind it's a similar situation, serving in the lower ranks of a corporation who doesn't have a lot of interest in who you are as a person.

AR: Temp Slave was inspired by a 'zine by Jeff Kelly that came out in Madison. It had this great attitude -- kind of funny and irreverent -- and it featured stories of temps. Catherine and I met when both doing a musical. We pitched the story idea to our friend Marcy Weiland, the artistic director of Mercury Players, because we had never written a play before.

CC: They share similar themes. In all the culture we see, we're seeing lives that don't reflect ours. I think that's why our shows are so popular -- people relate to them really well.

MM: If you did start getting more national coverage, do you think Wal-Mart itself might take legal action against the musical?

AR: The movie High Cost of Low Prices did get Wal-Mart's attention.

CC: It put out a huge memo to Wal-Mart managers trying to discredit it. They forbid their workers from going to showings of it.

AR: Supposedly some managers went to see if they could spot any employees at the movie. But even then they didn't sue or shut it down. The filmmaker hasn't suffered. So we're not really nervous about it, especially since ours is purely satire. It's political but it's really silly and we're not making really pointed charges.

CC: Personally I think that's more dangerous for them because it's more fun. I think if they hear about it they will definitely not be happy. But we'd love to hear from them because it's more publicity for us. There's a scene where the CEO of Wal-Mart is being chased around by guppies, which is based on a real quote that the CEO said -- he likened all their PR troubles to being nibbled to death by guppies. What an awful thing to say! It's a democratic society and people have the right to criticize you. They really feel like they're above the law and above criticism, which will make it even more rewarding if we get national attention for the show.

MM: Do you think Walmartopia will remain popular even if media attention on Wal-Mart dies down?

CC: I think Wal-Mart's going to be around for a while. I thought two years ago when we started this that it might be some sort of a flash in the pan, but they just keep getting caught doing more and more awful things. They plan on doubling the amount of stores they have in the next five years, and they're already everywhere.

AR: So there's going to be a lot more conflicts with communities fighting back.

MM: Are you working on ideas for future plays, or are you going to focus on Walmartopia?

CC: We have a couple other ideas that are on the back burner right now. With having regular jobs, twin six-year-olds, and other creative projects, it's so much to even think about doing this. But I hope that in maybe two years we can have another show.

AR: It is almost a full-time job. We'd like to do this for a living so we've been working a lot on marketing the show and getting our materials together.

CC: We're not at the point where we can just hand it off to somebody. We're really involved -- Andrew is playing in it, and I'm directing. Our kids come to rehearsals with us and know all the songs. It's really a whole family enterprise now and I don't want to hand it off yet. At a certain point you feel like it's time to keep the creative juices flowing and do something new, but I don't feel like I'm close to that yet.

For more information on Walmartopia, including their one-night only sendoff show on August 12, 8 p.m. at the Barrymore Theatre, please visit www.walmartopia.com or call 241-8791.