Urinetown, The Musical

From the Director of Urinetown: The Musical:

I know.

I thought the same thing, myself.

When I first heard about a surprise Broadway hit called Urinetown, I was certain I'd never waste an evening of my life on a play likely to feature the kind of bathroom humor favored by my sons when they were young. As I heard it described, I became more certain it was not for me. A play with a premise that revolves around people paying to pee was absolutely not for an intelligent, well-read adult who directs Shakespeare! Happily, a friend convinced me to see it, promising to pay for my ticket if I didn't love it.

I set my face in a frown, and struggled to keep it there; a $60.00 ticket was on the line! I barely made it through the opening number before I gave up and spent the next two hours in state of pure delight. And so began my huge art crush on this smart and hilarious musical.

Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann have managed the near impossible: a musical that satirizes capitalism, socialism, corporate greed and environmental activism yet never loses its sense of play or becomes preachy or academic. Anyone who knows theatre can see the ways in which they parody every major musical comedy style as well as Brecht's &epic theater& of social criticism and the kind of dystopian fiction made popular by movies like Brazil and Blade Runner.

At the same time, for audiences with no interest in theatre history or musical comedy styles, this play succeeds simply on the merits of its hilarious book, clever arrangements and iconic comic characters. It's a rare and wonderful thing for a play to blend big ideas and epic silliness in a way that feels absolutely effortless.

So, come on. Give in. Go see it in spite of that awful title!

-Lynne Collins      

 

On June 2, 2002, Urinetown: The Musical –was nominated for ten Tony Awards and walked away with three of them (Best Book, Best Score, and Best Director). It was the culmination of a classic rags-to-riches story.

From its humble beginnings at Cardiff Giant, a tiny Chicago storefront theatre, Urinetown had an unexpectedly successful run at the New York Fringe Festival in August, 1999. The show then migrated to an Off-Broadway house in May, 2001 (where it garnered two Obie Awards, and earned a place in that year's Best Plays Anthology). Just a few months later, Urinetown moved into the Henry Miller Theatre on Broadway and began previews on August 27th in preparation for a September 13 opening. In accordance with Broadway custom, Monday, September 10 and Tuesday, September 11 were designated press nights (special previews, set aside for critics in advance of a show's premier).

Monday's performance was strong with reviewers present from the New York Observer, the Newark Star-Ledger and USA Today among others. Tuesday the 11th would be even more crucial with reviewers scheduled to attend from the Associated Press, Newsday, Variety and the New York Times. That performance, of course, never took place. Two planes struck the World Trade Center early Tuesday morning and all Broadway performances were cancelled that night and Wednesday night.

Mayor Guiliani asked the theatres to reopen on Thursday. Despite its awful title and childish premise, critics and audiences found Urinetown eerily apropos in the settling dust of 9/11- prophetic and smart, and wickedly funny.

"Urinetown is no respecter of ideologies", says Carolyn Howarth who chose it to open her first season as FTC's new Artistic Director. "It's open season on wasteful consumers, dreamy liberals, greedy capitalists, strident idealists and socially-conscious musical theatre.

This show kinda lifts its leg on everybody…even itself!"