Greg Kotis

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'Greg Kotis is a New York-based playwright, who specializes in dark, disturbing comedies with socially relevant themes that often go overlooked in critical reviews of his work.

He is best known for writing the book and co-writing the lyrics of Urinetown the Musical. He got the idea for Urinetown the Musical when, on an ill-budgeted visit to Paris in 1995, he had to limit his trips to the pay toilets that are ubiquitous in that city. Urinetown the Musical received ten Tony Award nominations: Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, two nominations for Best Actress in a Musical (Nancy Opel and Jennifer Laura Thompson), Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestration. Urinetown has been performed around the world and in hundreds of American cities.

His most recently produced play is Pig Farm, which premiered at The Roundabout Theater in New York City in June, 2006.

He has appeared onstage with and written for the Neo-Futurists and Cardiff-Giant. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Chicago and is married to the writer, Ayun Halliday, with whom he has two children.