Urinetown

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Urinetown the Musical is an award-winning satirical comedy musical, poking fun at local government, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and petty-minded, smalltown politics. Urinetown rejects musical theatre convention. There are parodies of all-time successful Broadway shows including Les Misérables. In addition, the production satirises its own significance. Last but not least, in reverse pantomime style, the unconventional plotline shatters audience expectations of a pleasant ending.

The show was directed by Tony Award winner John Rando; the show features music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann, and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis. It debuted at the New York International Fringe Festival, was produced Off-Broadway at the American Theatre for Actors and then moved to Broadway, opening at the Henry Miller Theatre on September 20, 2001 (its planned opening having been postponed after the September 11, 2001 attacks). It ran on Broadway through January 18, 2004, closing with a total of 25 previews and 965 performances.

A national tour began in San Francisco, California on June 13, 2004, starring Christiane Noll. A Canadian cast put on one of the most highly acclaimed stagings, using the original New York set, in Toronto, Ontario during the summer of 2004. An open ended run began performances at Chicago's Mercury Theater in March 2006.

The original cast included Hunter Foster (as Bobby Strong, later replaced by Tom Cavanagh), Jeff McCarthy (as Officer Lockstock), Nancy Opel (as Penny Pennywise), Tony Award-winner John Cullum (as Caldwell B. Cladwell), Jennifer Laura Thompson (as Hope Cladwell), and Ken Jennings (as Old Man Strong/Hot Blades Harry).

Contents 1 Awards 2 Characters 3 History 4 Synopsis 4.1 Act I 4.2 Act II 5 Musical Numbers 6 Trivia 7 External links

[edit] Awards

In 2002, the musical won three Tony Awards: Best Director (John Rando), Best Original Score (Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis), and Best Book of a Musical (Greg Kotis).

It was nominated for an additional six Tonys: Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (John Cullum), Best Actress in a Musical (Nancy Opel and Jennifer Laura Thompson), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Spencer Kayden), Best Choreography (John Carrafa), and Best Orchestrations (Bruce Coughlin).

[edit] Characters

• Officer Lockstock - The narrator and a policeman. Songs which he is prominent: Urinetown; Privilege to Pee Reprise; Cop Song; What is Urinetown?; Why Did I Listen to that Man? (Bass/Baritone)
• Little Sally - A poor little girl. Songs which she prominent: What is Urinetown?; Tell Her I Love Her; We're Not Sorry (Mezzo-Soprano)
• Bobby Strong - Assistant custodian at the poorest, filthiest urinal in town. Songs which he is prominent: Urinetown; Follow Your Heart; Look at The Sky; Act 1 Finale; What is Urinetown?; Run, Freedom Run; Why Did I Listen to that Man?; Tell Her I Love Her (Tenor)
• Hope Cladwell - Cladwell's daughter. Songs in which she is prominent: Mr. Cladwell; Follow Your Heart; Act 1 Finale; Follow Your Heart Reprise; Why Did I Listen to that Man?; I See a River (Soprano)
• Caldwell B. Cladwell - President and owner of Urine Good Company. Songs which he is prominent: Mr. Cladwell; Don't be the Bunny; Act 1 Finale; What is Urinetown?; We're Not Sorry Reprise (Baritone)
• Penelope Pennywise - Chief custodian at the poorest, filthiest urinal in town. Songs which she is prominent: It's a Privellage to Pee; Why Did I Listen to that Man; We're Not Sorry; We're Not Sorry Reprise (Mezzo-Soprano)
• Senator Fipp - A public servant. Songs he is prominent in: Urinetown, Don't Be the Bunny, Why Did I Listen to that Man? (Bass)
• Mr. McQueen - Caldwell's right-hand man. Songs he is prominent in: Urinetown; Mr. Cladwell; Don't Be the Bunny (Bass)
• Hot Blades Harry - A sadistic poor man. Songs he is prominent in: What is Urinetown?; Snuff that Girl; We're Not Sorry (Tenor)
• Little Becky Two Shoes - A pregnant poor woman. Songs which she is prominent in: What is Urinetown?; Snuff that Girl; I See a River (Soprano)
• Tiny Tom - A poor, confused man-boy. Songs he is prominent in: Look at the Sky. (Bass or Baritone)
• Soupy Sue - An affectionate poor woman. Songs in which she is prominent: Look at the Sky; We're Not Sorry (Soprano)
• Robby the Stockfish - A poor man (Tenor)
• Billy Boy Bill- A poor man. Songs which he is prominent: We're Not Sorry (Tenor)
• Josephine "Old Ma" Strong - A poor woman, Bobby's mother. Songs which he is prominent: Look at the Sky; What is Urinetown?; We're Not Sorry; I See a River (Mezzo-Soprano)
• Joseph "Old Man" Strong - A poor man, Bobby's father (Tenor)
• Officer Barrel - Lockstock's partner...literally. Songs which he is prominent: Urinetown; Cop Song; Why Did I Listen to that Man? (Bass)
• Mrs. Millennium - A Urine Good Company executive (Soprano)
• Dr. Billeaux - A UGC executive, head of research. Songs he is prominent in: Mr. Cladwell (Bass or Baritone)
• Cladwell's Secretary- a valued UGC employee (Soprano)
• UGC Executives
• Cops

In the original Broadway production, the following roles were doubled:

• Old man Strong/Hot Blades Harry
• Little Becky Two Shoes/Mrs. Millennium
• Tiny Tom/Dr. Billeaux
• Soupy Sue/Secretary
• Robby the Stockfish/1st Businessman
• Billy Boy Bill/2nd Businessman
• Josephine Strong/Old Woman

[edit] History

Greg Kotis came up with the source idea for Urinetown while traveling in Europe. He was a student at the time, traveling on a budget and he encountered a pay-per-use toliet. This sparked the idea and he began writing shortly thereafter. He joined forces with Mark Hollmann and began the long journey to Broadway. At first, no production companies were interested in optioning such an absurd musical, but finally the Neo-Futurists, an experimental theatre group from Chicago (a group to which Kotis, his wife, and original cast member Spencer Kayden belonged) agreed to produce Urinetown for their 1999-2000 season. Unfortunately, plans with the Neo-Futurists fell through, so John Clancy of the New York Fringe Festival accepted the show into the Festival. Playwright David Auburn (Tony winner for Proof), a friend of Kotis and Hollmann, came to see the show and immediately called the production company The Araca Group. The Araca Group optioned the musical and they opened off-Broadway at the American Theatre for Actors, then made the Broadway transfer in September of 2001. Originally planned to open on September 11, 2001, Urinetown, the Musical contained several references which, after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, would no longer be politically correct. Due to that, the script was changed shortly after, with the show successfully opening in late September It was nominated for several Tony Awards in 2002 including Best Musical.

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Act I

After a rousing Overture, Urinetown begins with a friendly welcome from our narrator, Officer Lockstock. Officer Lockstock and the adorable moppet Little Sally fill us in on the back story during the opening numbers, Too Much Exposition and Urinetown. A twenty-year drought has caused a terrible water shortage, making private toilets unthinkable. All restroom activities are done in public amenities (that is, public toilets) controlled by a private corporation called "Urine Good Company" (UGC for short). To control water consumption, people have to pay to use the amenities. "That," as Lockstock says, "is the central conceit of the show." There are harsh laws ensuring that people pay to pee, and if they are broken, the perpetrator is sent to a supposed penal colony called "Urinetown", from which nobody returns. The entire cast then welcomes the audience to the show, warning them that there are no refunds and that there will probably be long lines for the restrooms at intermission.

In the next scene, the oppressed masses huddle in line, desperate to use Public Amenity Number 9, one of the poorest, filthiest urinals in town, run by Penelope Pennywise and her assistant, dashing young everyman Bobby Strong. Trouble ensues when Bobby 's father, Joseph "Old Man" Strong can't afford his urinal admission for the day. When Old Man Strong asks Pennywise to let him go for free just this once, Penny is forced to draw the line in It's a Privilege to Pee. By the end of the song, Joseph Strong has made up his mind. "It's no way to live, I tells ya! No way to live!" he screams as he pees right there on the street, with Pennywise, Bobby, Little Sally and all of the poor looking on. Officer Lockstock and his assistant, Officer Barrel arrive on the scene immediately. After a brief investigation, Old Man Strong is arrested and escorted off to Urinetown. The masses fall back into line immediately.

Later that day, in the corporate offices of Urine Good Company, the CEO, Caldwell B. Cladwell is assuring Senator Fipp that he'll receive the agreed upon bribes, provided that the senate approves additional restroom fee hikes (and vice versa). Cladwell 's daughter, Hope Cladwell soon arrives for her first day on the job as the UGC's new fax/copy girl, and is ogled by Fipp as well as Cladwell 's lackey Mr. McQueen. Cladwell summons the rest of his staff, and explains to everyone that the fax/copy position is just the first step as Hope is groomed to inherit the UGC empire. He then proceeds to explain the workings of the UGC (and his staff proceeds to brownnose shamelessly) in Mr. Cladwell.

In the next scene, Little Sally spends some quality time with Officer Lockstock, as she asks why, if there's a drought, there is so much attention focused on urination and so little focused on other uses of water, like, say, hydraulics. Little Sally is ushered away just as Barrel arrives, having just cleaned up the evidence of Old Mans Strong's "exile" to "Urinetown". When Barrel admits to being disappointed that Old Man Strong didn't put up much of a fight, Lockstock explains that the journey down to Urinetown offers no surprises, not even from the very toughest among us, in Cop Song.

Hope then arrives after a long night of faxing (and copying). Lockstock 's efforts at flirtation seem to be going well when Bobby arrives with fire in his belly, complaining that the people are growing restless over rumors of more fee hikes. The cops remind Bobby to keep his head out of the clouds, lest what happened to his father happen to him. Bobby remains defiant, attracting and intriguing innocent young Hope. When the police leave the scene, Bobby admits to his feelings of guilt and confusion over not doing more to save his father. Hope encourages Bobby to follow his heart in Follow Your Heart. But even as Hope 's heart tells her to fall for Bobby, Bobby 's heart is laying plans for a new tomorrow...

As the two exit, Little Sally and Lockstock look on. After observing that Hope sure seems to love Bobby, Little Sally tries to get Lockstock to tell her about Urinetown. Lockstock refuses, explaining that if he revealed that there was no Urinetown and they just killed people, it would ruin the suspense.

The next day, Bobby shows up late for work after staying up all night thinking. He arrives at Amenity Number 9 just in time to hear Mr. McQueen announcing the new (and entirely legal) urinal fee hikes just passed by the legislature. With the new, higher price in effect, Josephine is unable to pay the fee to pee. Bobby decides he will not allow the same fate to claim both his parents, or anyone ever again. He defiantly asks Ms. Pennywise "What if the law is wrong?" In the song Look at the Sky Bobby rallies the crowd, claiming that a bright new day is just on the horizon. Pennywise flees in terror as Bobby opens the amenity to everyone for free.

The police officers rush into the UGC offices to tell Cladwell of the uprising. Hope is shocked to learn of Bobby 's involvement, but urges her father not to use violence against the protesters, but to look inside the rioters' hearts to see what made them pound so angrily. Cladwell gently explains that sometimes the only way to keep the peace is with beatings, because life itself is a beating, in the song Don't Be the Bunny.

Cladwell and the police rush to the amenity, and protesters, police and powerful elites clash during the Act I Finale. Cladwell orders the police to seize the bathroom, as Bobby ushers the rebels inside it, where they'll be "relatively safer". Hope rushes over to Bobby, and they argue over what she meant when she told him to follow his heart. As the situation becomes more desperate, Bobby decides that the only way for the revolution to survive is to kidnap Hope and make a run for it. As this happens, everything moves in slow motion. Bobby and the revolutionaries elude Cladwell 's clutches and escape, mostly because "everyone is moving so damned slowly."

[edit] Act II

The second act starts with What is Urinetown? as frustrated authorities struggle to find the rebels, who are hidden away in a clearly labeled "Secret Hideout" deep within the city's sewers. As Cladwell orders a full scale mobilization of the police to find Hope, the rebels (including halfwit manboy Tiny Tom; leg-braced, and heavily pregnant Little Becky Two Shoes; panicky Soupy Sue; and the creepy, knife-obsessed Hot Blades Harry) cluster around a bound and gagged Hope, speculating on the true nature of Urinetown.

The desperate rebels become more and more convinced that they'll soon be shipped off to Urinetown. Hot Blades Harry declares that they should kill Hope before that happens. The rebels are about to give Hope "the rope", when Little Sally barges in, insisting that killing people is wrong. Hot Blades and Becky Two Shoes feel differently, and argue strenuously for revenge in Snuff That Girl.

Despite Little Sally 's objections, Hot Blades and Becky are about to do in Hope when Bobby and Josephine enter the hideout. Bobby urges the revolutionaries not to panic because the rebellion is going exactly as planned. The rebels ask Bobby why, if things went so well, did he yell for them to "Run! Run for your lives!" at the end of Act I. Bobby explains that he said that in the heat of battle, and in the heat, the actual hotness of the battle, the cry of freedom sounds something like Run Freedom Run. Bobby 's rousing gospel cry to action seems to be going well until he praises his fellow rebels for having the courage to commit to a struggle that could last for decades. Their good will fades quickly.

The rebels ask Bobby what's supposed to happen, now that they're stuck underground hiding from the authorities. At that moment Pennywise bursts into the secret hideout (using her extensive knowledge of the sewer system), bearing a message from Cladwell. Cladwell wants Bobby to come to the UGC headquarters to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Bobby goes, but only under the agreement that if anything happens to him, Hope will be killed.

At the UGC headquarters, Cladwell offers Bobby a suitcase full of cash and full amnesty to the rebels as long as Hope is returned and the people agree to the new fee hikes. Bobby refuses, demanding free access for the people. Cladwell orders the cops to escort Bobby to Urinetown. Pennywise pleas with Cladwell pointing out that Urinetown for Bobby also mean the end for Hope. Cladwell refuses to let his empire crumble just because he loves his daughter. Lockstock and Barrel haul Bobby off, as he screams "You lied to us, Cladwell!"

Why Did I Listen to that Man begins with Fipp lamenting his involvement in Cladwell 's corrupt business as Pennywise is detained by Cladwell 's lackeys. Pennywise fights them off, and then sings angrily that she never should have trusted Cladwell either. Back in the hideout, Hope sings of how she shouldn't have listened to Bobby's dreams. The cops drag a blindfolded Bobby to the roof of the UGC building, as he wonders why he followed his heart. The cops pull off the blindfold, allowing Bobby to see the horrible truth: There is no Urinetown. The cops confirm that "Death is Urinetown", then push him off the building.

In the next scene, the rebels back in the hideout are getting unnerved, since a long time has passed since Bobby left. Little Sally returns in a shocked daze, having just heard Bobby 's semi-coherent last words, which she recounts to everyone in Tell Her I Love Her. The angry mob decides to kill Hope once and for all, but at the last moment Pennywise bursts in urging them to kill her instead. Pennywise reveals that Hope is her daughter (gasp!) and she is Hope 's mother (double gasp!!).

Pennywise unties Hope, explaining that she was the one-time lover of Cladwell, back when the drought first hit, when people thought the world was going to end. Once released, Hope promptly convinces the rebels to let her lead the revolution. "Let's do to them what they were ultimately going to do to us!" she cries as she leads them to the nerve center of Cladwell 's empire. The rebels sneak into Cladwell 's office, killing Officer Barrel, Senator Fipp, and Cladwell's assistant Mrs. Millennium along the way as they sing We're Not Sorry.

Upon entering his office, Cladwell is captured by the rebels. He is shocked to find his daughter alive, and even more shocked to learn that she is now leading the rebellion. Despite his claim that the people need him more than they know, Hope orders her father off to Urinetown. Cladwell has just enough time to sing a bittersweet goodbye to his one-time lover Pennywise in We're Not Sorry - Reprise before he too is tossed off the roof.

Now that Cladwell is gone forever, Hope assures her followers that the age of fear is over. She sings I See a River, looking ahead to a bright new day. The UGC is renamed "The Bobby Strong Memorial Toilet Authority" and allows the people to pee whenever they like, as much as they like, for as long as they like, and with whomever they like. The musical finale concludes with the entire cast joining in a jolly Virginia reel.

But in the end, things go bad, then worse, then worst. Officer Lockstock 's epilogue says it all:

Of course, it wasn't long before the water became silty, brackish, and then dried up all together. Cruel as Caldwell B. Cladwell was, his measures effectively regulated water consumption, sparing the town the same fate as the phantom Urinetown. Hope, however, chose to ignore the warning signs, choosing instead to bask in the people's love as long as it lasted... Hope eventually joined her father in a manner not quite so gentle. As for the people of this town? Well, they did the best they could. But they were prepared for the world they inherited, weaned as they were on the legend born of their founding father's scare tactics. For when the water dried up, they recognized their town for the first time for what it really was. What it was always waiting to be...

This is Urinetown!

Always it's been Urinetown!

This place it's called Urinetown!

That was the show!

And with a roar of "Hail Malthus", the curtain falls...

It's not a happy musical.

[edit] Musical Numbers

Act One

• Urinetown
• Too Much Exposition
• It's a Privilege to Pee
• Mr. Cladwell
• Cop Song
• Follow Your Heart
• Look at the Sky
• Don't be the Bunny
• Act 1 Finale

Act Two

• What is Urinetown?
• Snuff the Girl
• Run Freedom Run
• Follow Your Heart (Reprise)
• Why did I Listen to that Man?
• Tell Her I Love Her
• We're Not Sorry
• We're Not Sorry (Reprise)
• I See A River

[edit] Trivia

• After the Tony Award wins, Tripod were asked to write a song about Urinetown as part of their Song In An Hour Challenge series on the Triple J breakfast show. They used the request as an excuse to write a song full of "wee jokes".
• A December 2006 production of the play at a Roman Catholic school, Cathedral Preparatory School, in Erie, Pennsylvania, was put on without referring to the title on the tickets or playbill because the bishop objected to it. (Associated Press, Nov. 29, 2006)
• In November 2006 a proposed production of Urinetown was banned by the superintendent and school board of the Stevens Point Area School Board in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The superintendent said that while she found the title of the play "objectionable", she banned it because the play had ironic elements and "irony" is not covered in the curriculum until 12th grade.

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Theatre Cedar Rapids Urinetown Photo Gallery 350+ pictures from the show.
• Song lyrics