Hello there, and welcome to Urinetown.
If you're sitting in our audience, then it's probably a safe bet you weren't turned off by the title and are probably intrigued about what exactly you're in for tonight.
The idea for Urinetown came about when the writer, Greg Kotis, was traveling as a student on a budget throughout Europe and encountered pay toilets. As he began to delay his trips to the bathroom in order to stay within his budget, the idea for Urinetown (the place) was born- a dystopian future that has come about through ecological disaster where water must be rationed- in this case, through a giant and malevolent corporation.
But don' t worry, it's a comedy.
Urinetown is a masterful piece of satire that speaks to many of the current issues in society- corporate greed, government corruption, populism/socialism, income inequality, and climate change.
And yes, it's still a comedy.
Based in the "Brechtian" style of theatre, the show utilizes what's referred to as the "alienation effect." Made famous by German playwright Bertold Brecht (whose own Mother Courage and Her Children was part of our 2013-2014 season), the alienation effect is used to distance the audience emotionally from the characters and serious topics being addressed by the play- music, dance, and breaking the 4th wall/direct address were all techniques Brecht employed in his own plays, and which Urinetown utilizes to make its audiences laugh and think about the issues, rather than getting caught up emotionally in the plight of the characters.
There's also a lot of musical theatre jokes and references. Each song is lovingly ripped from different shows, styles, or various composers. See if you're a true musical theatre afficionado and can catch all of the references.
Note: One of the last lines of the show, "Hail, Malthus!" refers to Thomas Malthus, a 19th century economist known for his theory of population growth. Malthus believed that as population grew faster than the means of subsistance, poverty and disease were unavoidable. Many of his ideas were considered absurd and his theories proved false. So what does it mean?
Well, even in 2001 when the show was written, our planet was in dire environmental shape. As I am writing these notes, Austrailia is on fire. If Urinetown were ever to become reality, we're closer to it now than ever before. Let us remember that even unthinkable and absurd predictions have a chance of becoming reality, and both corporations and individuals have to play a part if our planet is to survive.
Thank you for coming, and enjoy the show.
-Mike Sherman, director.
