Urinetown Running at Stage 62 (Fri., 11/11/22)

URINETOWN (musical) by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollman. Stage 62. November 10 – 20

Dystopian musicals are rare, and only one has songs like “It’s a Privilege to Pee.” Writer Greg Kotis got the idea for Urinetown while coping with pay toilets on a low-budget trip to Europe. He imagined a scenario in which drought has severely limited a city’s water supply. A big corporation, run by a nasty CEO in league with local police, controls the elimination business. People’s homes don’t have flushable apparatus and freelance relief in the open air is a crime. By corporate decree, you must pay to go or you’re gone. Will the citizens rebel? Urinetown delivers over-the-top satire with plenty of comedy and songs that sting: The CEO’s signature number, “Don’t Be the Bunny,” celebrates the joys of being predator rather than prey. At the 2002 Tony Awards, Urinetown won for Best Book and Best Original Score (by Mark Hollman), but curiously lost the Best Musical award to Thoroughly Modern Millie. It’s thoroughly good anyhow. Stage 62, a top-notch community theater group, presents Urinetown in the Music Hall at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library. 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie. (M.V.)

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