About the work
Urinetown is a satirical musical with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and a book by Greg Kotis. Its 2001 Broadway premiere won three Tony Awards. Self-ironic and full of allusions to the genre itself, the show parodies the conventions of the musical – while also taking aim at capitalism, environmental destruction and bureaucratic tyranny.
Plot
After a decades-long drought, private toilets are banned in a nameless city; anyone needing to relieve themselves must pay at the public amenities of a profit-hungry corporation. Those who defy the fee are banished to the dreaded "Urinetown" – from which no one returns. When the young Bobby Strong has had enough after his father's fate, he sparks an uprising of the poor and falls in love, of all people, with Hope, the daughter of the corporation's boss. As a self-aware narrator guides the audience through the plot, the revolt escalates – with a deliberately sobering, anti-romantic ending.
Cultural significance
Urinetown became a surprise hit and a favourite of theatre-makers because it lays bare and parodies the mechanisms of the musical with great glee – from Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" to classic Broadway clichés. Its self-referential wit, openly addressing its own uncommercial title and its bleak ending, made it a cult piece. Numbers such as "Run, Freedom, Run!" show how the work lovingly mocks familiar forms while raising serious questions about resources and justice.