Urinetown is an American musicaldark comedy by Mark Holloman and Greg Kotis, about a dystopian future in which there has been a catastrophic drought, and the Urine Good Company and its CEO Caldwell B. Cladwell have gotten laws passed outlawing private restrooms and requiring payment for the usage of public ones, so as to conserve water. Those who do not pay for "The Privilege to Pee" are sent to a mysteriously ominous place known only as Urinetown. For twenty years the poor have been oppressed by ridiculous prices, until one day a young Public Amenity attendant named Bobby Strong leads an uprising of the Poor against the tyranny of their oppressors.The original Broadway production was directed by John Rando and featured John Cullum as Cladwell and Hunter Foster as Bobby. It opened at Henry Miller's Theatre on September 10, 2001 and closed January 18, 2004, garnering rave reviews during its tenure, as well as ten Tony nominations.
Dark Reprise: Spoilers abound here: "It's A Privilege to Pee" gets one final verse from Lockstock and Barrel in "Don't Be Like Him". "Urinetown" has no less than three - Hope's part of the Act I Finale, Lockstock and Barrel's part in "Why Did I Listen To That Man?", and the very end of "I See A River". "Follow Your Heart" has one in "Your Heart". Arguably, "We're Not Sorry" has one in "I'm Not Sorry" - this one has a tempo change from fast to slow. Only "Your Heart" has identical lyrics - the choruses of "Urinetown" are very close, but changed for each situation, and the rest are just reused melodies..
Dawson Casting: Little Sally is most often played by a grown woman who looks/is made to look like a little girl.
Grey and Grey Morality: It isn't really that Cladwell is doing any of this out of villainous intent. When you get down to it, it's just a really bad situation.
Officer Lockstock: I love the people of this community, Mr. Barrell. Very much. Cladwell's edicts may be their only chance. Officer Barrell: And I love you. Very much. Officer Lockstock: I see.
Officer Lockstock: Whoa there, Little Sally. Not all at once. They'll hear more about the water shortage in the next scene. Little Sally: Oh, I guess you don't want to overload them with too much exposition, huh? Officer Lockstock: Everything in its time, Little Sally. You're too young to understand it now, but nothing can kill a show like too much exposition.
Kick The Bunny - Mr. Cladwell raises this to an art form and then sings a helpful instructive song: "Don't Be the Bunny."
Lampshade Hanging: The show gets half its laughs and most of its soul from this.
La Résistance: The Poor, as rallied together by Bobby.
Meaningless Meaningful Words: "I See a River, Flowing for Freedom" is a great catchphrase for a new revolution, until you realize that all the water is gone, and the townsfolk keep telling themselves that saying "I See a River Just In You" means they won't die of dehydration.
Metaphorgotten: On multiple occasions, Hope and Bobby seem to get a little confused on when they're talking about a metaphorical Follow Your Heart or a literal blood-pumping organ.
Bobby: Did you mean what you said about everyone having a heart? Hope: Well, sure I did. Do you think you'd be feeling as bad as you do if you didn't have a heart? Bobby: I don't know. I suppose not. Hope: Of course you wouldn't, because then you'd be dead!
Mr. Exposition: Officer Lockstock. Little Sally appears to be a Narrator-In-Training, learning, for instance, not to reveal too much Exposition at the start of the story.
Police Brutality: The "Cop Song". "If peace is what you're after / Urinetown's the rafter / to hang it on". Cladwell invokes it in the Act One Finale as well, proclaiming that "A little brutality is exactly' what these people need."
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