A Study Guide for Mark Hollmann/Greg Kotis's "Urinetown"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Mark Hollmann/Greg Kotis's "Urinetown," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Aug 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535842006

Book preview

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Urinetown

Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann

2001

Introduction

Urinetown by Greg Kotis, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Mark Hollmann, who wrote the music and lyrics, is a modern classic of the American musical stage, rising quickly from off-off-Broadway (it was performed by Theater of the Apes at the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999) to off-Broadway (American Theater for Actors opened it on May 6, 2001) to the Henry Miller's Theater on Broadway. It was scheduled to open on September 13, 2001, but the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center two days earlier postponed the opening. It did open on September 20, with some lines that would have been considered in poor taste after the attacks removed, and went on to be nominated for ten Tony awards. It played on Broadway for 965 performances.

The plot of the play concerns a nightmarish town of the future that has coped with a twenty-year drought by outlawing private toilets. People are forced to pay whatever fee Urine Good Company, the company that runs the public amenities, wants to charge. A love affair develops between the daughter of the company's owner and the son of a poor man who cannot pay the fee and is taken away for punishment to the mysterious Urinetown. What ensues is a parody that pokes fun at all involved: greedy capitalists and angry rabble-rousers, insipid lovers and hard-boiled survivors, dishonest labor leaders and corrupt politicians. With songs mimicking genres from Broadway romances to spirituals to labor anthems, Urinetown is filled with insights about modern society, packaged in what one character acknowledges is an awful title. The off-Broadway run won a Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and Choreography, and the Broadway production won three Tony Awards (Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical).

Author Biography

The book for Urinetown and some of the song lyrics were written by Kotis, who attended the University of Chicago, earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science. He graduated from University of Chicago in 1985. While there, he became involved in the improvisation group, Cardiff Giant Theatre Company, where he coauthored six plays. He was also involved with