 Urinetown - the Musical
opened on May 6, 2001, at the American
Theatre of Actors. NYC, with a
subsequent Broadway transfer to Henry Miller's Theatre. NYC, in August, 2001.
It was originally presented as
part of the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival, which is a production
of The Present Company.
Synopsis
Act One:
The musical opens with the entrance
of Officer Lockstock, a tough-talking beat cop who doubles as
the play's narrator. Apologizing for the fact that the show opens
with too much exposition, Lockstock explains how a terrible water
shortage has crippled the Gotham-like city he serves, forcing
the government to outlaw practices which might otherwise waste
the precious resource. With the help of the street urchin Little
Sally, Lockstock goes on to explain that to conserve water, the
citizens must now use the public, pay-per-use amenities owned
and operated by Urine Good Company — a private corporation
to which the government has assigned this public utility. Citizens
who try to circumvent the peeing fee by going in the bushes or
some other such place risk severe punishment. Offenders, Lockstock
says, are sent to Urinetown, a mysterious place where many have
been sent but from whence no one ever returns.
Early morning at the poorest, filthiest urinal in town. Old Man
Strong, a poor man, argues with the urinal manager, Penelope Pennywise
(also known as Penny). He doesn't have enough money for the peeing
fee this morning, and with a crowd of customers behind him clamouring
for their turn, he asks Penny to give him a break. Penny refuses.
Old Man Strong appeals to his son, Bobby Strong, who serves as
Penny's assistant. The law is the law, however, and Bobby finds
himself powerless to contradict it. Unable to contain himself any
longer, Old Man Strong relieves himself right there on the pavement.
Officers Lockstock and Barrel enter and arrest Old Man Strong,
hauling him off to Urinetown.
Meanwhile, at the corporate headquarters of
Urine Good Company, Caldwell B. Cladwell, the evil president
of the urinal monopoly, discusses the timing of the next round
of fee rises with Senator Fipp, a corrupt politician who fears
the effects Cladwell's pricing policy will have on the population.
Their discussion is interrupted by the return of Hope Cladwell,
Caldwell's sweet-hearted daughter, just home from university.
Cladwell introduces Hope to his staff, welcoming her as the newest
employee of the corporation. Taking a moment to bask in the wealth
and power they've accumulated, the staff praises Mr. Cladwell
even as Cladwell praises himself.
Later that day, having disposed of the troublesome Old Man Strong,
Officers Lockstock and Barrel discuss the
horrors the trip down to Urinetown entails. Hope arrives on her
way home from her first day at the office, and then Bobby joins
them, having finished his shift after the late-night rush. After
a few words of advice about suspicious appearances, the cops leave
the kids to get to know each other. Tormented by his father's recent
arrest, Bobby asks the beautiful newcomer
for guidance.
Arriving for work the next morning,
Bobby is confronted with news of the latest round of Cladwell's
price rises. Penny shouts down the protests of her customers
(now unable to meet the required fee), commanding them to pay
up or step aside. Bobby's mother, also short the required cash,
stands before Bobby asking if she'll be turned away, too. Still
tormented over having stood by while his
father was taken to Urinetown, and emboldened by Hope's words of
optimism, Bobby seizes the moment and opens the amenity for the
people to pee for free. As Bobby rallies the poor Penny warns Bobby
that he — and everyone — will
surely pay for what he's done.
Back at Urine Good Company headquarters, Cladwell learns of Bobby's
insurrection at the urinal. Vowing
dire consequences for Bobby and the rebels, he and the police head
to the urinal to suppress the uprising.
Once at the urinal, Cladwell
orders the cops to sort things out,
but not before Bobby can
initiate the obligatory Act One Finale. Hope realises her words
mistakenly inspired Bobby to start a revolution. Bobby realises
Hope is a Cladwell, and the poor realise they're no match for Cladwell's
cops; so Bobby kidnaps Hope to allow the rabble to escape the punishment
promised by Cladwell.
Act two:
As the new act begins, Hope is tied
to a chair at the underground secret hideout of the Rebel Poor,
Cladwell is on the move demanding his daughter's recapture, Bobby
is making his way through the city with his mother spreading
word of the coming Revolution, and Little Sally barely evades capture
by Officer Lockstock.
Hungry for revenge and certain that it's only a matter of time
before they're all captured and sent to Urinetown, Hot Blades Harry
and Little Becky Two Shoes insist that the rebel poor kill their
hostage. Bobby enters, horrified at how vengeful the poor have
become. He tries to cheer them with more positive thoughts. Penny
arrives with a message: Cladwell is prepared to consider the rebels'
demands, he wants to meet with Bobby. Bobby agrees.
At Urine Good Company headquarters, Bobby and Penny arrive to
negotiate a settlement to
the standoff. Bobby wants to trade Hope's safe release for a total
revocation of Cladwell's cruel and oppressive peeing fees. Cladwell
refuses, offering instead a large cash bribe to Bobby if he'll
convince the rebels to return to the established order. Bobby refuses,
so Cladwell orders Bobby's arrest, ordering Officers Lockstock
and Barrel to take the troublemaker away to Urinetown. Penny, desperate
to protect Hope, reminds Cladwell that this double-cross could
mean certain death for his daughter. Cladwell, ever cold-hearted
and power-obsessed, dismisses the danger and orders the expulsion
anyway.
In spite of her loyalty to UGC, Penny can hardly
believe the depth of Cladwell's evil. She wonders why she ever
listened to him? Subsequently, Senator Fipp, Hope, and Bobby
ask the same question as they ponder their fate at Cladwell's
hands. At the same time, Officers Lockstock and Barrel hustle
Bobby off to his doom — a
long fall off the roof of UGC headquarters. Bobby realises too
late that there is no Urinetown after all. Execution, not exile,
has been the fate of those brave enough — or desperate
enough — to break the town's strict peeing laws.
Back at rebel headquarters, Little Sally recounts
Bobby's longing last words for Hope. The poor are at first
grieved by Bobby's death, then filled with lust for revenge.
As they prepare to do away with Hope, Penny stops them, shocking
everyone with the revelation that she is Hope's mother. Hope,
deeply moved by this news and disgusted by her father's betrayal,
convinces the rebels to let her help them overthrow the despicable
Caldwell B. Cladwell.
Under Hope's protection, the rebels make their
way through the shattered streets to the headquarters where Cladwell
directs the continuing crackdown. Suddenly outnumbered in his
lair, Cladwell and his henchmen are overthrown in a stunning
coup. Cladwell is led away to his own trip off the roof of the
UGC headquarters rooftop, but not before Penny and Cladwell confess
their sorrow — or
lack thereof — for
the lives they led.
With the blessing of the battle-weary population, Hope takes control
of the monopoly, opening all the amenities to all the people, to
pee for free whenever they like, for as long as they like. Her
utopia is short-lived, however. Officer Lockstock enters, as he
did at the beginning of the show, to explain that Hope's idealism
depleted all the water reserves. As evil as Caldwell B. Cladwell
was, he had actually effectively rationed the water resources.
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MUSICAL NUMBERS
- Overture
- Too Much Exposition - Officer Lostock & Company
- Urinetown - Lostock & Company
- It's a Privilege to Pee - Penelope Pennywise, Harry, Bobby Strong, Soupy Sue, Tiny Tom, Robbie, Little
Sally, Little Becky Two-Shoes,
Billy Boy Bill, Josephine Strong
- Mr. Cladwell - Caldwell B. Cladwell,Mr. McQueen,
Hope Cladwell, Tiny Tom,
Soupy Sue, Robbie, Little Becky Two-Shoes, Billy Boy Bill, Josephine Strong
- Cop Song - Officer Lostock, Officer Barrel, Soupy Sue, Tiny Tom, Robbie, Little Becky
Two-Shoes, Billy Boy Bill, Josephine Strong
- Follow Your Heart - Bobby Strong, Hope Cladwell
- Look at the Sky - Bobby Strong, Penelope Pennywise, Soupy Sue, Tiny Tom, Josephine Strong, Robbie,
Little Sally, Harry,
Little Becky Two-Shoes, Billy Boy Bill
- Don't Be the Bunny - Caldwell B. Cladwell, Hope Cladwell, Mr. McQueen, Senator Fipp, Officer Barrel,
Officer Lostock, Penelope Pennywise
- Act One Finale - Bobby Strong, Caldwell B. Cladwell,
Hope Cladwell, Little Sally, Soupy Sue, Little Becky Two-Shoes, Officer Lostock,Mr.
McQueen, Tiny Tom, Senator Fipp,
Robbie, Harry,
Officer Barrel, Penelope Pennywise, Billy Boy Bill, Josephine Strong
- What Is Urinetown? - Little Becky Two-Shoes, Harry, Officer Lostock, Caldwell B. Cladwell, Bobby
Strong, Josephine Strong, Little Sally, Mr. McQueen, Soupy Sue,
Tiny Tom, Senator Fipp, Robbie, Officer Barrel, Penelope
Pennywise, Billy Boy Bill
- Snuff That Girl - Harry, Little Becky Two-Shoes,
Little Sally, Tiny Tom, Soupy Sue, Robbie, Billy Boy Bill
- Run, Freedom, Run! - Bobby Strong, Tiny Tom, Harry, Little Becky
Two-Shoes, Soupy Sue, Robbie, Little Sally,
Billy Boy Bill, Josephine Strong
- Why Did I Listen to That Man? - Penelope Pennywise, Senator Fipp, Bobby
Strong, Officer Lostock, Officer Barrel, Billy Boy Bill, Robbie,
Hope Cladwell
- Tell Her I Love Her - Little Sally, Bobby Strong,
Soupy Sue, Tiny Tom, Little Becky Two-Shoes, Josephine Strong, Robbie,
Harry, Billy Boy Bill
- We're Not Sorry - Little Sally, Harry,
Officer Barrel, Officer Lostock, Josephine Strong, Soupy Sue, Caldwell
B. Cladwell, Billy Boy Bill, Mr. McQueen, Tiny Tom, Senator Fipp,
Robbie, Little Becky Two-Shoes,
Penelope Pennywise, Hope Cladwell
- We're Not Sorry—Reprise - Caldwell B. Cladwell, Penelope Pennywise
- I See a River - Hope Cladwell, Officer Lostock, Little Sally,
Little Becky Two-Shoes, Josephine Strong,Mr. McQueen, Soupy Sue,
Tiny Tom, Caldwell B. Cladwell, Senator Fipp, Bobby Strong, Robbie,
Harry, Officer Barrel, Penelope Pennywise, Billy Boy Bill
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