In this episode, we dive into the City Center Encores! production of "Urinetown," the Tony Award-winning musical that blends political satire with catchy tunes. We explore how this unconventional show holds up in today's political climate, dissecting the effectiveness of its humor and the relevance of its themes.
Urinetown 2001
2 hours and 10 minutes, with one intermission
Closing: January 18, 2004
Urinetown - 2001 Broadway History , Info & More
Urinetown won 2002 Tony Awards? for Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Direction of a Musical.
Category
Urinetown FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Urinetown History
Other Productions of Urinetown
| 2001 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 2003 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 2004 | Toronto |
Canadian Premiere Toronto |
| 2006 | Chicago |
Chicago Production Chicago |
| 2014 | West End |
West End Premiere Production West End |
| 2014 | West End |
Apollo Theatre Transfer West End |
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Encores! Concert Revival Production Off-Broadway |
Urinetown - 2001 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Musical | |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | John Cullum |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Hunter Foster |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Broadway Musical | |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | John Carrafa |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | John Rando |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress - Musical | Spencer Kayden |
| 2002 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Spencer Kayden |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Greg Kotis |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | John Carrafa |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | John Rando |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Lauren Mitchell |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | TheaterDreams, Inc. |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Dodger Theatricals |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Bruce Coughlin |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Greg Kotis |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Mark Hollmann |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | John Cullum |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Spencer Kayden |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Jennifer Laura Thompson |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Nancy Opel |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Greg Kotis |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | John Carrafa |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director - Musical | John Rando |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor - Musical | Jeff McCarthy |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress - Musical | Spencer Kayden |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Mark Hollman |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Greg Kotis |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Mark Hollman |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | Urinetown |
| 2001 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Bruce Coughlin |
Podcasts
IT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR
IT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR: Deutero-Fung, a mold spore with big ideas, attempts to rally his fellow mold spores into blooming immediately and take over the apartment-verse, but Hyphae-Fung, a mold spore with even bigger ideas, warns the community that blooming early will be a mistake.
Broadway Goes Dark - Remembering 9/11
The Marquis Theatre was having great success in 2001 with the revival of Annie Get Your Gun. It had opened in 1999 with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat and became just the second show in Marquis history to surpass 1000 performances.
Chances are if you're alive in 2023, you've been to Urinetown... the place not the musical. That's because despite being a hit back in 2001, the near apocalyptic state that URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL hilariously captures is somehow more relatable than ever: greedy corporate CEO's, environmental disasters, progressives with grand platitudes...
To start the new year we have the two-time Tony award-winning writer Greg Kotis over on the show! He chats about his creative process with new shows, both plays and musicals, how he approaches character creation, and his award-winning musical Urinetown.