Is there a non-musical play called Urinetown?

[theminutepast]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 4:53pm

Recently there was a regional production of Urinetown in my area. I suggested getting some musical theater fans together to go see it to my college musical theater society. The person who emailed me back said Urinetown is not a musical. Well, obviously it is, and I couldn't understand why he would flat out lie to me.

So, I'm wondering now, did Urinetown start out as a non-musical play and become a musical or has it ever been performed as a play?

[folkyboy]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 4:57pm

it's always been a musical

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 4:58pm

As far as I know, Urinetown was always an original musical by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollman. It wasn't based on any previous source and was never a non-musical play.

[PARISinNYC]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:03pm

The person you spoke to is in fact an idiot.

[King Stevos]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:04pm

Urinetown actually began as a really really BAD play, that was when they realized it needed music.
-STEVOS

[PARISinNYC]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:30pm

No, if you read the liner notes on the cast recording:

They always intended on it being a musical, they just wrote the book for a really bad play and he handed it off to his partner for musical interpretation.

[IMGOINGTOBEFAMOUS!]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:40pm

It is a musical because I was going to audition for it, but I went to a camp at Flroida State University instead. And, I'm in a singing group at my highschool and we are singing Run, Freedom, Run from Unrinetown at districts.
Emily

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:44pm

I think that Urinetown was at one point was written as a play but never released as one, because it shortly after it became a musical.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 6:09pm

Read the introduction by Greg Kotis in the published script. The idea came about on his trip to Europe, when he decided to extend his stay and ran out of money. Having encountered mostly pay toilets, he had to become creative in ways to relieve himself and in Paris, he came up with the title and underlying theme of the show and decided immediately it should be a musical. Upon his return to Chicago, he met with Mark Hollman, provided a very rough synopsis of the show and after three weeks, Mark returned with "It's a Privelege to Pee". Over the next three years, the show was developed.

So there.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 6:29pm

There is definitely a non-musical version of it. I saw it this summer. It's awful, but it's there. I don't know how or when it started out, but there is one.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 9:10pm

Hm. Yeah, I think the guy I talked to only said that to me because at the time I was very new to musical theater. He was probably just being a snob.

Thanks for all the info, guys.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 11:20pm

There probably is a non-musical version - an ILLEGAL one. Like when high shcools to one-hour versions of shows for their "contest plays" - never getting permission, never paying royalties - becuase they incorrectly think that if they don't sell tickets, they don't have to pay royalties.

[PARISinNYC]

Posted: 10/10/06 at 11:56pm

That doesn't sound good then. Uh-oh.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 12:22am

Jon took the words out of my mouth

If there isn't any music in that version of Urinetown, it's illegal