Urinetown- What musicals does it spoof?

[dethbylifeitself]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 9:11pm

Urinetown, what musicals does it spoof? And what songs?
I was interested in hearing the 'unspoofed' version. hah.

Thanks!

[dethbylifeitself]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 9:12pm

sorry i poseted twice

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 11:07pm

It doesn't really spoof it, but it is inspired a lot by The Threepenny Opera.

Oh, and it does parody Les Mis.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 11:10pm

Not only those. FIDDLER, CHICAGO, EVITA, GUYS AND DOLLS and especially WEST SIDE STORY, among others, are also spoofed in URINETOWN.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 11:12pm

Where does Urinetown spoof Chicago?

[QuiteSo]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 11:14pm

And when does it spoof the others you mentioned, BlueWizard? I know the West Side Story reference is in "Snuff That Girl", but I can't recall the others.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 1:46am

It's been over a year since I saw URINETOWN, so I can't give you too many specifics; but at the end of "Snuff That Girl," the ensemble cast pose in a Fosse-esque tableau that is very reminiscent of CHICAGO.

-- "Run Freedom Run" is a spoof of GUYS AND DOLLS' "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."

-- When Ms. Pennywise announces that Hope is her daughter, she raises her hands in a fashion that recalls EVITA's "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" scene.

-- I know that there's a FIDDLER spoof somewhere in the show, but don't remember where. At the very least, the curtain call (both music and choreography) resembles the Bottle Dance from FIDDLER.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 1:49am

The concept is taken from agitprop theatre. The best example of this genre musically is The Cradle Will Rock.

[toodramatic]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 4:44am

While its themes are certainly reminicent (sp?) of Cradle Will Rock, I think Urinetown is far more satirical and pokes fun at itself and the genre (specifically or not) way more.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 5:08am

In broad, general terms, I'd say it spoofs any musical about poor, oppressed people with "faces, clothes and bladders all distressed" - in other words:

THREEPENNY OPERA
SWEENEY TODD
OLIVER
EVITA
LES MIZ
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
WEST SIDE STORY

[kelzama]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:04am

It's been years since I've seen it, but I recall a bit of staging that mocks Into the Woods

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:30am

I always thought "Priviledge to Pee" was parodying Mother Courage.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 10:02am

"Privilege to Pee" is an homage to "Peachum's Morning Hymn" from Threepenny Opera.

"What Is Urinetown?" had the staging that was reminiscent of the "To Life" choreography from Fiddler on the Roof.

And the character names, like Bobby Strong and Caldwell Caldwell were homages to The Cradle Will Rock.

Although it never borrows melody outright, the Overture is patterned completely after the Overture to Threepenny Opera.

The premise of the show is also reminscent of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

[CJWesselman]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 2:23am

I think that, while the show obviously parodies certain things, maybe some things are being read into too much? I think some of the character names are simply meant to be funny and all-to-perfect for the characters themselves. Bobby STRONG being the hero, HOPE Cladwell being the heroine, Officers LOCKSTOCK AND BARREL? The same goes for some of the songs. While some of them are genre spoofs, I think some of them are just honest songs that you COULD compare to others, but in reality aren't. That's what I loved most about urinetown, it did spoof/parody/pay omage to certain shows/people, but it didn't OVERDO it but making everything that way; it had it's own true and entertaining moments.

Think we're reading too much into this? lol

[iwearshoes]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 2:43am

just enjoy :)

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 9:20am

The writing, other than being inspired by the works of, among others, Marc Blitzstein, is not a parody of musicals you know. It very much is its own artistic achievement.

The Broadway production's staging quoted other musicals quite liberally...that certainly is not the only way the show can or should be played.

[Craig]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 9:40am

Magruder-

I'd also add that there are elements of Metropolis in the premise. Never saw the musical of Metropolis (it's definitely not my fav. score) but from what I recall of the film - definitely similarities on some levels.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 10:22am

Trust me on this: the alliterative and slightly absurd descriptive names in Urinetown are VERY much inspired by Cradle Will Rock and Threepenny Opera as well. Can you not see the influence of Threepenny's Polly Peachum in the name Penelope Pennywise? Or Cradle Will Rock's Mr. Mister and President Prexy in Urinetown's Caldwell B. Cladwell, Mrs. Millenium or Billy Boy Bill? Or Cradle's Larry Foreman vs. Urinetown's Bobby Strong? It's completely intentional, as the authors have cited Cradle Will Rock and Threepenny Opera as their major influences. Composer Mark Hollmann has mentioned that the 30s social protest musicals of Brecht-Weill and Blitzstein were the type of shows he admired and with Urinetown (which preaches conservation of the world's resources), he wanted to try to write a modern day version of those shows. Late in the show's first act, and through a lot of the second, Urinetown's satirical base broadens to send up conventional musical theatre and the Broadway staging added further jokes in that department, which as Robbie mentioned above, is not necessarily a staging requirement for the show. But Threepenny and Cradle Will Rock are absolutely the spiritual forefathers for Urinetown, and are paid homage in the show's script and score.