"What is Urinetown?"

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:30am

Hey Guys -

I wasn't lucky enough to catch the show at the Henry Miller, and I'm wondering TWO (2) things about the mounting:

How exactly did the show start? As if to say, "Okay, I'm sitting there, the houselights dimmed, the crowd hushed, etc..." What was the visual like?

And... Where was the band located throughout the performance?

Many thanks!

Best,
- Mike
Updated On: 6/25/08 at 01:30 AM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:35am

From what I remember the band was placed in sort of a cage on stage right.

As for the beginning of the show, it began with the policemen dragging the conductor to the pit and then starting the overture.

Updated On: 6/18/08 at 01:35 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:36am

Same on tour.

[BrianS]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:37am

"As for the beginning of the stage, it began with the policemen dragging the conductor to the pit and then starting the overture."

Exactly. You didn't know the guy was the conductor until he went to the piano. It set the tone perfectly for what was to come.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 2:36am

Yup, because he was dressed in a jacket and cap that made him look like part of the cast.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 2:38am

Oh, cool!

[abitoftap]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 2:52am

We saw the show on a trip from the UK, must be ten years ago.

Really enjoyable, great fun.

It was only when we saw the (briefly running,but excellent...Maria Friedman) London Ragtime a couple of years ago that we realised most of the plot was a skit on that show!!

Talk about ignorance!

[mallardo]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 5:14am

Most of the plot of Urinetown was a "skit" on Ragtime? Huh? What did I miss?

[Patash]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 9:03am

Wow. I recall that as the show was about to start there was a big seating commotion right in front of me with latecomers and people in the wrong seats. So all these years I've never known that about the conductor being dragged in. Damn those latecomers -- what a pain they are.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 10:29am

Also, from the time you entered the theatre, there was a whole "pre-show" mood - there were automated searchlights going back and forth across the stage and through the audience, as id looking for criminals. Officer Barrel and a couple of other cast members in cop outfits patrolled the theatre. And there was a sound effects loop - the sounds of machinery, hissing steam, clinking metal chains, etc., all with a touch or reverb, that made the entire theatre feel like some sort of factory/waterworks/power plant or whatever.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 10:32am

The Miller set such a perfect mood for the show...but yes the orchestra was located stage right and it began with conductor being pulled to the orchestra. Love, love, love this show.

[D2]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 10:37am

The conductor was escorted (wearing leg chains) from the top of the theater, across the scaffolding that wrapped around the sides of the house, down onto and across the stage into the cage where the orchestra was placed. It was a wonderful way to begin the show.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 10:43am

Haha - GENIUS!

And what of Lockstock? Did he stay onstage throughout the "OVerture"? What was his deal before "Too Much Exposition"? I WISH I HAD SEEN THIS ON BROADWAY! *shakes fist* Ah well, Haha! Many, many thanks for the insight thus far! Updated On: 6/18/08 at 10:43 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 11:48am

Lockstock entered after the Overture, surveying the scene of sleeping poor around Amenity #9.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 11:53am

Saw it in Denver twice when it toured. What a great show. And the "mood" they set before the show was terrific.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 12:02pm

Just out of curiousity, how did the curtain call work on Broadway? Does anyone remember the order and all that good junk? With a cast of 16, I'm intrigued as to how that worked.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:00pm

They took their bows.

And then the music transitioned into this fabulous post-curtain call dance!

The entire cast was involved and it was really fun. I forget what it was called but it was just underscoring.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:21pm

The curtain call dance used the "What is Urinetown" dance music - very "Fiddler on the Roof" style with all the "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:23pm

That's what I originally thought, Jon, but I just listened to the instrumental recording and it is much different than "What Is Urinetown?"... same feeling and same tone but the instrumental parts are different

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 1:37pm

Also, from the time you entered the theatre, there was a whole "pre-show" mood - there were automated searchlights going back and forth across the stage and through the audience, as id looking for criminals. Officer Barrel and a couple of other cast members in cop outfits patrolled the theatre. And there was a sound effects loop - the sounds of machinery, hissing steam, clinking metal chains, etc., all with a touch or reverb, that made the entire theatre feel like some sort of factory/waterworks/power plant or whatever.

That is what I remember most. The pre-show atmospheric mood was genius. Even the outside of the theatre was clad in wooden boards to gice the appearance that the entire theatre was crated. I also remember the curtain call dance, which was very Fiddler-esque. And during the first act finale (the most brilliant comedic sequence of events I've ever witnessed in a musical), I will never forget the officers pushing the wall downstage with the townsfolk in front of it, panicking as they approach the front edge of the stage. Then, the gasp and laughter from the audience as the townsfolk were actually forced off the stage and dropped into the house. For some reason, the audience never really expected that to actually happen. Then the cast had to run up the aisles of the house to return backstage so they could reenter the scene.

I only wish I could have seen it more than once. Urinetown was one of the most ingenious musicals ever staged. It definitely deserved not only a longer run, but it should have taken the Best Musical Tony.

Updated On: 6/18/08 at 01:37 PM

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 4:51pm

Anyone else with further insight?

[fosca3]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 6:08pm

I remember how much fun the dance at the end was -- and that Officer Lockstock swung Little Sally around in a big circle several times, holding her by 1 arm and 1 leg, I believe

It was so high-energy, and a great way to end the show that left everyone happy and smiling

I saw it 3 times, and would have liked to have seen it 3 more

[SirNotAppearing]

Posted: 6/18/08 at 6:10pm

I love URINETOWN. I wish I could have seen it on Broadway.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 3:27pm

Anyone else with little tidbits of what they remember about the show - any which aspect of production or performance? This is beyond interesting for me!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 3:32pm

If I remember correctly, there was a lot of breaking the fourth wall like during the COP SONG the cops jumped into the aisles and interacted (however briefly) with some of the audience.