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The Basics
In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he's had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!
Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Urinetown is an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny. Praised for reinvigorating the very notion of what a musical could be, Urinetown catapulted the "comedic romp" into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit, and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.
Winner of three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards, Urinetown is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, environmental collapse, privatization of natural resources, bureaucracy, municipal politics, and musical theatre itself! Hilariously funny and touchingly honest, Urinetown provides a fresh perspective on one of America's greatest art forms.
Urinetown: the Musical is presented in two acts with one intermission.
The performance lasts approximately two and a half hours.
Any video and/or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited.
Synopsis and Songs
WARNING: This synopsis of the play contains spoilers.
Act I
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.
Scene 1: Amenity #9, the poorest, filthiest urinal in town...
Early morning at the poorest, filthiest urinal in town. Old Man Strong, a poor man, argues with the urinal manager, Penelope "Penny" Pennywise. He doesn't have enough money for the peeing fee this morning, and with a crowd of customers behind him clamoring for their turn, he asks Penny to give him a break. Penny refuses, stating "It's a Privilege to Pee". 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.
Scene 2: The good offices of Urine Good Company...
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.
Scene 3: A Street Corner...
Later that day, having disposed of the troublesome Old Man Strong, Officers Lockstock and Barrel discuss the horrors the trip down to Urinetown entails ("Cop Song"). 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 ("Follow Your Heart").
Scene 4: Amenity #9, the poorest, filthiest urinal in town...
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 ("Look at the Sky"). As Bobby rallies the poor Penny warns Bobby that he — and everyone — will surely pay for what he's done.
Scene 5: The good offices of Urine Good Company...
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 ("Don't Be the Bunny").
Scene 6: Amenity #9, the poorest, filthiest urinal in town...
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 II
Scene 1: A secret hideout...
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 ("What Is Urinetown?").
Scene 2: A secret hideout...
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 ("Snuff That Girl"). Bobby enters, horrified at how vengeful the poor have become. He tries to cheer them with more positive thoughts ("Run, Freedom, Run!"). Penny arrives with a message: Cladwell is prepared to consider the rebels' demands, he wants to meet with Bobby. Bobby agrees.
Scene 3: The good offices of Urine Good Company...
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 Did I Listen to That Man?". 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.
Scene 4: A secret hideout...
Back at rebel headquarters, Little Sally recounts Bobby's longing last words for Hope, "Tell Her I Love Her". 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 ("We're Not Sorry").
Scene 5: Various locations about town...
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 ("We're Not Sorry (Reprise)").
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 ("I See a River"). 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.
The Journey to Urinetown
Greg Kotis had the idea for Urinetown while traveling in Europe. As a student on a budget, he encountered a pay-per-use toilet...
"This was an idea that came to me when I was out of money in Paris. I was backpacking for a couple of weeks, and it's one of these sort of inspirations that kind of smacks you in the face just walking down the street. I had been sort of broke for a long time and I'd been rationing out money to use the public bathrooms there, and I was on my way to one, or I was debating whether or not I was going to use it or not because the the money was so precious to me and just the idea sort of came full full-blown."
He began writing shortly thereafter, joining with composer/lyricist, Mark Hollmann, for the journey to Broadway.
Speaking Freely: ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ with John Cullum, Greg Kotis, Mark Hollmann (27:31)Originally aired on January 25, 2002
An Unlikely Hit and the Path to Broadway
The success of Urinetown seems as unlikely as the show's title.
The musical debuted at the New York International Fringe Festival, where it was an instant hit with audiences. Word of mouth spread quickly and the show was picked up for an Off-Broadway run, which took place at the American Theatre for Actors from May 6th to June 25th, 2001. Reviews were wildly enthusiastic and the show transferred to Broadway at The Henry Miller Theatre, running 25 previews and 965 performances from September 20th, 2001 to January 18th, 2004.
Beyond its three Tony Award wins, Urinetown was nominated for an additional seven Tonys, including Best Musical, as well as ten Drama Desk Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Urinetown had just recouped its $3.7 million dollar investment and continued to sell well, but in early 2004, the producers were suddenly notified that The Henry Miller Theater would be torn down to make room for a new skyscraper, and the show was ordered to vacate the theatre by February. When it closed, Urinetown was the longest-running show to inhabit The Henry Miller Theatre. Plans for finding a new home for the show - on or off-Broadway - never materialized.
A national tour of the show played major U.S. cities in 2003 and 2004. The musical also enjoyed a UK debut in a limited-run production at the St. James Theatre in London in 2014.
Sources: Music Theatre International, Freedom Forum on YouTube, Wikipedia
The Sound of Urinetown
Mark Hollmann, who wrote the music and lyrics to Urinetown, was inspired by two great social issue works of the early 20th century: The Threepenny Opera (1928) and The Cradle Will Rock (1937), as well as the sound of Golden Age musicals (produced from 1943 to 1959).
The Threepenny Opera and Verfremdungseffekt
Bertolt Brecht, 1954(Photo: Wikipedia)
The Threepenny Opera is a German 1928 operatic play by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation of The Beggar’s Opera and four ballads of Francois Villon by Elisabeth Hauptmann, with music by Kurt Weill.
This piece was groundbreaking when it premiered in Germany for its use of the Distancing Effect to critique capitalism. While it was written in 20th century Germany, it was set in 19th century England, effectively "distancing" the audience from the piece emotionally, "to force them to look at this world as a foreign place, to make this place and these people ‘other,’ so that the audience can think critically about the events unfolding before them" (Scott Miller).
From a distance...
The Distancing Effect ("Verfremdungseffekt" in German, literally "making strange") is a theatrical device pioneered by Brecht that is employed heavily throughout Urinetown. The ridiculous names, the exaggerated premise, characters who break the fourth wall, and more are all utilized in Urinetown to evoke this effect. The themes of capitalist criticism and some of the styles of songs in The Threepenny Opera are also major influences on Urinetown. Brecht’s goal with his work was to inspire audiences to think critically about their current society, and to ultimately take action.
"The theater-goer in conventional dramatic theater says: Yes, I've felt that way, too. That's the way I am. That's life. That's the way it will always be. The suffering of this or that person grips me because there is no escape for him. That's great art — Everything is self-evident. I am made to cry with those who cry, and laugh with those who laugh.
But the theater-goer in the epic theater says: I would never have thought that. You can't do that. That's very strange, practically unbelievable. That has to stop. The suffering of this or that person grips me because there is an escape for him. That's great art — nothing is self-evident. I am made to laugh about those who cry, and cry about those who laugh."
Bertolt Brecht, Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction (c. 1936)
The Cradle Will Rock and the Federal Theatre Project
Marc Blitzstein, 1937(Photo: Wikipedia)
The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 opera by Marc Blitztein that was created as part of the Federal Theatre Project. It was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman.
The show takes place in the fictional Steeltown, USA, as a steelworker, Larry Foreman, advocates for workers to unionize despite opposition from the rich industrialist in power, Mr. Mister. Like in Urinetown, The Cradle Will Rock features a host of exaggerated characters whose names tell the audience a lot about them: Larry Foreman is a foreman at the factory, Editor Daily is the editor of the daily newspaper, Harry Druggist runs a drug store, etc. We see this in Urinetown with characters like Bobby Strong, who is a strong leader; Penelope Pennywise, who is stingy about money (“penny-wise”); and Hope Cladwell, who is full of hope and optimism.
Shut It Down!
The Federal Theatre Project version of The Cradle Will Rock was publicly performed only once, at a full-orchestra dress rehearsal on June 14th, 1937. The next day, the WPA padlocked the theater and uniformed guards prevented anyone from removing props or costumes, which were property of the US government.
Welles, Houseman and Blitzstein, seeking a way to privately produce the show, rented the much larger Venice Theatre and a piano just in time for the scheduled preview on June 16, 1937. The 600 audience members, who had gathered outside the original theatre for the preview, travelled 21 blocks north to the Venice Theatre, many on foot. The sold-out house grew even larger when the show's creators invited people off the street to attend for free. To avoid union restrictions, the show was performed with Blitzstein playing the piano onstage and cast members singing their parts from the audience.
What a Coincidence...
Urinetown experienced a similar (though slightly less dramatic) setback in its early days. The Neo-Futurists, an experimental theatre group from Chicago, agreed to produce the show for their 1999–2000 season; however, these plans eventually fell through.
Undeterred, the team submitted the show to the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999, where it became a sleeper hit.
From there, the show was optioned by producers, opened Off-Broadway in May 2001, and transferred to The Henry Miller Theatre on Broadway that September.
Urinetown Is Here (and Now)
"Water is fundamental to sustainable development, human well-being, and planetary health. When water systems fail, the effects are swift and far-reaching: harvests decline, energy systems are disrupted, public health is endangered, cities become increasingly unlivable, livelihoods are lost, communities are displaced, tensions escalate, and the foundations of peace and stability are undermined. In the context of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and growing inequalities, water insecurity has emerged as a systemic risk that increasingly constrains progress..."
Foreward to Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era (January 2026)
Published in advance of the 2026 UN Water Conference, the flagship report Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era argues that the world has entered a new stage: more and more river basins and aquifers are losing the ability to return to their historical “normal.”
This is not a distant threat but a present reality: many human–water systems are now in a post-crisis failure state where past baselines can no longer be restored.
What is Water Bankruptcy?
Droughts, shortages, and pollution episodes that once looked like temporary shocks are becoming chronic in many places, signaling a post-crisis condition the report calls water bankruptcy.
Watch the video for a summary, then explore additional topics in more detail below...
The planet has entered the Global Water Bankruptcy era.
In many basins and aquifers, long-term water use has exceeded renewable inflows and safe depletion limits, and parts of the water and natural capital—rivers, lakes, aquifers, wetlands, soils, and glaciers—have been damaged beyond realistic prospects of full recovery.
Billions remain water insecure.
Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population lives in countries classified as water-insecure or critically water-insecure. Around 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation, and about 4 billion experience severe water scarcity for at least one month a year.
Surface waters are shrinking at scale.
A growing number of major rivers now fail to reach the sea or fall below environmental flow needs for significant parts of the year. More than half of the world’s large lakes have lost water since the early 1990s, affecting around one-quarter of the global population that depends directly on them for water security.
Wetlands have been liquidated on a continental scale.
Over the past five decades, the world has lost roughly 410 million hectares of natural wetlands—almost the land area of the European Union—including an estimated 177 million hectares of inland marshes and swamps, roughly the size of Libya or seven times the area of the United Kingdom. The loss of ecosystem services from these wetlands is valued at over US$5.1 trillion, roughly equivalent to the combined annual GDP of about 135 of the world’s poorest countries.
Groundwater depletion and land subsidence are widespread and often irreversible.
Groundwater now provides about 50% of global domestic water use and over 40% of irrigation water, tying both drinking water security and food production directly to rapidly depleting aquifers. Around 70% of the world’s major aquifers show long-term declining trends. Excessive groundwater extraction has already contributed to significant land subsidence over more than 6 million square kilometers—almost 5% of the global land area—including over 200,000 square kilometers of urban and densely populated zones where close to 2 billion people live. In some locations, land is sinking by up to 25 centimeters per year, permanently reducing storage capacity and increasing flood risk.
Cryosphere loss is liquidating critical “water savings”.
The world, in multiple locations, has already lost more than 30% of its glacier mass since 1970. Several low- and mid-latitude mountain ranges risk losing functional glaciers within decades, undermining the long-term security of hundreds of millions of people who rely on glacier- and snowmelt-fed rivers for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower.
Agricultural heartlands are running down their water capital.
Roughly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture. Around 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are located in areas where total water storage—including surface water, soil moisture, snow, ice, and groundwater—is already declining or unstable. More than 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland—roughly the combined land area of France, Spain, Germany and Italy—are under high or very high water stress.
Land and soil degradation are amplifying water-related risks.
More than half of global agricultural land is now moderately or severely degraded, reducing soil moisture retention and pushing drylands toward desertification. Salinization alone has degraded roughly 82 million hectares of rainfed cropland and 24 million hectares of irrigated cropland—together more than 100 million hectares of cropland—eroding yields in some of the world’s key breadbaskets.
Drought is increasingly anthropogenic and extremely costly.
Over 1.8 billion people were living under drought conditions in 2022–2023. Drought-related damages, intensified by land degradation, groundwater depletion and climate change rather than rainfall deficits alone, already amount to about US$307 billion per year worldwide—larger than the annual GDP of almost three-quarters of UN Member States.
Water quality degradation is shrinking the truly usable resource base.
In many basins, pollution from untreated or inadequately treated wastewater, agricultural runoff, industrial and mining effluents, and salinization means that a growing share of water is no longer safe or economically viable for drinking, food production or ecosystems—even where nominal volumes have not yet declined dramatically.
The planetary freshwater boundary has been transgressed.
Global evidence shows that two important elements of the freshwater cycle—“blue water” (surface and groundwater) and “green water” (soil moisture)—have been pushed beyond a safe operating space, alongside planetary boundaries for climate, biosphere integrity, and land systems.
Global Water Bankruptcy is also a justice, security and political economy challenge.
Without a deliberate focus on equity, the costs of adjustment will fall disproportionately on farmers, rural communities, Indigenous Peoples, informal urban residents, women, youth and other vulnerable groups, increasing the risk of social unrest and conflict.
"Hail, Who?"
Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was an English economist, cleric, and scholar influential in the fields of political economy and demography.
In his 1798 book An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus observed that an increase in a nation's food production improved the well-being of the population, but the improvement was temporary because it led to population growth, which in turn restored the original per capita production level. In other words, humans had a propensity to use abundance for population growth rather than for maintaining a high standard of living, a view and stance that has become known as the "Malthusian trap".
Source: Wikipedia
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