Reviews

Urinetown: The Musical by Mark Hollmann, Greg Kotis, David Auburn

Only show reviews with written explanations

leileikarma1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

madelinerossell's review against another edition

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2.0

The jokes about overused musical tropes were a real saving grace for the humor, but on that note I grew up watching Mel Brooks movies so I have a standard for prodical humor.

andrea_h111's review against another edition

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challenging funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

gh1's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

breathehopebooks's review against another edition

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5.0

LITTLE SALLY: What’s [Urinetown] like, Officer Lockstock?
LOCKSTOCK: Oh well, I can’t tell you that, Little Sally… Because it’s a secret, that’s why. Its power depends on mystery. I can’t just blurt it out, like “There is no Urinetown! We just kill people!” Oh no. The information must be oozed out slowly, until it bursts forth in one mighty, cathartic moment! Somewhere in Act Two. With everybody singing, and things like that.

Hilariously poignaint, as always.

aveincobalt's review against another edition

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3.0

Please note this review is for the Music Theatre International script.

Perfect example of how a good production can radically improve a mediocre script with a fresh interpretation. While originally written as satire, this is now something I can actually see happening. Despite being typically staged like we never left the dust bowl, it is easy to imagine our capitalistic society would turn into this once they could no longer ignore climate change. When not hiding behind jokes, it is truly a thought provoking and terrifying work.

Don’t get the MTI script though. It was riddled with spelling errors and seemed like entire sections had been cut. Characters that weren’t listed would pop up out of nowhere for a few lines of dialogue and then completely disappear again. The numbering of the score indicated several songs had been mangled as well.