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"How about a bad title?" wonders Spencer Kaydens Little Sally in "Too Much Exposition." "That could kill a show pretty good." Its a tribute to the skill deployed by the Urinetown creative team (Mark Hollman, music and lyrics Greg Kotis, book and lyrics) that its title doesnt kill the show. Set in a near-future in which water depletion has led to a ban on private toilets, this may be the only musical in history in which one of the leads makes a fortune on pee. But the show (which originated Off-Broadway before graduating to the big league) limits its subversive intent to subject matter and is refreshingly classic in approach and structure--think Weill-meets-Lewis Carroll. Backed by a small ensemble, the cast (with John Cullum in a turn nothing short of brilliant as the evil urinal magnate) has a field day with Kotis and Hollmans frequently hilarious score. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Rate Points :4.5
Binding :Audio CD
Label :RCA Victor Broadway
Manufacturer :RCA Victor Broadway
MPN :63821
ProductGroup :Music
Studio :RCA Victor Broadway
Publisher :RCA Victor Broadway
UPC :090266382125
EAN :0090266382125
Price :$18.97USD
Lowest Price :$10.97USD
Customer ReviewsUrinetown soundtrack
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :1
I ordered this CD so my 2 high school kids could practice for their audition for this musical. It had enough dialogue that they could get a good feel for the show, and had all the songs. If you want the songs from this musical, this is the way to get them.
Funnier than poo
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
Excellent recording quality, nice insert with photos and lyrics. Ive always been a sucker for clever lyrics, and URINETOWN - THE MUSICAL delivers that in a big way! It also features loving tributes to a variety of music styles. Each song has taken its turn being my favorite for the day. The show, itself is riotously funny, but also offers some pretty deep food for thought for anyone inclined in that direction. But you dont have to notice the deeper message if you dont want to. You can just enjoy the immensely enjoyable songs.
Ingenious but often smug and ideologically confused
Rating Point :3 Helpful Point :0
If there was ever a show which one might admire and yet on some level actively dislike, "Urinetown" might be the one. Admittedly, the score is tuneful and catchy, and the melodies are sometimes surprisingly beautiful (when they arent overly Kurt Weill-esque). The orchestra--sounding like a combo of maybe five--does wonders with the score. "Look At the Sky" and "Run Freedom Run" are stirring, "Dont Be the Bunny" and "Snuff that Girl" are as musically irresistable as they are lyrically biting, and the cast performs with vigor. (Special props to Hunter Foster, whos just sensational.) Yet ultimately the show is so relentlessly snarky and pleased with itself that it begins to paint itself into corners, and then resort to philosophies that are downright bewildering. When things get really black in Act II and Officer Lockstock and Little Sally patronizingly try to answer the rhetorical question "What kind of a musical is this?", one is tempted to yell at the stereo: "Clearly, one written by people whove never seen Sweeney Todd Phantom of the Opera Les Miserables Follies Cabaret West Side Story Into the Woods or even Carousel, which bumped off its hero in Act I!" "Urinetown" thinks its daring and "edgy"--which is why people who claim to hate musicals often love it--but its plotting is ridiculous, and at the end the bookwriters basically throw up their hands and resort to a sort of chipper nihilism. They then berate the audience and the listener for daring to enjoy themselves, like some sort of grim Soviet-era brainwashing however, the entire plot of the show revolves around freedom for individuals and rebellion against the powerful--which then results in environmental apocalypse. Do the writers of this show seriously believe that a fascist intersection of government and business that suppresses humanity is the only thing PREVENTING enviromental meltdown? (The show never seriously addresses reducing overpopulation that would detract from its ability to chastise the audience at the end of the show.) "Urinetown" ultimately is about nothing but its own cleverness, like the brainiest kid in the classroom whos "too cool" to be emotionally engaged or make a difference its only real goal is to make a listener or audience member go, "Wow! Im such a bourgeois loser for thinking I can make a difference politically in the world, and liking Hairspray!" If you want real cynicism and pitch-black comedy, go with Kander and Ebbs "Cabaret" or "Chicago" if you want sucker-punch tragedy, go with Sondheims "Follies" or "Sweeny Todd."
not funny
Rating Point :1 Helpful Point :0
Id heard such rave reviews about this musical, but kept passing on chances to see it. I was turned off by the title -- and this is strange for me, a person not afraid of scatological humor. But maybe I knew something I could not say.
The funniest thing about the musical, I am now convinced, is the premise. Urinetown is a place where you have to pay to pee. A conglomerate has taken over all toilet facilities, and if you dont pay, you dont pee -- unless you go into the bushes, and risk getting arrested.
But its just not funny. Its supposed to be a satire, but it just doesnt work. Why? I dont know. But I listened to many songs on the CD, and none of them had that true spark that makes you want to laugh. The opening number is "Too Much Exposition" making fun of musicals that open by explaining too much with words instead of action. And perhaps this song is in there to deflect criticism for the main reason this musical doesnt work -- its too busy explaining, instead of getting on with the business of being funny.
This is the original broadway cast!
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :1
Listen to the original Broadway Cast in the recording I didnt know that John Cullum from the TV series Northern Exposure could sing! He was Nominated for Tony award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the role of Mr. Cladwell in "Urinetown", May 2002.
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