Urinetown Off-Broadway Reviews

I was struck by the craftsmanship that holds “Urinetown” together. When the score does not nod toward the Hollywood of the 1930s, it winks at the Berlin of the 1920s musicalized by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, or glances at the Paris of the 1830s as immortalized by “Les Misérables.” And of course the title brings to mind Steeltown, the setting of Marc Blitzstein’s agitprop play with music “The Cradle Will Rock,” from 1937. Like that city, “Urinetown isn’t so much a place as it is a metaphysical place,” as Little Sally puts it.

While rooted in the Brechtian tradition, the new production of Urinetown that opened this week at New York City Center as part of the Encores! series retains a trenchant freshness. Indeed, there are plenty of elements of the show that make it seem like it could have been written this year: the depletion of natural resources like water, the corruption of politicians in bed with corporate interests, the use of law enforcement to back them up, the reticence of the working class to question authority or stand up to their oppressors. Keala Settle, who plays a functionary for the evil Urine Good Company, even gets a big early laugh for an all-too-timely reference while defending a system that charges everyone an ever-climbing fee to use the public-only toilets: “Don’t you think I have taxes and tariffs and pay-offs to meet too?!” she exclaims. “No one’s getting anywhere for free!”

Sadly, I would not expect a repeat performance (aka a Broadway transfer) from the less-than-ideal “revival” now being presented by City Center Encores! Part parable and part spoof of musical theater, the production, directed with a too-heavy hand by Teddy Bergman, takes its seemingly outlandish plot a bit too seriously, robbing the show of some of its much-needed laughs.

If this Urinetown is neither as starry nor as enchanting as some of Encores!’s other efforts over the past few years, it still delivers a good time. And you’ll seldom be as thankful for the presence of an accessible restroom during intermission.

Director Teddy Bergman has complete control of his forces. Choreographer Mayte Natalio especially keeps the ensemble on the nifty move. Encores! music director Mary-Mitchell Cambell derives cheer and grit from the band, beginning with the Brecht-Weill-esque overture (Bruce Coughlin, the orchestrator). Producing Creative Director Clint Ramos designed the bursting-with-color set, featuring fancy toilet doors anybody would be pleased to enter.

A major problem with the City Center production (directed by the little-known Teddy Bergman) is that the venue is too large for “Urinetown,” which is a minimalist work that benefits from an environmental feel. It brings back memories of when City Center used to revive Off-Broadway musicals over the summer as part of its Off-Center series, which has been on hiatus since 2019.