Artwork by Suzanne Anan
(UNION, NJ) -- Kean University Theatre Department presents Urinetown from February 20-28, 2029 in the Wilkins Theatre. The play takes place 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!
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!
Performances take place Friday, February 20 at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 21 at 7:30pm; Sunday, February 22 at 2:00pm; Wednesday, February 25 at 7:30pm; Thursday, February 26 at 5:30pm (post-show Q&A); Friday, February 27 at 10:00am (post-show Q&A) & 7:30pm; and Saturday, February 28 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm. Tickets are available for purchase online. Wilkins Theatre is located at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union, New Jersey.
While Urinetown is fairly ‘clean’ when it comes to profanity and innuendo (there really isn’t any), the show is a ‘dark comedy’ that has a bit of toilet humor, thought it isn’t as much about bodily functions as it is about power and exploitation, and the piece deals very directly with themes of class divide, police brutality, death, violence, and loss of environment due to mismanagement of resources.
Featuring Music by Mark Hollman, Lyrics by Mark Hollman & Greg Kotis and Book Greg Kotis, Urinetown won Three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards.
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 catapults the "comedic romp" into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.
The Kean production is directed by Joshua Feliciano-Sanchez Moser.
Kean Stage at Kean University educates, entertains and challenges audiences by presenting high-quality programs that reflect the diversity of the region and of the arts. These cultural offerings complement the intellectual life of the classroom for our students, increase opportunities for community engagement, and provide affordable access to the arts for New Jersey residents. Audiences of all ages are invited to enjoy a wide range of professional theatre, Broadway tours, dance performances, concerts, international films and family-friendly shows. In addition, Kean Stage encourages University students to attend events, and provides several opportunities to explore the performing arts through masterclasses, workshops, lectures, and employment opportunities as ushers, backstage technicians and box office staff.
Kean University, New Jersey’s urban research university, is a national institution of higher education recognized for its diversity, innovation and the social mobility of its graduates. Designated an R2 research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Kean ranks among the top eight percent of U.S. universities for research and doctorate production. Founded in 1855 as a teachers college, Kean has evolved into a thriving research university that supports students as they persist to graduation, give back to their communities and launch successful careers. Kean’s six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate programs, six doctoral degree programs and more than 70 options leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications, across a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in Union, Toms River and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, as well as Kean Online, the University provides students of all backgrounds an affordable and accessible world-class education.
