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Urinetown Creators Pretend to Innovate!

By Gil on Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008 | 3 Comments

This is the description of Greg Kotis and Mark Hollman's new Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life which is playing in Chicago next season:

The year is 3,000,458,000 B.C., and the Earth's first life forms, salt-eating yeasts (yes, yeasts), float in the brine of the primordial soup, under the rule of a dim-witted tyrant. As resources deplete and fear prevails, the faith of one single-celled dreamer changes their society forever, and out of chaos and destruction a new world emerges. Combining '80s rock with a touch of disco, Yeast Nation can't help but be one of most non-political and slightly amusing evenings of musical theatre in America. Here come the Yeasts!

In other words, you replaced people-who-gotta-pee with yeast, a corporate tyrant with a dim-witted tyrant, and then pretty much wrote Urinetown again with 80s rock.

Good of you guys to branch out!

P.S.: "The musical had its world premiere in fall 2007 at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska." Why Alaska?

3 Comments

jmill | January 29, 2008 9:55 AM

I remember reading about them developing a trilogy of musicals where Urinetown is the middle piece - could this be the prequel?

Gil | January 29, 2008 10:14 AM

Yes, this is the prequel in question. Although the shows aren't supposed to actually be related, a la Back to the Future or even Naked Gun. They're just supposed to be of the same family... like most Zelda games.Of course, in every danged Zelda game, you have to get a sword, get some silver arrows, find a map...

Seth Christenfeld | January 29, 2008 10:59 AM

...and rescue a princess. (Except for that POS on the CD-i where you played Zelda. But I think you had to rescue Link in that one, so turnabout is fair play.)

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