For Immediate Release: February 22, 2006
Media Contact: Sue Winge, Villanova Theatre, 610.519.7454

Villanova Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical Urinetown, a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution set in a city where water is worth its weight in gold. Urinetown features music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann, book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, and is directed by Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Barrymore Award-winning director and chair of the Villanova theatre department.

Urinetown runs March 21-April 9, 2006, at Vasey Hall on the Villanova University campus. Show times are 8:00pm Tuesday - Friday, 2:00pm and 8:00pm Saturday, and 2:00pm Sunday. Tickets are $18-$22, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups, and may be ordered by calling the Villanova Theatre Box Office at (610) 519-7474. Additional information is available online at www.theatre.villanova.edu.

Urinetown premiered in 1999 at the New York International Fringe Festival. After becoming a surprise hit Off-Broadway, it moved to the Henry Miller Theatre on Broadway in 2001, where it ran for 965 performances and was nominated for ten Tony-Awards; it was awarded three for Best Original Musical Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Direction of a Musical.

Urinetown tells the story of a city devastated by a drought of epic proportions. Corrupt city officials have developed a unique way to conserve water: people may only use public restrooms and they have to pay for the privilege. Fed-up citizens take to the streets, but anyone caught relieving themselves in the bushes is sent to the mysterious Urinetown, never to be heard from again.

"While the premise of Urinetown may seem silly, at its heart it is a serious examination of the inequality between the haves and the have-nots and the perpetual struggle between the rich and the poor," Donohue said. "The character of Caldwell B. Cladwell, executive of the Urine Good Company that oversees the public restrooms, is consumed with greed and the accumulation of wealth while the city is suffering."

Urinetown's serious message, however, is delivered through gleefully irreverent songs and witty dialogue that both satirizes and pays homage to the best of Broadway. "One of the reasons I was interested in directing Urinetown is because of the way it laughs at the conventions of musical theatre," Donohue said. "I found the tongue-and-cheek mocking of the genre so clever. Audiences will definitely recognize specific moments from popular musicals."

Donohue chairs the Villanova theatre department and teaches courses in dramaturgy, theatrical experience, and musical theatre. He has received five Barrymore nominations from the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Parade, Children of Eden, Into the Woods, Evita, and Chicago, which received nine nominations and three 2002 Barrymore Awards, including Direction of a Musical. Other directing credits at Villanova include Big River, City of Angels, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, West Side Story, Candide, and Once on This Island. As an actor, Donohue has appeared on stage at Villanova in Twelfth Night, Don Juan, The Trojan Women, and The Passion of Christ.

Composer/Lyricist Mark Hollmann is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Writer/Lyricist Greg Kotis is a veteran of the Neo-Futurists, creators of the long-running attempt to perform thirty plays in sixty minutes. His play Jobey and Katherine enjoyed runs in New York and Chicago. Hollmann and Kotis are at work on a prequel to Urinetown, a part of a trilogy of which Urinetown is the center piece. They are also busy writing the score for a musical version of the film The Man in the White Suit.

The ensemble of Urinetown features a mix of Villanova graduate theatre students, undergraduates, and guest artists, including Bob McDonald (Officer Lockstock), Tonilyn Longo (Penelope Pennywise), Justin Damm (Bobby Strong), J.J. Orgera (Little Sally), Corinne May (Hope Cladwell), Jarad Mitchell Benn (Caldwell B. Cladwell), Daniel McFadden (Mr. McQueen), Baird Kistner (Senator Fipp), Michael Barr (Old Man Strong/Hot Blades Harry), Lizzy Hetzer (Soupy Sue), Matthew Rohner (Tiny Tom), Leigh Ann Brienza (Becky Two-Shoes), Jared Nelson (Robby the Stockfish), TJ Bodnar (Officer Barrel), Nick Falco (Billy Boy Bill), Brian Stike (Dr. Billeaux), Logan Barrie Thompson (Josephine Strong), Jenny Jacobs (Mrs. O'Henry), Kimberley Fernandes (Hildago Jane), and Jennifer Brown, Jessica Ciaramella, Tricia Elms, Patty Gillin, Christin Jezak, and Kate Reynolds (The Poor).

The production team is comprised of Scenic Designer Parris Bradley (adapted from an original concept by Dirk Durossette), Costume Designer Janus Stefanowicz, Lighting Designer Jerold R. Forsyth, Sound Designer John Stovicek, Music Director/Conductor Jim Ryan, Choreographer Barby Hobyak Roche, and Dramaturg Justin Poole.

Urinetown runs March 21-April 9, 2006, at Vasey Hall on the Villanova University campus. Show times are 8:00pm Tuesday-Friday, 2:00pm and 8:00pm Saturday, and 2:00pm Sunday. Tickets are $18-$22, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups, and may be ordered by calling the Villanova Theatre Box office at (610) 519-7474. For more information, visit www.theatre.villanova.edu.

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