It's A Privilege To Pee With 'Urinetown'

How long can you hold it in? “Urinetown: The Musical,” the story of a city where people have to pay to pee, will be performed at the Adams Pool Theatre starting Nov. 2. We caught up with some of the show’s stars to find out just how it will spill out over audiences in the coming weeks...



Benjamin K. Glaser ‘09



RR: So, who do you play in “Urinetown?”

BG: I play Bobby Strong, the dreamy-eyed rabble-rouser who leads the revolution against the Urine Good Company [Note the pun —ed.].

RR: In the play, why are there restrictions on #1, but not #2?

BG: There actually are restrictions on #2. That fact comes up in one of the songs. But urination: Much funnier than defecation.

RR: Do you think other Broadway musicals would benefit from the inclusion of pee?

BG: Probably. There actually is evidence that “Les Mis” had an extensive pee plotline that was cut in early workshops.

RR: What about “Phantom of the O-pee-ra?”

BG: Hmm, I think there are definite possibilities.

RR: “Seventeen Seven-pee Six?”

BG: Yeah! I don’t know, what else?

RR: “Hairspray?”

BG: Ew.



Anna C. Smith ‘09



RR: What is your role in this production?

AS: I’m the director.

RR: So, why should people come see “Urinetown?”

AS: Well, “Urinetown” is an amazing show about pee, which is something everyone can relate to. Everyone pees. It’s not like a pseudo-intellectual sort of show.

RR: Do you have the cast hold it in for long periods of time in order to get in the mood?

AS: That’s something I’m trying. I was thinking maybe today or tomorrow, just to really help them get into character, like, hold them in a room for three hours and give them lots of water and not let them go. See what happens.

RR: What’s the longest you ever went without peeing?

AS: Well, I’ve gone a long time without peeing. You know, car trips. I would say probably like eight-hour car rides.

RR: Impressive.

AS: Thank you.

RR: Do you have any role models in the peeing field?

AS: My dog will pee like anywhere he wants to, which is pretty cool. I like that kind of brazen attitude towards urination.



Peter C. Shields ‘09



RR: Who do you play in “Urinetown?”

PS: I play Officer Lockstock, the narrator and law enforcer.

RR: Any good pee stories?

PS: I had to go to the bathroom so bad yesterday that I had to use the women’s bathroom.

RR: Was it cleaner?

PS: It was definitely cleaner. They treat women so much better.

RR: Did you put the seat down?

PS: I put the seat up because I was taking a piss.

RR: But did you put it down afterwards?

PS: Oh. No. Also, really awkward, because there was like a girl right next to the bathroom and I think she saw me.

RR: How does that experience inspire you for your role in “Urinetown?”

PS: I think it’s just all about the character work. Method acting, you know? Learning how to keep it in for as long as possible. We have to pee three times a day in this place. I pee way more than three times a day.



Daniel E. Catomeris ‘11



RR: So, who do you play in “Urinetown?”

DC: I play Caldwell B. Cladwell, who is the CEO, founder, and president of Urine Good Company, or UGC as it’s known for short.

RR: What does UGC produce?

DC: UGC’s product is toilet facilities, which they regulate extensively and force people to pay to use.

RR: Should Harvard hire UGC?

DC: Well, it depends how serious we are about water conservation.

RR: Is there a bathroom on campus you think needs to be improved?

DC: I think there need to be more bathrooms in Adams House, personally. There’s, like, one bathroom I’ve seen here.

RR: Is that how the walls got yellow?

DC: Yeah, that’s what I heard. Back in ’67. There was a riot.

RR: Would you consider yourself good at holding it in?

DC: I’m a fucking camel, man. But Anna is holding a ten-hour rehearsal today and isn’t allowing anyone to pee. I think that’s how Copernicus died.



[Note: Actually, Copernicus’s death was unrelated to urine, while fellow astronomer Tycho Brahe died of a bladder infection after refusing to leave a banquet to relieve himself.]