The unlikely hit show by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann started off in the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival and was picked up by commercial producers and enhanced for Off-Broadway and then Broadway in 2001. It closed Jan. 18 at the Henry Miller Theatre because the theatre owner was tearing the building down to construct an office tower.
A national tour of the show continues. The musical won 2002 Tonys for Best Director (John Rando), Best Score (Kotis and Hollmann) and Best Book (Kotis). The Canadian creative team has not been announced, though "we are in conversation with John Rando to direct and John Carrafa to choreograph and we are looking at Scott Pask's [original Broadway] designs," a CanStage spokesperson said.
"We've been exploring opportunities to expand our downtown programming to run year-round and partnering with Aubrey Dan of Dancap Private Equity made it possible to do so," said CanStage artistic producer Martin Bragg, in a statement. "We’re thrilled to present the Canadian premiere of this outrageous new musical comedy."
A strong supporter of CanStage, Aubrey Dan, president and sole owner of Dancap (www.dancap.ca), is a longtime businessman with roots in the generic pharmaceutical industry.
According to the announcement, Dan, a long time patron of the theatre, "has become increasingly aware of the need for more variety in Toronto's Broadway theatrical productions. To this end, he approached CanStage management with the idea of partnering to import Broadway plays that could be produced by Canadians, in Canada, using Canadian actors. Selecting only from productions with a proven track record, the Canstage management team suggested Urinetown for consideration." Dan went to New York City and fell in love with the show. "I knew instinctively that it would appeal to a broad spectrum of Canadians of all ages," Dan said.
Urinetown is produced in association with its original Broadway producers The Araca Group and Dodger Stage Holding.
"We could not be more thrilled with Urinetown finding a home with CanStage," said Araca partner Mike Rego, in a statement. "Their reputation and quality of work is exceptional, and we count ourselves lucky to have such great producing partners in Toronto."
Tickets to the Canadian Urinetown go on sale Feb. 23 to CanStage subscribers only and are available through the CanStage box office (416) 368-3110 or on-line at www.canstage.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public March 22.
