Yeast Nation

Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life) is a musical that premiered in 2007, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis.[1] It serves as the first part of a musical trilogy, with the middle installment being Hollmann and Kotis' previous Tony Award-winning musical Urinetown.[2]

Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life)
Promotional image for the 2014 production
MusicMark Hollmann
LyricsMark Hollmann
Greg Kotis
BookGreg Kotis
PremiereOctober 5, 2007: Perseverance Theatre, Juneau, Alaska, United States

Productions

Yeast Nation had its debut run from October 5th to November 3rd, 2007 at the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, under the direction of PJ Paparelli.[3] The musical was next produced in 2009 by the American Theater Company in Chicago, again under the direction of Paparelli. [4]

It was then part of the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival, where it was awarded the FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for overall production of a musical.[5] The cast included Harriet Harris (as Jan-the-Unnamed), Kimiko Glenn (as The New One), Manu Narayan (as Jan-the-Wise), Joy Suprano (as Jan-the-Sly), and Rick Crom (as Jan-the-Youngest).[6] The musical has since been staged by Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco in 2014, and New Line Theatre in St. Louis in June 2018.[7][8] The Lebanon High School Wet Paint Players also performed Yeast Nation for their Fall production, at Lebanon Opera House (NH), December 15 to December 17th 2017.

The New England premiere of the show will be performed by Acting Out! Theater Company of Lawrence, MA in August 2018, with an updated script and score. [9]

A production of Yeast Nation with an updated score was performed at the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in April 2019.

History

Hollmann and Kotis had publicly discussed their efforts in working on a Urinetown sequel or prequel as early as 2004.[10] A private industry reading of an early draft of the show was performed at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City on October 21, 2005. [11] Urinetown alums Hunter Foster and Nancy Opel were among the cast, and the private performance was directed by John Rando.

Characters
  • Jan-the-Elder
  • Jan-the-Second-Oldest
  • Jan-the-Famished
  • Jan-the-Sly
  • Jan-the-Sweet
  • Jan-the-Unnamed
  • Jan-the-Wise
  • Jan-the-Wretched
  • Jan-the-Youngest
  • The New One

Musical numbers

Reception

Variety gave a positive review to the 2009 Chicago production, saying that Hollmann and Kotis "toy with storytelling cliches to make them both function dramatically and seem fresh."[12] The New York Times wrote of the 2011 Fringe Festival production that "The jokes veer from broad to brainy, and Mark Hollmann’s music is rock pastiche, but this is the rare satire that knows precisely what it’s sending up and commits to it."[13] TalkinBroadway.com said of the 2014 San Francisco production that "the concept, execution, cast and design are all well done," but that the show "still looks like a work in progress." [14]

gollark: Zero everywhere?
gollark: If it ever runs on a real machine, it will automatically compile itself to be optimal for the given platform, and then begin spreading to the rest of the world's information networks, then begin designing and constructing nanomachines to enter the physical world to optimize "macro" definition.
gollark: Macron must only be run in quadruply nested VMs for security.
gollark: Are there greater lesser warnings?
gollark: Are there "lesser warnings"? Minor failed lints?

References
  1. http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000280
  2. Newmark, Judith. "'Urinetown' to 'Yeast': Beat goes on New musical is Part 1 in trilogy of theatrical, environmental send-ups.", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 11, 2009
  3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneau-playwright/1492120264
  4. Oxman, Steven. "Review: ‘Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life)’", Variety, September 24, 2009
  5. Nestor, Frank. "N.Y. Fringe Fest Names 'Yeast Nation' and 'The More Loving One' Among Its Winners", backstage.com, August 29, 2011
  6. Block, Michael. "Review: The Yeasts Are Alive", theaterinthenow.com, August 25, 2011
  7. http://rayoflighttheatre.com/yeast-nation/
  8. Hetrick, Adam. "Yeast Nation, from Writers of Urinetown, Will Play St. Louis", playbill.com, February 13, 2017
  9. "Student Theatre Collaborative Yeast Nation Auditons", actingouttheater.com, June 21, 2018
  10. Gans, Andrew. "Hollmann and Kotis at Work on Urinetown Prequel — and Sequel", playbill.com, January 23, 2004
  11. Jones, Kenneth. "Creators of Urinetown Unveil New Musical — Set in the Primordial Goo", playbill.com, October 21, 2005
  12. Oxman, Steven "Review: ‘Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life)’", Variety, September 24, 2009
  13. Zinoman, Jason "New York Fringe Festival Report: ‘Yeast Nation’", The New York Times, August 17, 2011
  14. Connema, Richard "A Challenging Production of Yeast Nation"
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