Urinetown, The Musical. No, it's not a joke, and yes it has everything to do with going to the bathroom.

The Penn State School of Theatre is performing Urinetown, The Musical, the award-winning broadway musical, starting this week at the Playhouse Theatre.

"Who wouldn't want to see a musical entitled Urinetown? With a title like that, it should bring them in like crazy!" Cary Libkin, a Penn State professor of theatre, said.

Libkin, the musical's director, has been at Penn State for 16 years and started the musical theatre program 14 years ago.

The play is set in a city where water is so scarce it is worth its weight in gold, and the use of private bathrooms has been outlawed. The citizens must pay to use public latrines that are run by a monopolistic corporation.

Those who refuse to pay are taken off to Urinetown, a mysterious place from which no one returns.

A latrine assistant finally tires of the monopoly and rebels against the corporation.

Libkin said last year's shows consisted of two older shows, and this year the aim was to do something more recent.

"This year we wanted some more recent, newer shows. Urinetown is a new musical that came out in 2001," he said.

"It's full of roles that are good for college-aged students. It's also a very funny satire that hasn't come to the community yet, so the students and the community get to experience it for the first time together."

At first glance, this musical may seem like a random, distasteful production, but Libkin said the musical indeed is carefully thought out, full of satire and very intellectual.

"It provokes you to think," Libkin said. "That's one of the great things about it."

Beyond the rugged appearance of the show, with characters in tattered clothes and smashed toilets lining the stage, is a message.

"It's a double satire that satirizes large corporations who profit off of natural disasters and musical theatre itself," Libkin said.

Throughout the musical, the dialogue constantly questions itself. It is always aware of its unreality, knowing that it is only a musical.

At one point, one of the characters asks, "What kind of musical is this?"

Libkin said this is a musical that breaks all the traditional conventions of a musical, putting it in a genre of its own.

"It's very difficult to describe the musical in one word because it's so much more than one word. If I had to, it would be funny, or maybe high-energy," he said.

This show, written by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, was the winner of three Tony Awards in 2002, including Best Director, Original Score and Book of a Musical.

JD Daw, who plays the hero, said the play is unique because it makes fun of itself.

"The musical pokes fun at the form of musicals, but it is, in essence, a political satire, which, in my opinion, is the main reason it was so popular on Broadway and is so popular among collegiate and regional theatres," the theatre major said.

Because the show does not fit the mold of a traditional musical, Libkin admits there were some challenges faced during the production.

"The biggest challenge was that most of the characters are onstage all the time. This presents the problem of creating 19 lives simultaneously, while knowing when to emphasize one of them at a certain time. It was a fun challenge," Libkin said.

Despite the challenge the musical presented Libkin, he found the casting to be simple, with perfect results.

"The show was easy to cast but not because the roles were easy. It was because the theatre program has so many talented students. It's a demanding show," Libkin said, adding all 19 cast are theatre majors.

Daw said it's a great experience to be part of the theatre program at Penn State.

"It's freakin' cool! We thespians get to perform at Penn State, one of the greatest, most well known colleges in the country. It's sweet!" he said.

Daw also said the musical is an ensemble that stresses the importance of working together.

"The cast has main characters, but it really is an ensemble show, which means everyone carries equal weight in telling the story," he said. "And since everyone has been more than carrying their weight, I think our show is going to 'rock the casbah' as it were," he said, quoting a famous Clash song.

Libkin understands that is may seem like an odd show, but he is convinced it's a show for everyone and important for students to support students.

"Despite the wacky title, which the show makes fun of itself, it is family entertaining and not off color although it's about peeing," he said.