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. It serves as the first part of a musical trilogy, with the middle installment being Hollmann and Kotis' previous Tony Award-winning musical Urinetown and the final installment being Welcome to Space.

Plot The musical is an absurdist rock comedy set in the year 3,000,458,000 BC. The show follows a community of the world's first single-celled, salt-eating organisms, named Jans, on the ocean floor as their extinction nears, leading the King's son to leave their familiar environment.

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

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. 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). 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.

The European premiere was staged at Off-West End at the Southwark Playhouse, London from July 22, 2022 to August 27,2022, directed by Benji Sperring. The production received mixed to negative reviews, with The Guardian giving it one star, calling it "a defeat for theatre", criticizing the lyrics and overall production as a "swampy mess."

History Hollmann and Kotis had publicly discussed their efforts in working on a Urinetown sequel or prequel as early as 2004. 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. Urinetown alums Hunter Foster and Nancy Opel were among the cast, and the private performance was directed by John Rando.

Cast and characters CharacterNY Fringe 2011San Francisco 2014St. Louis 2018London 2022Jan-the-ElderGeorge McDaniel Danny CozartZachary Allen FarmerChristopher Howell Jan-the-Second-OldestErik AltemusKevin SingerDominic Dowdy-WindsorStephen Lewis-JohnstonJan-the-FamishedJennifer BloodJuliana LustenaderJennelle GilreathMarisa Harris Jan-the-SlyJoy SupranoTeresa AttridgeGrace LangfordMari McGinlay Jan-the-SweetEmily TarpeyCourtney MerrellLarissa WhiteHannah Nuttall Jan-the-UnnamedHarriet Sansom HarrisHeather OrthSarah DowlingSarah SlimaniJan-the-WiseManu NarayanMischa StephensMicheal LoweShane ConveryJan-the-WretchedRick CromRoy EikleberryKeith ThompsonJames GullifordJan-the-YoungestDavid GlazerColin DowdThe New OneKimiko GlennMary KalitaLex RonanSarah Slimani

Musical numbers

Act I Hear the Song – Jan-the-Unnamed and Company You Are My Children - Jan-the-Elder and Company Burnin’ Soul - Jan-the-Sweet and Jan-the-Second-Oldest I'll Change the World Around Her - Jan-the-Second-Oldest Little Sister - Jan-the-Sly and Jan-the-Famished Alone - Jan-the-Elder, Jan-the-Wise, Jan-the-Second-Oldest, and Jan-the-Sweet Let Us Rise - Jan-the-Second-Oldest and Jan-the-Sweet Stasis is the Membrane - Jan-the-Sly, Jan-the-Famished, Jan-the-Wise, and Company Liar - Jan-the-Wise and Jan-the-Sweet Act I Finale - Company

Act II You Don't Know a Thing About Love - Jan-the-Unnamed and Company Me Good - The New One, Jan-the-Elder, and Company Don't Be a Traitor to Love - Jan-the-Sly and Jan-the-Wise You're Not the Yeast You Used to Be - Jan-the-Second-Oldest and Jan-the-Sweet Love Equals Pain - Jan-the-Unnamed, Jan-the-Sweet, and Chorus Let Us Rise Reprise - Jan-the-Elder and The New One Doom! Love! Doom! - Jan-the-Elder and Company Look at What Love Made Me Do - Company Life Goes On - Jan-the-Wise, Jan-the-Sweet, and Jan-the-Second-Oldest The World Won't Wait - Jan-the-Sweet, Jan-the-Second-Oldest, Jan-the-Unnamed, and Company

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." 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." 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."

References

External links Interview with Hollmann and Kotis Variety review of 2009 Chicago production Backstage review of 2011 NYFF production "Premise of new musical 'Yeast Nation’ has brows rising", SFGate.com Review of 2014 San Francisco production