Been outlining a new musical during quarantine! Tell me what you think!

-Curtains up
-Center Stage, a Man
-He holds a Suitcase Filled w/Secrets &/or Dreams
-He wears a Hat
-“I have always been special & I want things & I’ve no skills, just charm”
-Man feels Lost.
-Gels are Blue.

-He turns around & now the lights are warm bc we are in A Midwestern Town That Also Could Be The South.
-The ensemble sings about their Very Old-Fashioned Way Of Life.
-Man sings This Could Work! In counterpoint
-The stage is a-rustle w/crinoline
-The 3 ages are: kid, teen & old

-Here comes The Mayor!
-The Mayor has a v prominent belly or mustache & the Biggest Hat.
-He doesn’t trust Man & doesn’t want him anywhere near his Strong-Willed Daughter
-Well that’s just fine with Man! Who needs women? Not him! He’s gotta be free!

-Man walks by the Town Pet Shop where he sees a beautiful soprano singing to sick animals before euthanizing them
-Man hopes that she’s single & ideally an orphan!
-It’s the Mayor’s Strong-willed Daughter! She’s shamefully Single in her Late 20’s! She is definitely NOT a lesbian!

-Man tries to woo SWD singing about whisking her away to a Foreign Land
-The song is racist-y & will be cut in most regional productions
-The SWD spurns him by throwing an ill turtle at his head
-Alone, SWD sings to the Still Alive Pets about how she’s lonely & Isn’t a Lesbian

-TOWN MEETING!!

-Everyone is there! The PTA! The DAR! Steve!
-Strong-Willed Daughter sits w/her best friend Kooky Sidekick
-You can tell KS is silly bc she has lots of v curly hair & is an alto.
-KS def isn’t in love with SWD, who whispers comforting words to the blind parakeet in her purse

-They must plan the annual Squash vs. Guord Festival!
-“Who will be crowned Squash Queen and Gourd King” the Town whisper-belts.
-An Old Man in the back stands to sing.
-Everyone braces for a 10 min expository ballad/ dream ballet

-At a tempo slightly faster than glacial the Old Man sings of how this Midwestern Town That Could Also Be The South was founded
-A girl, heir to a Squash fortune fell in love with a humble purveyor of decorative Gourds.
-Now, Squash profiteers & Gourd Farmers can live in harmony

-SWD is always crowned Squash Queen bc nepotism but they most vote on Gourd King every year
-That is, of course, until the true Gourd King returns, as the prophecy foretold!
-The Man sees his entry. Finally! Something to give him Purpose w/o having to put in any work or growth!

-I AM THE ONE TRUE GOURD KING Man cries
-Pshaw! The Town answers. The stage is awash with Groff levels of spit.

-“If you’re the REAL Gourd King” the Mayor says mayorally, you would know the lullably passed down the royal line.
-I DO know it!
-Oh!...can we hear it?
-“No” Man says solemnly. “I will sing it at the Festival as your Gourd King & as my ancestors intended.”

-Man is voted Gourd King
-SWD is the last to reluctantly raise her hand. She won’t admit she’s falling for his roguish charm
-The Man leads a rousing first act finale about how the Squash vs. Gourd festival is next week! NEXT WEEK
-OH WHAT A WEEK CAN BRING
-Man winks

-INTERMISSION!!

-ACT 2 (only a half hour so it can be cut to 90 mins no intermish in the dark Daniel Fish revival)
-Everyone’s getting ready for the Festival
-No ITW “The Festival!” jokes bc it’s not that self-aware
-There is so much ACTIVITY!
-Unnamed Townspeople get their solos!
-Scrims!

-Man has found his childhood BFF who, out of every town in the world,
happened to settle in The Midwestern Town that Could Also Be The South
-BFF asks why Man wants Strong-Willed Woman?
-Man explains that her rejection makes him want her more & he knows that PERSISTANCE IS THE

-In the Pet Shop, Kooky Sidekick brushes dead lizard scales out of Strong-Willed Daughter’s hair
-The Old Man comes by to pick up his dog’s ashes & sings to SWD about how he hopes she “finds her gourd”
-The three of them leave & sing a reprise in a round
-The main lyric is “oh”

-20 MIN. FESTIVAL NUMBER LED BY BEST FRIEND FROM MAN’S PAST AND KOOKY SIDEKICK!
-The ensemble’s value exceeds their AEA tiered minimum
-Pre coronation SWD tells Man she loves him now
-Ily2 says Man but I have to tell you I’m not the Gourd King I have been lying this whole time

-SWD explains that none of that matters bc she sees him for who he is inside, even tho he’s only ever proven himself to be an insecure, shifty liar who cannot handle rejection
-She sings this to him for a million minutes.
-They walk onto the fest. stage which is a giant hay bale

-SING THE LULLABLY! Says Mayor
-His moustache quivers, his hat has grown 3 sizes
-SWD nods to man bc the lullaby is in his
-Man closes his eyes & belts out a show stopping 11 o’clock number
-(Only @RaulEEsparza can do it justice tbh)
-everyone is moved by the magic of theatre.

-Was that the Lullaby of the Gourd King? The town asks
-“IDK I’ve never heard it before!” says Mayor
-The Town decides it’s good enough
-They rest a crown of decorative gourds upon Man’s head
-WAIT!
-The Town Alderman shows up w/a painting of the Town Founder, Gordon V Hornbasket

-MAN LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE MAN IN THE PAINTING!!!
-HE IS THE ONE TRUE GOURD KING AFTER ALL!
-HE GETS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS ISN’T IT GREAT TO BE A TENOR??

-I don’t know what an Alderman does.

-SWD & Man get married bc it’s all she wanted the whole time!
-She exists only to further Man’s development!
-Mayor admits he was ALSO a grifter who showed up one day & decalered himself Mayor
-He coughs & dies in SWD’s arms & a chorus of the Mayor Ancestors embrace his ghost

-A rogue giant squash rolls towards SWD but Kooky Sidekick throws herself in front of it
-She also dies in SWD’s arms belting very high for someone w/a crushed torso
-Man’s BFF, who loved KS himself off the covered bridge
-(he stands there & yells & they fly out the bridge flat)

-SWD bakes their dead friends & family into meat pies.
-They eat them at the Squash vs Gourd Festival Clambake.

-BOWS!