Love, space rocks, and time travel – a passport to the cosmos.
Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something?
An upbeat musical-comedy about finding hope for the future.
Performed by an age/gender/ethnicity-flexible cast.
Minimum 8 (with lots of doubling) or 15+ without doubling, and optional kids.
CHARACTERS
LITTLE HELPERS (m/f)
Children
NINA & GINA (f)
Astronauts
LOVELOCK (f)
Holistic professor
DOCTOR RUCOLA (m/f)
Psychologist
REX (m)
Toxic bachelor
GLEN
Glamorous executive assistant
AURIGA (f)
Interdimensional medical researcher
MAJOR DON (m, Latino)
Mexican military chef
GEORGIE (f)
Intern
UNCLE ERNEST (m)
Geologist
AUNT THERESA (f)
New Age Aunt
SPIRIT1 & SPIRIT2 (f)
Angel/demons chorus
HERBALIST / GAIA / PRESIDENT (f)
Mother goddess in various guises.
ADAM (M)
College drop-out
FAQ
Q: Can I read the script?
A: Yes please do! Here … script pdf.
Q: Can I hear the concept cast album on streaming platforms?
A: Yes! Here … concept album (streaming).
Q: Character list with vocal pitch ranges?
A: Here … vocal pitch ranges.
Q: Can I download the concept cast album as mp3 files?
A: … concept album (mp3).
Q: Can I see the piano-vocal score?
A: … pv_score pdf.
Q: Can I hear the piano-vocal score?
A: Of course! Here … piano-vocal recordings.
Q: Can I see the full score?
A: We’re so glad you asked! Here … full_score pdf.
Q: What about a combined script and PV score?
A: You got it. Here … combined script score pdf.
Q: Describe the show?
A: An upbeat fantasy musical about space rocks, out-of-body experiences, ecology, and saving a collapsing timeline.
Q: Yeah but what is it really about?
A: About finding hope for the future, overcoming depression, letting the future heal the past, taking responsibility and growing up, through wonder, gratitude, and love, for individuals, families, society, humanity, and all beings, living and metaphysical. Everything’s connected.
Q: Wow, ok. What’s the tone?
A: A small book musical, with mystical and sci-fi flavours. Fun, escape, upbeat, imaginative. With deep themes.
Q: Does it have spoken scenes between the musical numbers?
A: Yes. About 30mins is spoken and 60mins is music.
Q: Is it funny?
A: Yes. Lots of big laughs.
Q: What other musicals is it like?
A: Think Hair meets Little Shop of Horrors via the Rocky Horror Picture Show, with less horror, and more Cabaret?
Q: How so?
A: Hair, for grooves and ensemble vocals. Little Shop for funny sci-fi plot. Rocky Horror for dry appreciation of fringe americana and sexual eccentricity. Cabaret for some concept songs and staging, and personal emotions.
Q: Any other reference points?
A: The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Q: It has supernatural and spaceships. Is that a genre clash?
A: No. it’s a specific genre: Space Fantasy. Like Dune and Star Wars.
Q: A musical like Dune and Star Wars? That’s interesting.
A: Now you’re getting it. 🙂
Q: What’s the location setting?
A: A geologist’s cabin and space-rock store in the Mojave desert, a spaceship, outer space, and an interrogation room.
Q: What’s the time setting?
A: 2015
Q: What was the original inspiration?
A: Passport to the Cosmos by John E Mack, Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, who put aside questions of real or not real and studied common elements in the classic alien-abduction “experience”: specifically a message to humanity to “grow up” and live in harmony with your environment.
Q: Choreography?
A: Yes please. Works with basic blocking but lots of potential for full choreography.
Q: Lighting and projection?
A: The earth and sky are almost characters in the piece: sunrise, sunset, stars, space, the “overview effect” reported by astronauts, of profound empathy when seeing planet earth through a window. The climax is a dream-sequence / vision / space-flight. Lots of potential for lighting effects and multimedia projection.
Q: Stage flying?
A: A young couple levitates into a night sky. A young man floats, suspended in space and time, in an asteroid field. Could be achieved though lighting, and/or wire work.
Q: Children?
A: The Little Helpers are children of the future, wearing masks. Could be played by children or not.
Q: What’s the orchestra / band line-up?
A: (1) Electric/acoustic bass, (2) drums/percussion/sample-pad, (3) keyboards (with splits), (4) guitar/mandolin/banjo, (5) trumpet, (6) sax, (7) trombone. … + accordian and harmonica, real or on keyboard.
Q: A horn section?
A: Yes. This is a brass feature. They play on nearly every number. Check out the concept album.
Q: Could the music be performed by high-schoolers?
A: Yes, with a competent musical director.
Q: Can you supply backing tracks?
A: Yes. But a live band would be better.
Q: Can you supply audio files for samples and sound effects?
A: Yes
Q: Can you supply video files for projections eg. space-ship screens, Gaia’s vision, and lighting effects?
A: They’re in development.
Q: What’s the content rating?
A: PG. The themes are intended to be edgy enough to engage kids and teens, and stimulate educational conversation, without crossing any lines. There’s mention of angels and demons, divorce, visions, a one-night-stand where we don’t know exactly what happened, an unspecified but threatening Probe, some double-entendres, species extinction, a non-binary character, a goddess, time-travel, fantasy peril, mind-altering tea, and a magical pregnancy. So appropriateness depends on your specific audience and local norms on a case-by-case basis.
Q: What do you want the show to leave people with?
A: An uplifting, entertaining good time. The idea that our lives, and the future of life on earth will be great, if we make it so. Wonder, gratitude, and love, for each other, nature, and the universe.
Q: How does this story touch you personally?
A: Overcoming depression through finding new family, wonder at nature and the universe, common humanity, and collective joy through drama and music. This happened to us and people we know. It’s what the world needs more of right now. It’s what this story and, perhaps, all musical theatre is about.
Q: What was your writing process?
A: The songs Midnight Lake and Come Back in Time emerged first. They seemed to be about the choice between death and life, for individuals, and humanity. Part of a musical which wanted to be written. This developed through interest in psychology and mythology, group mind and collective joy. The refrain of A New You Tomorrow came while walking down a lane in France to get a tire changed. Mystery Box and the first half of Wow! are interpolations of existing music by Julian Jahanpour. Blessed was inspired by an urge to write a non-religious Christmas song. Why Did You? is inspired by the musical moods of Sade, and Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Night Fall is inspired by Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra (best known from 2001 A Space Odyssey) which went out of copyright in 2020. The creative team are experienced theatre, band, and cabaret performers so the whole project is grounded in live group performance with audiences.
Q: Did you get any dramaturg help?
A: Yes. An early draft was lovingly torn apart by The Academy for New Musical Theatre dramaturg as part of its Search for a New Musical program.
Q: What do you see as road blocks to getting it produced?
A: Marketing an original.
Q: But how many times are producers going to revive Little Shop and Rocky Horror instead of developing the next one?
A: Exactly!
Q: Which is your favourite song and why?
A: Blessed. Because of its sentiment: wonder, gratitude, and love, for all beings and the earth. A moment of hope, returning after the longest night, which societies around the world have celebrated throughout history in annual solstice festivals of light, family, and sharing, such a Christmas and Dong Zhi. Remembering that everything is connected, in a cycle. (Plus, gotta love a waltz.)
Q: What song do you think the audience will leave humming?
A: Maybe the singalong finale, Hunkafunk? (“It’s world peace in a chunk. Woo.”) Concept-album-listeners also seem to pick up on Why Did you? (turn the light on), New You Tomorrow, and Hicksville Rocks, ... and Alien Love.
Q: How would a reading or concert version help you?
A: By getting feedback from performers and audiences, seeing how it plays in different contexts, identifying strengths and weaknesses, being fun for everyone involved, and establishing a network of friends for the project.
Q: What’s the run-time?
A: 90mins (comprising 30mins of dialogue and 60mins of musical numbers.)
Q: How many theatrical acts?
A: Two, with an intermission.
Q: How many structural acts/sequences?
A: Seven
1) Troubled – Adam has bad dreams. Maybe the universe is trying to tell him something?
2) Seduced and abandoned – A windy night brings a visitor.
3) Investigation – The team tries some inexact science.
4) Probers – Everything is connected.
5) Storm and vision – Life on earth requires some action.
6) Second chances – A bunch of stuff needs to unhappen.
7) Hope – The big wheel keeps on turning.
Q: Could the show work as a podcast musical audiodrama?
A: Yes! The dialogue and sound-design is done. Check it out here. But we need to add narration.
Q: There seems to be an opportunity after “we’ve got some stops to make” for improvised scenes based on ask-fors from the audience?
A: Yes. Depending on the capabilities of the cast and audience engagement.
Q: Artistic statement?
A: The show is entertainment. Moving, upbeat and funny. Collective joy for the people. Its themes are important conversation-starters for young people: overcoming depression, taking responsibility and growing up, relationships, ethical science, faith, ecology, learning from history, humanism, becoming the change you want to see in the world, making connections, inclusion, finding meaning in life, and hope for the future. I would love to see a faith-based school tackle it.
Q: What’s your email address to get more info or give feedback?
A: info@newyoumusical.com. All questions and comments are very welcome. 🙂
ACT 1
01 – Night Fall
GAIA, SPIRITS. Beneath a starry sky in the Mojave desert, with dawn at the horizon, a shamanic herbalist opens her stall on a dusty roadside. She shakes a tamburello and sings. Two spirits appear. In a geologist’s cabin, a rock at the foot of a bed pulses with an inner light. Adam sits up in terror, then throws himself to the floor.
02 – Dry Land
AUNT THERESA hangs overalls on a drying line then brings a tea tray to Adam in bed.
She sympathises about his recurring bad dreams. Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something? She tries to move the rock but it is heavy, smelly, and interferes with the radio. After a struggle, they leave it.
Geologist Uncle Ernest and intern Georgie sort meteorites into buckets. Space-rock business is not good. Perhaps Adam has some online marketing ideas?
03 – Hicksville Rocks
THERESA, ADAM, ERNEST, GEORGIE, ENSEMBLE make a promotional video for the website.
04 – Mex it Up
Their landlord MAJOR DON visits. A Mexican military administrator with export permits and bad news. He’s been skimming a budget for secret research on their behalf, now being audited by the mexican pentagon, and they need to produce a scientific breakthrough by the end of the week or they will be shut down. Don suggests they fake DNA on a meteorite.
05 – Little Star
Under a spectacular desert night sky, ADAM reads a newspaper, depressed about his parents’ recent divorce, but inspired by a distant star. He goes to bed.
06 – Visitation Zero
While Adam sleeps, the rock at the foot of his bed again begins to glow. Instrumental.
07 – The Eyes
Characters: ADAM, SPIRITS
A masked figure enters through the wardrobe. Adam sits up, scared, but determined this time to engage.
08 – Clear Sky
“Acceptance?” projects the figure telepathically and tries to sedate ADAM with a high-tech spear, the fazer. But interference from the rock causes malfunction. Adam turns the light on and accidentally zaps the figure with their own fazer – twice! “Acceptance!” says the figure, removing their helmet to reveal AURIGA, a human with blonde hair (whatever ethnicity, the hair is genetically-engineered blonde). Under the influence of the fazer, she’s infatuated with Adam. They hold hands and fly into a romantic out-of-body space experience.
09 – A New You Tomorrow
ADAM and AURIGA next morning, wake up together in bed. Adam is happy. Auriga leaves in a hurry.
10 – Don’t Look Down
Characters: MAJOR DON
Days later, while the team tests space-rocks in a DNA scanner, Adam sulks. Maybe he imagined the magical night? Major Don says it’s better to crash and burn than never make a connection.
11 – Mystery Box
DOCTOR RUCOLA hypnotises Adam to unlock memories.
12 – Why Did You?
In a vision, AURIGA swings on a crescent moon and reflects. The night was a silly mistake, but it has sparked something in her.
13 – Infinite
Characters: THERESA, ADAM
DroctorRuccola is sceptical about lack of proof and tells Adam to grow up. AUNT THERESA is open-minded and suggests they look for a clue.
14 – Wow!
THERESA, ADAM, ERNEST, GEORGIE, MAJOR DON, and DOCTOR RUCOLA find a blonde hair with a date in its DNA: 2099. Auriga is from the future! Major Don sends the DNA data to the lab. They approve new funding. Hicksville Rocks is saved! Adam has proof that Auriga is real, and is determined to be ready for future visits.
INTERVAL
15 – Entr’acte
Instrumental mash-up of Act1 musical themes.
ACT 2
16 – The Man
On a spaceship, PROFESSOR LOVELOCK teaches children how genetically-engineered people in 2099 are sterile, with babies only possible by cloning. They are on a time-travel mission to scan unmodified human DNA without changing history. Auriga enters, late for work. They are joined by mid-life male, REX, and glamorous non-binary assistant, GLEN. Rex dominates the meeting. Lovelock criticizes Rex’s irresponsible methods which risk history collapse. Auriga reluctantly reports the close encounter with Adam. Rex tells Glen to prepare an extraction team. This time we do it “my way”.
17 – Visitation One
Instrumental
Night in Adam’s bedroom, the rock glows.
18 – Alien Love
Adam is awakened by a figure emerging from the wardrobe, happily thinking it’s Auriga, then shocked to see GLEN, and the Little Helpers. They tell Adam to get ready for the probe.
19 – Get on The One
REX enters wearing a lizard head-dress and ceremonial robes, wielding a fazer staff, to zap Adam, himself, and the little helpers. Aunt Theresa enters and turns the lights on. Rex zaps her too. Auriga enters to prevent the impending abduction of Adam and Theresa. Rex suggests they move the party to his spaceship “The One” and performs incantations over a keytar solo.
20 – Storm in a Spaceship
Suddenly the power goes out. They’re busted by mexican agents led by Major Don. Rex’s spaceship has been seen. History is collapsing. Auriga uses the fazer to subdue everyone. Adam protests the lab has the DNA evidence and he loves Auriga. Auriga says they need to talk. But first they must time-travel to last week, to retrieve the hair. They exit through the wardrobe. Rex is left behind, captured.
Astronauts Nina and Gina struggle to control the Mothership, rocked by time-travel turbulence. Adam’s presence onboard is causing a dangerous double paradox. ADAM attempts to be a hero, by ejecting through an airlock.
21 – Midnight Lake
Suspended in time, Adam floats in space. SPIRITS approach, inviting him to surrender to death. Adam weakly fights back with rocks floating nearby.
22 – Come Back in Time
GAIA the earth goddess intervenes to show Adam a vision of humanity’s development and current ecological madness, and gives him a message to bring home: Life on earth requires action now.
23 – Mothership
Left alone, Adam apologises to his lucky star, realising that, however small we feel, everyone must make a difference. He notices the space-rocks he’s grasping are similar to the one in his bedroom … and banging them together emits energy. The MOTHERSHIP CREW passing through the wormhole detects the energy signal and navigates an asteroid field to rescue Adam.
24 – Old Enough
Now we have some stops to make, says Auriga.
In an interrogation room, REX, bearded and sorry for himself, is chained to a table and wired to a lie-detector. Major Don recounts Rex’s substantial intervening time and bad behaviour in various prisons. Enter Rex’s lawyer – Glen – with a parole application. The lie detector confirms Rex has learned the error of his ways.
Major Don agrees to release Rex. Glen gives Don a wrapped space-rock sample from Adam.
25 – Visitation Zero Reprise
Instrumental
Adam and Auriga return to the night they met, to correct the fazer malfunction.
Auriga promises to never forget Adam. The timeline resets.
26-Blessed
AUNT THERESA and UNCLE ERNEST light candles and hang decorations for the winter solstice. Indoors, Georgie reads to Adam unconscious in bed who wakes up, glad to be home with a new understanding.
27 – Ding Dong
Carol singers visit.
28 – Later
Disguised as Swedish hippies, LOVELOCK, REX, GLEN, and the SPIRITS (NINA & GINA). AURIGA enters, visibly pregnant. “Did I do that?” asks Adam. “You did everything you needed to” she explains. The mothership’s mission is complete. Everyone assures Adam they’ll all feel fine about this eventually. Auriga says goodbye and all exit except Lovelock. Georgie tells to Adam to look for romance nearer home. They dance. Enter Major Don, carrying the special space-rock sample. and tells them to turn on the TV.
29 – Hunkafunk
The President of the United Nations announces a major prize for Adam and the team, for discovering a bacteria from space on the glowing rocks that is a new clean energy source and inspiration for international collaboration and innovation. It’s world peace in a chunk! EVERYONE parties.
Original Concept Cast
(in order of appearance)
Ayesha Mendham, Adam Jacques, Carrie Lewis, Ella Galt, James Walker Reid, Julian Jahanpour, Bérénice Nissi J, Billy Jeffries, David Chevers