Synopsis
“This is the Story” Narrators and cast set the stage and get into costumes over opening song, story starts at end of song.
Around the bar of the “Mud Bath Hotel”, in the small country town of Tullamana, a farewell party is being held for Lester Lawrence and Evelyn Mcgrath. Lester’s Father (Dad) warns him and Evie of the dangers of the big city: “What You Gonna Do?” Lester is leaving to sign a recording contract with the business conglomerate “B.I.G.’ and Evelyn is to be his manager. Unbeknown to Evie or Lester, the board of “B.I.G.’ are up to their ears in insider trading schemes and have set Lester up to be their much needed share market disaster. They unleash the luscious, slinky PR girl Miss Yahwhohow on to the gullible Lester. “Va Va Va Voom” Upon arrival our hero is seduced and bamboozled into choosing Miss Yahwhohow over Evelyn as his manager. “Va Va Va Voom – The Seduction” Evie goes home heartbroken and stays in bed for six months eating chocolate. “Chocolate is the Colour of the Blues”
Meanwhile, Miss Yahwhohow gives Lester the most ridiculous image possible – he is now to be known as the “Birdman”. A naff song is written, “The Birdman” a naff musical movie is made – BIG are spending as much as possible, to lose as much as possible to make the share price dive as much as possible. The Birdman is a predictable flop. Lester feels foolish, his father writes a nice letter to him with the help of the locals “I’m Always Your Friend”. Then a random teenage surfing on youtube ruins BiG’s plan – he sees the Birdman video and watches “Birdman – The Movie” and can’t believe how brilliantly bad it is – he skypes and emails everyone he knows, within a day the Birdman has gone viral. Unbelievably the song starts selling, the movie is hailed and there are queues around the block – the Birdman looks to be an ironic hit! BIG, fearing their share price will increase, sack Miss Yahwhohow, hold a press conference and publicly ridicule the Birdman. He becomes a public joke – press bashed and ridiculed till his father hits upon the idea of faking the death of the Birdman. All but Lester, Evie and the people of Tullamana know he is alive and well, just not wearing the feathered outfit anymore. Yahwhohow, in her last act at BIG, transfers ownership of Birdman royalties to herself as she believes he is dead. Meanwhile back in Tullamana Evelyn has a dream and snaps out of her chocolate induced torpor and decides to “be someone”. “I’m Going to be Someone” She leaves Tullamana to become a news reporter.
Act two
Opens five years later. Evelyn is now a major TV personality with her own current affairs show – “Evelyn at Nine”. Miss Yahwhohow has become insanely wealthy through the merchandising of the Birdman brand and, using that money, she has bought control of BIG She then outlines her latest plan – how BIG will demolish Tullamana to build a casino over the town’s famous mud baths. “A Little Town Called Tullamana” They own the only bank in town, the control of the media and by systematic economic strangulation, the town has no choice but to sell to BIG. Things look bleak for the small country town. “Don’t You Ever Give up the Fight” In desperation, Lester writes to the producers of Evelyn’s show. He is invited to appear on the show in a segment called “What’s on your Mind?”, the whole town believe Evelyn must have pulled a few strings; however Evelyn is unaware she is about to interview the man who broke her heart all those years before. In shock at seeing Lester again, Evelyn runs off on her own show.
One week before most of the town is sold to BIG, Evie and Lester meet to see if they can find a way to defeat them. For “One Week in Evie’s Apartment” they dig up the story, they find out about BIG’s insider trading scheme, how the Birdmand was always meant to fail and how Yahwhohow took control of the Birdman royalties after he died. In a climatic “Evelyn at Nine” Lester dons the old Bird suit and rises from the dead in front of a shocked Miss yahwhohow – who is now automatically cut off from the Birdman royalties. Ownership of BIG is now transferred from yawhohow to the very alive Birdman.
Evelyn thanks the TV audience then attends to some long suppressed business with Lester ………
“This is the Story” Narrators and cast set the stage and get into costumes over opening song, story starts at end of song.
Around the bar of the “Mud Bath Hotel”, in the small country town of Tullamana, a farewell party is being held for Lester Lawrence and Evelyn Mcgrath. Lester’s Father (Dad) warns him and Evie of the dangers of the big city: “What You Gonna Do?” Lester is leaving to sign a recording contract with the business conglomerate “B.I.G.’ and Evelyn is to be his manager. Unbeknown to Evie or Lester, the board of “B.I.G.’ are up to their ears in insider trading schemes and have set Lester up to be their much needed share market disaster. They unleash the luscious, slinky PR girl Miss Yahwhohow on to the gullible Lester. “Va Va Va Voom” Upon arrival our hero is seduced and bamboozled into choosing Miss Yahwhohow over Evelyn as his manager. “Va Va Va Voom – The Seduction” Evie goes home heartbroken and stays in bed for six months eating chocolate. “Chocolate is the Colour of the Blues”
Meanwhile, Miss Yahwhohow gives Lester the most ridiculous image possible – he is now to be known as the “Birdman”. A naff song is written, “The Birdman” a naff musical movie is made – BIG are spending as much as possible, to lose as much as possible to make the share price dive as much as possible. The Birdman is a predictable flop. Lester feels foolish, his father writes a nice letter to him with the help of the locals “I’m Always Your Friend”. Then a random teenage surfing on youtube ruins BiG’s plan – he sees the Birdman video and watches “Birdman – The Movie” and can’t believe how brilliantly bad it is – he skypes and emails everyone he knows, within a day the Birdman has gone viral. Unbelievably the song starts selling, the movie is hailed and there are queues around the block – the Birdman looks to be an ironic hit! BIG, fearing their share price will increase, sack Miss Yahwhohow, hold a press conference and publicly ridicule the Birdman. He becomes a public joke – press bashed and ridiculed till his father hits upon the idea of faking the death of the Birdman. All but Lester, Evie and the people of Tullamana know he is alive and well, just not wearing the feathered outfit anymore. Yahwhohow, in her last act at BIG, transfers ownership of Birdman royalties to herself as she believes he is dead. Meanwhile back in Tullamana Evelyn has a dream and snaps out of her chocolate induced torpor and decides to “be someone”. “I’m Going to be Someone” She leaves Tullamana to become a news reporter.
Act two
Opens five years later. Evelyn is now a major TV personality with her own current affairs show – “Evelyn at Nine”. Miss Yahwhohow has become insanely wealthy through the merchandising of the Birdman brand and, using that money, she has bought control of BIG She then outlines her latest plan – how BIG will demolish Tullamana to build a casino over the town’s famous mud baths. “A Little Town Called Tullamana” They own the only bank in town, the control of the media and by systematic economic strangulation, the town has no choice but to sell to BIG. Things look bleak for the small country town. “Don’t You Ever Give up the Fight” In desperation, Lester writes to the producers of Evelyn’s show. He is invited to appear on the show in a segment called “What’s on your Mind?”, the whole town believe Evelyn must have pulled a few strings; however Evelyn is unaware she is about to interview the man who broke her heart all those years before. In shock at seeing Lester again, Evelyn runs off on her own show.
One week before most of the town is sold to BIG, Evie and Lester meet to see if they can find a way to defeat them. For “One Week in Evie’s Apartment” they dig up the story, they find out about BIG’s insider trading scheme, how the Birdmand was always meant to fail and how Yahwhohow took control of the Birdman royalties after he died. In a climatic “Evelyn at Nine” Lester dons the old Bird suit and rises from the dead in front of a shocked Miss yahwhohow – who is now automatically cut off from the Birdman royalties. Ownership of BIG is now transferred from yawhohow to the very alive Birdman.
Evelyn thanks the TV audience then attends to some long suppressed business with Lester ………