NOTE: This Play Guide may contain mild spoilers about the story of the show. If you like to be completely surprised by the play, you may wish to wait until after seeing it to read the Play Guide.

[title of show]

by Erin Murphy

» The Story: A brief synopsis of [title of show]
» Who’s Who: Characters in the play
» Feature: Starmaker YouTube


The Story

The ultimate example of self-referential humor, [title of show] is an experimental musical that tells the story of its own creation. Based on a true story, [title of show] follows Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell’s struggles to create an original musical with their friends and the group’s subsequent rise to stardom.

Broadway fans Jeff and Hunter decide they want to write something for a new musical theater festival. The problem: The deadline is just three weeks away, and neither friend can decide what the musical should be about. Hunter decides that their first scene could simply consist of the two of them debating what to write, and everything they say and do from that point on could become part of the script.

Meanwhile, the writers’ friends Heidi and Susan agree to join the show’s cast. As Jeff and Hunter continue to struggle with writer’s block, they are given helpful advice during two fantasy scenes. In the first, a foul-mouthed blank piece of paper explains how musicals become Broadway hits, and in the second, dream versions of Susan and Heidi explain that the men should write down anything they think of, no matter how ridiculous their ideas sound. Later, switching back to reality, Susan and Heidi join the men for a rehearsal. Jeff writes a song showcasing Heidi’s voice, much to her delight, and she and Susan each speculate about what sort of person the other woman is.

Suddenly, the four characters are thrust into another dream sequence. The friends pretend to fly over New York City, but Hunter abruptly ends the fantasy, criticizing himself for writing such a strange scene into the play. Susan sympathizes with his insecurity, saying how nagging doubts (which she calls “vampires”) can suck out one’s creative juices. At the end of the three weeks, the group fills out the festival entry form and submits their completed musical, which they name [title of show].

Time jumps forward, revealing that the friends’ musical has been accepted into the festival. At the end of one performance, Hunter and Jeff leave to schmooze some notable Broadway faces in the audience, and Susan and Heidi use their time alone to bond with each other. 

Offers begin to roll in for [title of show]. A producer wants to show the musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, then the group receives an offer to do the show at Vineyard Theatre. The group celebrates their new “Off-Broadway” status, the attention from celebrities in the audience, and the critics’ positive reviews.

Unfortunately, after [title of show]‘s last Off-Broadway performance, the show’s development slows to a halt. The offers have stopped, Susan’s office job makes her unreachable, and Heidi is auditioning for roles in other musicals. Nonetheless, Hunter and Jeff still dream of performing their musical on Broadway. The two friends create a video blog for YouTube, announcing to the world that [title of show] will be making the move to Broadway. The videos and the rumor of their Broadway ambitions renew interest in the musical. Soon the group is invited to perform at social events, and their producer makes plans for moving the musical to Broadway.

The friends prepare for the move by editing their original musical and adding new scenes detailing everything that has happened to [title of show] since its submission to festival. As they make the changes, Broadway “It-girl” Sutton Foster leaves a voice message for Hunter, saying she might be interested in joining the show’s cast. Earlier, Hunter had contacted Sutton, hoping that she would play Heidi’s part, as Heidi has had difficulties scheduling [title of show] meetings around her role in The Little Mermaid. Hunter thinks that Sutton would attract investors, but Jeff insists that casting her would make no sense within the context of the show.

Tensions run high in the group, ultimately coming to a head at a press photo shoot. Heidi has found out she may be replaced, Susan is concerned with how she will be compensated for her role in [title of show]‘s creation, Jeff has been shutting Hunter out, and the show’s music director, Larry, feels excluded from the group. Frustrated, Hunter lashes out at his friends and storms off the photo shoot.

Hunter later apologizes to Jeff, explaining that even though [title of show] started out as just something fun to do with friends, he hoped the musical could be his ticket to success. Joined by Susan and Heidi, the friends reflect on stories of their childhood, back when performances were just for fun and they dreamed of fame.
As the show draws to a close, the group wonders what their next step will be and how they should end the show. The women say that Hunter and Jeff should write the ending in their own unique way because they all “would rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.”

Who’s Who?

Jeff Bowen: The writer for [title of show]‘s music and lyrics, who is inspired by past Broadway flops

Hunter Bell: The writer for [title of show]‘s book, who hopes [title of show] will be his shot at glory
Heidi Blickenstaff: A Broadway actress who is excited that a role has been created just for her

Susan Blackwell: A wacky former actress whose office job often conflicts with the friends’ meetings

Starmaker YouTube

After [title of show]‘s Off-Broadway run, Jeff Bowen and Webster University alumnus Hunter Bell suddenly found themselves without an audience. They dreamed of bringing their musical to Broadway, yet the offers from theaters had stopped, the show’s stardom fading. Determined not to let [title of show] die without a fight, the friends turned to the one place where anyone can get a world-wide audience for free: the Internet.

Thus came the [title of show] show, a goofy YouTube video blog about [title of show] and the friends’ quest to find a Broadway venue for their musical. In the first video, Hunter and Jeff do not merely rhapsodize that they would like to move to Broadway; instead, they announce that they will make the move… a buzz-creating rumor that actually ended up catching on.

Within the musical, Hunter gleefully explains to his friends that a theater-news TV program had mentioned they might be moving to Broadway. This prompts Susan to quip, “I’m gonna go on YouTube and announce that I want a golden pony.” Susan may not have gotten that golden pony, but [title of show] was eventually picked up by a Broadway theater.

Indeed, YouTube has made many people’s dreams come true, having forever changed the way that artists can share their talent. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can post videos of themselves acting, singing or dancing and become a Web sensation. Showbiz execs and average Joes alike have realized that viewers flock to these free performances, sharing the videos they like with their friends. (Popular videos such as these are called “viral videos” because of the infectious way they spread quickly from person to person.)

Here are a few other examples of people who, like the creators of [title of show], were able to share their skills and promote their work through YouTube videos. These Internet stars are proof that not everyone needs a million dollar budget to become popular—just raw talent.

OK Go

Many popular music videos today boast directors, film crews, expensive sets and special effects, but OK Go’s low-budget videos were created almost entirely by the band members themselves. The first video, filmed in lead singer Damian Kulash’s backyard, features the men dancing to their song “A Million Ways.” The dance, choreographed by Kulash’s sister, shifts from conga line jaunts to West Side Story steps to a mock duel. When the video became popular, they released another video for their song “Here It Goes Again.” In this video, the four men do a perfectly synchronized dance atop eight running treadmills, gracefully running, sliding and crawling across each machine. The treadmill video became what OK Go is currently most known for, not to mention one of the most watched YouTube videos of all time.

Esmee Denters

At 17 years of age, Esmee Denters was just a waitress at a pancake house when she began posting her videos to YouTube. This Dutch singer performed in front of a webcam in her bedroom, crooning songs she had written herself as well as covers of artists such as Beyonce and Eric Clapton. Her lovely voice brought in droves of viewers to her YouTube page, including singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. Within less than a year, Denters was Timberlake’s opening act for his 2007 summer concert tour in Europe. Now at age 21, Esmee has recently released her debut album through Timberlake’s record label.

Judson Laipply

“Evolution of Dance,” the grand finale of this motivational speaker’s “Inspirational Comedy” program, has long been the #1 most watched YouTube video of all time. Filmed during one of Laipply’s speaking engagements, the performance features Laipply demonstrating 50 years worth of popular dance moves, from Elvis Presley’s knee-shaking swagger to *NSYNC’s boy band choreography. Within a mere two weeks, the video was watched more than 10 million times on YouTube. Laipply’s Internet fame has helped him promote his professional speaking services and his new book, Might As Well Dance.