Spotlight!

So this year for Spotlight, we wrote our own musical! Well, except the music, since that's beside the point of the "Spotlight on Broadway" production. haha :) We entitled it "Hood"  and it is going to be awesome!! I'm going to outline the plot for you since most of the people who read this aren't going to be able to come and see it.

The story opens in WWI-era Chicago with a Grandmother telling her young grandson, Robert Locksley, to stop stealing from the cookie jar. He retorts that it was only for his friend, Little Jo, because she doesn't have any cookies at her house. This inspires the grandma, and she tells Robert the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Meanwhile, Robert's mother comes in while Rob is fast asleep and asks Grandmother to stop telling the stories in "Children Will Listen" (from Into the Woods). Grandmother says she will be more careful of what she tells to Robert.

Then, the curtains close and the Narrator (Me! :D) comes out and sings "Every Story is A Love Story" (from Aida), and explains that this indeed is a love story. Rob's grandmother passes away and leaves a fortune to Robert, who at first wanted to be just like Robin Hood but forgets his fantasies as he goes to England and buys a huge company that narrowly escapes the clutches of the Great Depression. 

The life of the English aristocrats is portrayed in "Ascot Gavotte" (from My Fair Lady). Unfortunately, after attending the horse races, Robert receives a telegram telling him that his mother contracted pneumonia and was close to death. He went back to the States, but by the time he got to Chicago, it was too late. His mother had died. 

Attending her funeral, he runs into Little Jo who sings "Every Tear A Mother Cries" (from Honk). She is dressed in rags, having been severely afflicted by the Depression. She shows Robert the effects on the poor classes of Chicago in "At the End of the Day" (from Les Miserables). Struck by this, Robert ponders what to do when out walks his childhood idol, Robin Hood! Jo can't see Robin, only Robert can, and so she thinks he needs to go to bed quickly and takes him home. 

While in his bedroom, Robert can't sleep because of the predicament of the poor - he wants to do something about it. His Grandmother appears and tells him to sleep, singing him the lullabye "Stay Awake"  (from Mary Poppins). Right as Robert is about to travel to dreamland, Robin Hood reappears. He silently fights with Grandmother, finally forcing her offstage, and calls his Merry "Men In Tights" to come demonstrate what exactly Robert should do. They formulate a plan where Rob steals from his own company, in order to give a large charitable contribution to a worthy cause. 

The next morning, the crime scene investigation occurs. Robert fools the detectives - one, the lovely Mary Ann, and the other, the evil John Prince(hahaha get it?) - while the invisible-to-everyone-but-Robert Robin Hood flirts with Mary. John seems to take a cue from the figment of Robert's imagination as he asks Mary Ann, "Did it hurt? When you fell for me?" right before Rob and Mary Ann leave to go to a more undistractable area. Then, John Prince being the egotistical beast he is, sings "Me" (from Broadway Beauty and the Beast) - a song about how much he just "knows" Mary Ann is in love with him.

Robert and (well, sort of) Robin go scouting for a place to give the stolen money to. They find a perfect prospect in The Little Women's Orphanage, run by a slightly ditzy Reverend Tucker. Robert lays down what he wants to do for the orphans and confesses that the money is stolen. On his way out, while Tucker is still deciding, Rob runs into one of his old friends from his teenage years and invites this guy (along with all their other friends - they still get together from time to time) to a party at his house that evening - intending to create his own band of Merry Men. Tucker then sings "If I Were a Rich Man" (from Fiddler on the Roof) and decides to accept the money. 

At the party that evening, Robert discovers that all the boys in his old gang are now married. They try to set him up, singing "Have I Got a Girl for You" (from Company). Robert stops them eventually, and he lays out his plan. The Narrator comes out again and tells how Rob and his Married Men (and Women!) -known as only one person - 'The Black Fedora' - go about robbing the aristocrats from Chicago, and then for six months from other big cities across the nation to detract attention from themselves. But, then the rich decide to throw a masquerade ball in order to celebrate six months of peace. During the course of the song "Masquerade" (from Phantom of the Opera) - oh and by the way, Mary Ann and John Prince are in attendance - the gang pulls off a major job, robbing from every aristocrat in the building right underneath the detectives' noses. During the investigation, Rob plans a date with Mary Ann, and John begins to suspect Rob. He sings of his full intention to trap the Black Fedora in "Falcon in the Dive" (from The Scarlet Pimpernel). Then, Mr. Nottingham - the big Mafia boss - comes to talk to John about a debt that he owes the mob. Little Jo overhears their conversation, and realizes that the mob is going to kill the Black Fedora when they get the chance.

Rob goes with his money to the orphanage, where the three eligible bachelorette helpers there are madly in love with him, though he's just a "Poor Wand'ring One" (from Pirates of Penzance). He tells all the orphans that he has planned a feast, since usually they just get split pea soup and mystery meatloaf. The girls all sing "Food" (from Oliver!) and then Rob has to leave, telling him that he has a date that night, followed by an eruption of "Awwwws" from the girls. 

Meeting up with Mary Ann at the park that night, Rob realizes that he loves her, and tells her of why exactly he asked her on the date. The two then sing "It Only Takes A Moment" (from Hello, Dolly), and fall in love with each other even more. Mary Ann has to leave quickly, and so she does. Robin Hood comes in and tries to convince Robert to drop her - after all, she's the enemy - if she found out Robert was the Black Fedora, the poor orphan girls would be returned to their destitute state. Robert and Robin sing "Confrontation" (from Jekyll & Hyde) and Robert forces Robin away. He realized that his grandmother and mother were right - Robin Hood went to his head and changed him into something Mary Ann could never love. 

Right then, Little Jo rushes on to tell Rob about Mr. Nottingham and John Prince. The lightbulb comes on, and Rob gathers together all his Married Men and Women to tell them about their last job - The Sting. The gang does an impromptu robbery where they "accidentally" drop a letter to Rob's "cousin," William Scarlet, detailing when and where the Black Fedora is going to hide all of his loot. The letter is in a perfect location for John Prince to find it the next day as he investigates the scene. He does, and plans to go to this warehouse to find the money, trap Rob, and pay off his debt to the Mafia.  Meanwhile, Rob tells Mary Ann to bring a few officers to a surprise birthday party he's throwing for John Prince at the old warehouse. wink wink nudge nudge. She does, and when everyone pops out to say surprise to John, they catch him with the money and with Mr. Nottingham. All the Black Fedora robberies are pinned on Prince, but Rob had enough money stored away to keep the orphanage going for years. So, the Prince was trapped, the aristocrats were put into their place, the orphans never went hungry again, and Robert and Mary Ann were married and they all lived Happily Ever After - as stated in the Narrator's introduction to "Ever After" (i.e. Finale Part IV from Into the Woods). 

It's a great, fun show! I'm way excited to perform it this week! :) thanks for reading.