Monsters
by Gail Phaneuf and Ernie Lijoi
Synopsis
"MONSTERS – the Musical" is a poignant story that captures the humour, agony and insight experienced at life’s milestones.
The show is set in Samantha’s chic, but cluttered, Manhattan apartment where she lives alone. Her mother pays a visit to celebrate her 40th birthday, during which Samantha reveals that she has plans to quit her Wall Street job and head for soul-searching adventure in Machu Picchu.
Distressed at this potentially hasty move, her mother desperately tries to convince Samantha to reconsider, to do the practical thing. Samantha insists she's firm in her resolve to strike a new path at 40, but the echo of her mother's words stirs up a toxic blend of old insecurities embodied by monsters – familiar to us all – Apathy, Fear and Body. These demons descend upon her, one by one, on this momentous birthday, in a bid to derail her new ambitions and to protect their own demon status.
Samantha is dragged into a hilarious showdown of wills and determination, as this pack of zany demons tries to sink her spirits and drag her into their paranoid world.
When a birthday package arrives at her door, the monsters warn her it's no gift, but part of a dangerous plot against her. The antics only skyrocket with the unexpected arrival of a young and sexy Birthday Singer, sent mysteriously to wish her birthday greetings. Samantha gains an unlikely ally in her battle with the demons. In the end, Samantha wins, with a revelation that shocks and delights her and the audience.
Charged with energetic music and side-splitting lyrics, MONSTERS asks: Have you faced your demons? We can’t necessarily destroy them, but we can laugh at them and put them in their place.
Musical Numbers
- Everybody's Got Monsters
- Half of a Life
- Old Friends
- What's the Point?
- Be Afraid
- You Don't Want to KNOW!
- All Downhill From Here
- Dress Up!
- Don't Open the BOX!
- Happy Birthday Baby
- The Next Part
- Phobias
- That's What I Would Do
- You Need Us!
More information can be found on the official Monsters website at www.monstersthemusical.com