A Musical
Act One Synopsis
SETTING: WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK, 21ST CENTURY
A young girl, Melody Bell, is first seen lost in a dream (“Dream Machine”), a nightmare in which her father Robin, has died. A sparrow and a fly appear as harbingers of death. (“Wake Up”) His life is celebrated under a dark cloud of suspicion at his memorial service but a glimmer of hope appears to Melody when she sees the unseen - the sun with a rainbow ring around it.
Her disturbing dreams continue through high school and at the very least she is misunderstood and ostracized because of them. Her mother, Maddie, and stepdad Damon’s are at their wits end and their fears are realized when one of Melody’s dreams of disaster is actualized when her intended prom date is killed in a bizarre accident.
Maddie is surprised to find Melody home during school hours ("Mother Nurture”). Detective Balfour pays a visit to question her. She later overhears her mother agreeing with Damon about sending her away to boarding school, and turns inward for strength. (“I Believe”)
Damon is intent on sending Melody to boarding school because it's where he sent his troubled daughter Sabrina and even thinks it might help them bond. But when Melody arrives there mid-semester what awaits her is more of the same - mean girls; her stepsister Sabrina is already stirring up trouble in (“Witches Stew”). Dr. Id accompanies her to her first class… a history class in which Mr. Wilkes is discussing Lincoln's premonitory dream about his own assassination. When Melody dreams again, Mr. Wilkes is transformed into Lincoln and the mean girls are the mourners. (“Lincoln Lincoln”)
Melody warns her classmate to withdraw from a diving meet, after having dreamt about an accident involving water. She’s ignored, the diver is injured, Melody is blamed, a fight ensues, and that lands her in the office of the school psychologist, Dr. Id, who recognizes her to be a uniquely, troubled child. So she chooses to suspend her while she considers what to do with her. (“Lost in a Dream”)
Back home, Melody attends a county fair and comes upon Gypsy Violet, from whom she gets advice, (“Follow the Signs”). She’ is drawn to the sound of live music and something about the singer feels familiar. Their eyes connect and he seems to recognize her and performs a song he had written about a rainbow ring they saw at her father’s memorial service (“Rainbow Ring”). She now realizes that it’s Riley, a boy she hasn’t seen since childhood. They reconnect and she now has an ally.
Melody returns to Dr. Id’s office at the boarding school to learn her fate. Dr. Id enters and finds Melody reading one of her books, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and tells her that Robert Louis Stevenson had actually dreamt the story. Dr. Id recommends a summer abroad program in Vienna, the birthplace of psychology, and refers her to a colleague, Dr. Cristobal Teller, who conducts sleep research at the Dream Institute, a place where her dreams can be monitored and explored.
She loans her the book. That night Melody dreams that her stepfather Damon is Mr. Hyde and her Uncle Nick is Dr. Jekyll. (“No Place to Hide - Jekyll & Hyde”)
Act Two Synopsis
SETTING: VIENNA, AUSTRIA THEN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK, 21ST CENTURY
Melody agrees to comply with Dr. Id's plan and convinces Riley to accompany her. After they arrive in Vienna, and have settled into their lodgings, they follow the doctor's itinerary and make the Freud Museum their first stop. There they see an exhibition of a fictional meeting between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (“Notes from a Know It All - Freud & Jung”). Later Riley visits Melody at her dorm and finds her immersed in Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. But fatigue overwhelms her and he sings her to sleep. (“Lullaby to Melody”)
As scheduled, Melody meets the “glad/mad scientist” Cristobal (Crystal Ball) Teller and his assistant Ignore at the Dream Institute (“From A Dream”). Dr. Teller gives Melody an overview of groundbreaking experimental technology encapsulated by his dream machine Cristobal decides to begin with a more traditional approach - hypnosis. (“Don’t Wanna Be Awakened”)
Melody gets busy with her studies after more sessions at the Dream Institute as Riley feels phased out. When Melody suggests they are getting to the root of the problem - her father's death, Riley begins to communicate with his father, Dr. Know, back home, and learns some facts surrounding her dad's untimely death and how Detective Balfour had also been involved years ago. Riley is waiting for her one night when she returns late to her dorm and a heated discussion ensues (“Confused”). He leaves in a huff and goes on a bender into the Vienna night. (“Into the Night”)
Back in the states now, Riley pays a visit to Balfour and by chance, Sabrina sees him enter and waits for him to exit. Meanwhile, Melody returns for a test sleep in Cristobal's lab where he monitors her brain waves with his dream machine. He later urges Melody to return home to see her Uncle Nick and she goes directly to his house from the airport and spends the night. While asleep, she dreams while Riley dreams elsewhere in what Jung called the collective unconscious, as they appear to share this dream. (“How Will We Remember It”)
What she learns from Uncle Nick causes her to confront her mother. But as she is arriving, she finds Sabrina outside and learns that Riley has gone missing. Sabrina offers her support and a drink at the Crow’s Nest later. Melody accepts.
Shortly thereafter, Balfour gets surprise visits from Melody…and then Damon, who is looking for her, and unbeknownst to him, has become a person of interest. When he feels cornered by Balfour he protests. (“Cad Not a Killer”) Damon’s visit has raised even more suspicion in Balfour’s mind (“Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire”) and he asks Ms. Garcia to tail Sabrina. What Garcia stumbles upon not only proves that there’s a fire but answers the question of who started it.
Ms Garcia follows Sabrina to a restaurant, where she catches her red handed pouring something in Melody’s drink while Melody has gone to the restroom. (“Sabrina Subpoena”) This leads to a heated discussion between Melody and Sabrina that resolves into a tender moment. (“When I Cry”)
Melody returns to Detective Balfour’s office with her Uncle Nick, where a surprise awaits her. ("Wake Up") is reprised during the curtain call.