| dcterms.abstract | Legendale is a musical comedy written by Andrea Daly (composer) and Jeff Bienstock (bookwriter/lyricist), with a story by Jeff Bienstock and Andrea Daly. It features a cast of eight actors. The synopsis of the story is as follows: Act I The show opens on an internet message board for the fantasy role playing video game " Legendale" : three young Gamers--Newbie, Fanboy, and Sir Sarcasm -- are soon joined online by players of all ages and backgrounds. Together, they celebrate the act of Play, which they consider to be a fundamental part of survival in a confusing, chaotic modern world: [1. " When We Play" ] Morning. Andy is in his apartment, playing Legendale before work. He finds momentary joy in the game. When he leaves his tiny apartment and heads to the office, he muses that Legendale is the only place he really feels alive: [2. " Dead Again" ] At work, Andy is startled by the appearance of a shy new temp named Beth. Their small talk is interrupted by Steve, Andy's overbearing boss. Once left to his own devices, Andy opens the message board, and is informed of an exciting development: Paul Jansen, the creator of Legendale, is about to make an announcement. Jansen reveals to his fans that he has created an online tournament, where 1000 lucky gamers can enter and compete to be " Lord of Legendale" in the ultimate online contest: [3. " Lord of Legendale" ] The winner will receive a hefty cash prize and unlimited power in the game world. Andy quickly joins, but Steve pulls him away from the computer before he can select an avatar: [4. Lord of Legendale Reprise" ] Later that evening, Andy has no choice but to select the last remaining avatar available: The Cow-Maiden, his least favorite character. Dejected, he enters the tournament, where the Cow-Maiden is quickly ridiculed by other players as " the worst character" in the game. Back at the office the next morning, it's Friday. Andy is swamped with upgrading the company server, and Beth is bullied by Steve. Beth and Andy attempt to relate but can't seem connect until they realize they may have one thing in common after all: [5. " Nothing In Common" ] Andy tries to work up the nerve to ask her on a date, but misses his chance. Over the weekend Andy performs terribly in the Legendale tournament, and is about to quit completely when his avatar (the Cow-Maiden) suddenly comes to life. Self-aware and quite feisty, the Cow-Maiden tells Andy that if he quits he will ruin her big chance at success. She says she can still win the tournament, but Andy doesn't believe her. To prove that she's got a fighting chance, the Cow-Maiden demonstrates how a little confidence can go a long way: [6. " I've Got A Rock" ] Zelayna wins Andy over, and together they begin to defeat opponents. JansenArts Headquarters, Silicon Valley. While his corporate lackeys scurry around, benevolent game-creator Paul Jansen fawns over his fictional kingdom, observing that everything is perfect in Legendale: [7. " My Little World" ] Andy and the Cow-Maiden have been gaining steam in the tournament all weekend, and the Cow-Maiden has risen to the middle of the leaderboard. Andy decides to customize his avatar and give her a new outfit, hairdo, and a name. Together they choose the name " Zelayna." While Zelayna sleeps peacefully in the game world, Andy reflects on how different he feels now that she's around: [8. " Am I Dreaming" ] Back at work Monday morning, Andy begins the server upgrade. As files slowly load, he gets distracted by a Legendale message. Another gamer is asking to team up with Zelayna. Against his better judgment, Andy enters the game at work. Zelayna and Tarragon (the other gamer's avatar) meet in the forest, but their meeting is interrupted by the appearance of another avatar---a towering grotesque figure called The Dark Troll, who chases other gamers on stage and mortally wounds them. Tarragon runs off, while Zelayna yells after him that the meeting was a trap. [9. " Song of the Dark Troll" ] The Dark Troll is impressed by Zelayna's fighting skills, and offers her the opportunity to be his henchman, but she refuses. The Troll exits and summons monsters to finish her off. In a panic, Andy has Zelayna throw a harmless fireberry at the monsters. To everyone's surprise, the fireberry works because as it lands it activates a glitch in the game that makes the monsters explode. However, the glitch freezes Zelayna, so in order to save her from having to regenerate and lose points, Andy restarts his work computer--- unwittingly crashing the server upgrade in the process. Ecstatic, Andy sings of his Legendale victory: [10. " Epic Win" ] Steve enters and angrily fires him. Act II Two weeks later, a video of Zelayna fending off the Dark Troll's monsters has gone viral, and everyone on the message board is buzzing about Zelayna. She continues to climb the leaderboard, but no one knows who the gamer is that's controlling her (and everyone assumes that it's a woman): [11. " Taking Control" ] With skill and creativity, Zelayna fends off opponents right and left, even seducing one gamer with a charm potion to steal his weapons and treasure: [12. " Surrender" ] Andy takes a break from gaming to return to the office to clean out his desk. He discovers a poster of Zelayna among Beth's things, and realizes that Beth is a Legendale gamer herself. He can hardly wait to reveal that he is the one controlling Zelayna, but Steve interrupts them. Andy quickly invites Beth to meet up at the park later. She agrees. He runs home, eager for the date: [13. " Anticipation" ] JansenArts Headquarters, Silicon Valley. Jansen is livid that Zelayna seems to be taking control of the tournament, because he has rigged the tournament to win it himself all along. He decides to take matters into his own hands: [14. " My Little World Reprise" ] At the park, Andy and Beth's date goes well until Andy reveals that Zelayna is his avatar. The revelation backfires. Beth is convinced that he is lying to impress her, and she leaves. Andy returns home, crushed: [15. " Nothing At All" ] Andy tells Zelayna that the tournament is stupid and not worth playing, because no amount of fictional success will bring him success in the real world. Zelayna counters that she didn't make it all the way to second place to give up: [16. " Why Not Me" ] Realizing that he has nothing to lose, Andy agrees to help Zelayna catch the Dark Troll, who is still in first place on the leaderboard but hasn't reached the winning 1000-point score yet. Meanwhile the Dark Troll is already on Zelayna's trail, and takes her by surprise. To Zelayna's confusion, the Troll reveals himself to be Paul Jansen, and tells Andy that the game is up. Jansen deletes Zelayna's memory file so that the next time she dies in the tournament she won't be able to regenerate, but before he can kill her, Tarragon (the mysterious warrior who offered to team up with Zelayna) enters and cuts off his arm. At the same time, Andy hears a knock on his door. It's Beth. Beth is playing in the tournament, and Tarragon is her avatar. Beth tells Andy she realized he was telling the truth after all, and that she sees Zelayna in him: [17. " Real" ] Together, Andy and Beth and Zelayna and Tarragon do battle with the Dark Troll. Gamers around the world watch the fight in real-time: [18. " This Is War" ] In the climactic moment, Andy and Zelayna use the fireberry glitch to defeat the Dark Troll. Jansen's avatar explodes and disappears, but Zelayna is again frozen in place from the glitch. Andy realizes that to keep the Dark Troll from regenerating he and Beth need to end the tournament now. Andy and Zelayna volunteer to sacrifice their shot at victory: [19. " Am I Dreaming Reprise" ] Beth has Tarragon kill Zelayna, thereby reaching 1000 points. Beth has won the tournament, and gamers around the globe go wild: [20. " Lord of Legendale Reprise" ] In the midst of the celebration Beth closes her laptop and the game world goes dark. Beth and Andy reflect on what fantasy has brought to their real lives: [21. " Here and Now" ] Zelayna reappears alone on stage, dressed like the Cow-Maiden once more, and addresses the audience: " You have completed the Cow-Maiden's Quest. Will you `Replay,' `Quit,' or `Start a New Quest?'" [22. " When I Play Reprise" ] | |
