AMERICAN SKIN: A New Musical Music by Joshua Davis Book and Lyrics by Eric C. Jones Based on True Events Revised Version @ 2016 Original Version @ 2006 2615 Leadpoint Dr. Missouri City, Texas 77459 [email protected] 8326877738 1 1 CAST OF CHARACTERS: DA BOYS: RALPHIE: White Male, Early 20's Baritone Range HYDE: White Male, Early 20's, Tenor/ Hip-Hop Rapping Skills DJ: White Male, Late Teens- Early 20's, Rock Tenor THE INFERNO: FANTASY: Hispanic Female, Early 20' Mezzo Soprano ECSTASY: African American Female, Early 20's Soprano, Strong Belt DESTINY: Asian American Female, Early 20's Alto, Strong Belt. BIG LOUIE: White American Male, Late 30's, Rock Tenor, Flamboyant personality. SIDE SHOW FREAKS: JIGABOOS: JAMES BYRD JR: African American Male, Early 40's Baritone-Tenor JAMES CHENEY: African American Male, Late 20's Tenor EMMITT TIL: African American Male, Early Teens, High Tenor YUSSEF HAWKINS: African American Male, Late Teens, Baritone/ Hip Hop Rap Skills. INJUNS: BLACK COYOTE: Native American/Hispanic American Male, Early 30's. THE WETBACKS: JOSE CAMPOS TORRES: Hispanic American Male, Early 20's Tenor JOSE DIAZ: Hispanic American Male, Early 30's, Baritone. THE ORIENTALS: VINCENT CHIN: Asian American Male, Mid- Twenties, Rock Tenor MIKYOUNG KIM: Asian American Female, Early 20's, R&B Soprano, Riff and has Strong Belt Voice. 2 2 THE CRACKERS: VIOLET LUIZZO: White Female, Early 30's, Mezzo-Soprano AMY LOCIERO: White Female, Late 20's, ALTO MICHAEL SCHWERNER: White Male, Early 30's, 2nd Tenor ANDREW GOODMAN: White Male, Early 20's, High Tenor YANKEL ROSENBAUM: White Male, Early 20's, Baritone THE RAGHEADS: ABRAHAM ATTA: Middle Eastern American Male, Mid-20's, Tenor MIKEY MIKE: African American Male, Early 30's Tenor, Emcee of the GREAT AMERICAN SIDE SHOW. SUPPORTIVE CHARACTERS: Can all be played by the Main Cast. PRODUCTION NOTES: This musical can have actors play multiple parts. It's a free form show with a lot improvisation and antics that is encouraged. A lot of interaction with the audience is essential. SYNOPSIS: This irreverently funny and powerful rock musical tells a story of how three white misfits' wild night of hell raising turns upside down when they crash their car. While escaping from the Law, THEY are unwilling patrons of a Side Show where the freaks are people who have been murdered because of the color of their skin. This wild supernatural show forces the boys to come face to face with their own deep seeded prejudices & inner demons. Its ASSASSINS meet CRASH. 3 3 ACT I Place: Coney Island, New York City, New York. A dream-like setting which loosely resembles an old, dilapidated section of a Coney Island Boardwalk. A world filled with amusements, "carnie" booths, concession stands, nightclubs, and sideshows. Time: Early 21st Century. Present time. Early Evening. Scene I The play opens with another start of another business night. (Play Rock overture) Enter GUITAR HERO as HE starts to play scales and begins to riff while two people are passing by. THEY don't drop any money into HIS pot. HE continues to play. The local carnies and the local sideshow performers are setting up their stands. Enter BIG LOUIE as HE is opens up HIS Club Inferno. HE kisses HIS girls; DESTINY, ECSTASY and FANTASY on their cheeks as THEY arrive to start another night shift. As the sets are complete and in place, the entire cast are scattered throughout various sections of the stage. THEY freeze except the guitar hero as he continues to play. Enter MIKEY MIKE, the Emcee of the Great American Sideshow as HE faces the audience. Track One- " BUSINESS AS USUAL " (Alternative Rock) MIKEY MIKE (Sings) YOU WON'T FIND A PLOT LIKE THIS ON REALITY TV; HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN, A TRUE SIGHT TO SEE. CHARACTERS SO AMAZING, IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE; WHAT A MAD AUTHOR'S VISION WOULD CONCEIVE. 4 4 COMPANY (Sings) THIS IS THE REAL WORLD WE'RE LIVIN' HERE TODAY. THERE AIN'T NO SCRIPT, STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP; AND IT'S ONLY MAY. IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL, DOWN ON THE BOARDWALK. TIME TO PUNCH IN. IT'S A NIGHT FOR SIN. GET READY FOR THE SHOCK. BIG LOUIE FORGET A NIGHT AT THE THEATER. COME DOWN. RELAX AND CHILL. WE GOT WINE IN THE CELLAR. WE GOT GOOD TIMES THAT'LL THRILL. TAKE A BREAK FROM WALKING DOWN THE BOARDWALK. C'MON! LET'S HAVE SOME FUN. HAVE A FEW DRINKS. LET'S TALK. 5 5 COMPANY THIS IS THE REAL WORLD WE'RE LIVIN' HERE TODAY THERE AIN'T NO SCRIPT. STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP AND IT'S ONLY MAY IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL, DOWN ON THE BOARDWALK TIME TO PUNCH IN IT'S A NIGHT FOR SIN GET READY FOR THE SHOCK MIKEY MIKE _ Yo, check it out y'all! We have the largest collection of freaks and oddities anywhere in the U.S.A. Come on down, pay a small fee and be amazed. BIG LOUIE No way man! Folks don't wanna be bored with a freak museum. You want to fight for ya right ta party. I got the remedy! MIKEY MIKE What are ya doin' man?! 6 6 BIG LOUIE (Sings) IT'S ONLY FREE ENTERPRISE. THIS IS THE HOME OF BRAVE. IT AINT ROCKET SCIENCE. I'M JUST A BUSINESSMAN. CHILLAX BEHAVE MIKEY MIKE Y'ALL JUST HERE TO QUENCH MY THUNDER. BUT I CAN SHOW THEM A WORLD OF WONDER BIG LOUIE Yea Right! COMPANY THIS IS THE REAL WORLD WE'RE LIVIN' HERE TODAY. THERE AIN'T NO SCRIPT STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP AND IT'S ONLY MAY IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL, DOWN ON THE BOARDWALK. TIME TO PUNCH IN. IT'S A NIGHT FOR SIN GET READY FOR THE SHOCK 7 7 BIG LOUIE Oh please! (Sings) LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS. YOU CAN'T CURE THIS WORLD WITH SHOWBIZ. NO ROAR FROM THE CROWD OR SCENT OF GREASEPAINT; IS GONNA TURN ANYBODY OUT THERE INTO A SAINT. COMPANY THIS IS THE REAL WORLD WE'RE LIVIN' HERE TODAY. THERE AIN'T NO SCRIPT STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP AND IT'S ONLY MAY. IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL, DOWN ON THE BOARDWALK. TIME TO PUNCH IN. IT'S A NIGHT FOR SIN. GET READY FOR THE SHOCK. TIME TO PUNCH IN. IT'S A NIGHT FOR SIN. GET READY FOR THE SHOCK. Fade down lights. The enter cast freezes except MIKEY MIKE as HE faces the audience. 8 8 MIKEY MIKE Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages! May I direct your attention to the front entrance. (Spotlight on Front entrance of the Sideshow.) Inside is a world beyond imagination. A world that transcends time, color and borders! A world beyond the norm! (BIG LOUIE interrupts) BIG LOUIE Like his love life! He hasn't had a customer in years and from what I heard; he hasn't gotten laid twice that long! Giggles) MIKEY MIKE Don't listen to that pseudo P.I.M.P. We are a thriving business. Besides, I have a mistress. It's my career! (Big LOUIE giggles) Excuse me. Action! Everyone unfreezes. The cast begins to exit except for MICHAEL SCHWERNER, JAMES BYRD JR, and BLACK COYOTE. BLACK COYOTE Hey boss! Are you talking about those crazy boys that came here this past weekend? JAMES BYRD JR. Man, them boys were a piece of work. MIKEY MIKE Yes Lord! MICHAEL SHWERNER They were un cool man! Very un cool. (Begin the underscore of "DA BOYS OF CONEY ISLAND") BLACK COYOTE Yea! What he just said! MIKEY MIKE And those boys got under your skin and you lost the weekly pool. JAMES BYRD JR. He didn't get the best of me! Y'all just frontin'! 9 9 BLACK COYOTE I want to win that prize! I hope we never get to see the likes of them again. MICHAEL SCHWERNER Not if I win the prize first. BLACK COYOTE Oh yea! MICHAEL SCHWERNER Yea! THEY all start to argue! MIKEY MIKE interrupts. MIKEY MIKE Knock it off you guys! You all got played. But I promise you, if you stay on point and do your job, you all might be lucky enough to win the prize too. JAMES BYRD JR Hey boss! While we've been arguing, the folks still don't know what happened. We're violating the fist rules theater. We need to show and not tell. Let's give them the 411? MIKEY MIKE Alright, I'll show them. It happened just a few days ago. Track Two- DA BOYS OF CONEY ISLAND (Classic Rock) (Sings) IT WAS THE MEMORIAL WEEKEND IF YA DIDN'T KNOW. THREE YOUNG CATS WHO WANTED TO HAVE FUN. THEY WENT TO DA BEACH TA SOAK UP THE SUN. MICHAEL SCHWERNER They did more than just head for the beach to soak up some rays. JAMES BYRD JR. They committed a few misdemeanors. 10 10 BLACK COYOTE And some felonies while you're at it. MICHAEL SCHWERNER That's the understatement of the year. MIKEY MIKE Let me finish! (Sings) BOYS WILL BE BOYS WHEN YA HAVING FUN. BUT AIN'T NO FUN WHEN THE DAMAGE IS DONE. WHEN YA HURT SOMEBODY, IT BREAKS THEIR SOUL. YA NEVER COUNT THE COST OR SEE DA DEATH TOLL. Spotlight on HYDE, RALPHIE and D.J. as they are in a mock interior of a mustang car. The car rotates as they are driving across an empty projector screen. The boys are creating havoc on the roads. HYDE Outta my way punk! Yo, step off! R RALPHIE Who taught that Gook to drive? D.J.