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BARE: A POP OPERA Musical in 2 acts. Book by John Hartmere Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo. Music by Damon Intrabartolo; Lyrics by John Hartmere Jr. American Theatre of Actors, Off Broadway - 19 April, 2004. Closed 27 May, 2004 STORY Act I It is the Feast of the Epiphany, and mass is being held at St. Cecilia’s boarding school to welcome students back from Christmas break. Peter, an altar boy, falls asleep during the priest's homily and drifts into a nightmare in which he is outed by statues of saints, his mother, and his classmates. On his way to class after Mass, Peter finds his roommate and clandestine boyfriend, Jason, who tries to calm Peter's frustration about their relationship. Peter asks Jason to audition for the Senior Play, a production of Romeo and Juliet, so they can spend more time together, but Jason refuses. The bell rings without Peter getting his desired kiss, and as he watches Jason walk away, Peter reflects on their relationship. At auditions for Romeo and Juliet, Sister Chantelle, the school's no-nonsense drama teacher, is underwhelmed by the acting candidates – until Jason surprises Peter by showing up. He and Matt, another altar boy, battle for the role. Sister Chantelle awards the role to Jason, and Ivy, the school's popular is his Juliet. Peter is Mercutio, Matt is Tybalt, and Jason’s acerbic twin sister, Nadia, is the nurse. Jason stays to console his sister, who wanted the role of Juliet . She opens a letter she's received from their father, revealing that Jason has been accepted to Notre Dame, his first choice of schools. At study hall, Matt tries to plan a small surprise party for Ivy's birthday while Lucas, St. Cecilia's resident party boy, tries to recruit everyone to go to a rave. In his best white boy rap, he introduces the students to two drugs: K and GHB. The night of the rave, Nadia decides not to go, after seeing the skimpy attire on Ivy and the attention it's generating from Matt. When everyone leaves without her, she takes out her 'cello and spends another quiet night by herself. At the rave, Peter dances closer to Jason while Ivy dances closer to Matt. As Peter goes in for a public kiss, Jason pulls him outside. They argue over the nature of their relationship, Peter wanting to be more open, Jason telling him that the rave is different from school. Peter finally gets his kiss; it's not public, but it is, unknown to them, witnessed by Matt. The following morning, the groggy students gather for their least favourite St. Cecilia's activity, confession. Peter comes close to telling the priest how he feels, and Matt comes even closes to telling him what he saw. At first rehearsal that afternoon, Sister Chantelle realis es she has her work cut out for her. During a break, Nadia makes a crack at Ivy's promiscuity, and Ivy reflects on the image the students have of her. The intimate party Matt was planning to impress Ivy gets commandeered by Nadia, who turns it into a fullscale bash. Peter stuffs his face with brownies, not realising they're pot brownies, and begins flirting openly with Jason. Ivy, drunk, also flirts openly with Jason, and when he chooses Ivy over Peter to protect his image, Peter storms off. Ivy dismisses Matt's advances, concentrating her energy on landing Jason. She asks him for a kiss for her birthday, and he reluctantly agrees. Both Matt and Peter retreat to the solace of the church's chapel, where they ask God for answers. There, Matt takes the opportunity to ask about the "nature" of his relationship with Jason. Peter, still high from the brownies, confesses all to Matt, desperate to talk about his confusion. When Matt abruptly leaves, Peter realises what he has done, but is stopped when he has a second "vision" in the church: Mother Mary appears in the guise of Sister Chantelle. She and her two angel sidekicks tell Peter it's time to tell his mother his secret .

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