EDGES One Act, Revue Musical : Music and Lyrics by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek SYNOPSIS Edges is not a traditional musical; it is an exciting new show about four burgeoning adults asking classic coming-of-age questions. Written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul--2007 Jonathan Larson Award Recipients--in their sophomore year at the University of Michigan, this contemporary song cycle carries an honest voice advocating introspection while maintaining wit and charm. The songs cover such universal issues as love, commitment, identity, and meaning. Characters deal with confronting emotions, escaping expectations, and deciphering complicated relationships. While the show is written for four performers, EDGES can easily be performed by multiple men and women. Encouraging experimental productions, Pasek & Paul want you to explore what happens when we are teetering on the edges! Story EDGES opens with the question Who am I and who do I want to become? from four vastly different individuals. Encompassing varied ages, perspectives, and demeanors, the four put their lives in abbreviated bios before moving into honest introspection: Am I gonna mess it all up? Am I being true to me? What am I to Become? We next meet a young visionary putting himself through college by serving at Pizza Hut. Excited to leave his current life behind, this Boy With Dreams is pitching his ideas to anyone who will purchase a piece of his exciting tomorrow. Caitlyn and Haley introduces two sisters--each wishing the other would start or stop growing. Caitlyn is growing into a woman, distancing from her little sister. Haley wishes things were the way they used to be. The sisters are amazed at how much the other has changed and how they continue to grow apart. All each wants is her sister back! The next song, Be My Friend, endorses an unabashed obsession with social networking and offers a witty prose on the biggest modern addiction: Facebook! From accumulating friends, self-promoting, and staying abreast of the latest gossip…this song sings the praises and curses of being a registered user! Lying There finds a restless girl looking at her resting man in bed. Releasing a secret internal monologue, she asks if she is fulfilled or merely compromising her desires. Is loving someone and being in love different? She wishes she could join him in his love, but discovers that wishing is not really loving. On an opposing relational tone, In Short utters the bottom line of one man's breakup: Wishing physical pains on his ex to compensate for his emotional turmoil—the song offers a comedic rant full of creative revenge tactics. We next meet a man who recalls a woman who raised a city of children. Making more of life than what she had been dealt--this is a woman who bought a house and created a home. A woman who made a profound difference on his life, he wishes her strength as she battles age and endurance. Defining a relationship is the theme of the next song. I Hmm You attempts to define the period of risky titling
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