THE LOVE NOTE Musical in 2 acts by Gail Phaneuf : Book, music and lyrics by Gail Phaneuf SYNOPSIS ACT ONE It's the beginning of a new school year, and 10-year old Jessie has been asked to give a "show and tell" presentation at her new middle school. She and her imaginary friend Airy have decided that she should talk about how she learned to milk a cow named Bessy on her grandfather's farm. The show and tell presentation is met with snickers and the other kids begin to mock her with moos. We are introduced to the colorful characters at Jessie's new school as they "Walk Don't Run" to the school cafeteria. Characters include the Lunch Lady, some wacky Bookworms, a cute boy named Peter, a bully named Adam, an even worse bully named Brittany and her three underlings, Natty, Patty and Katty. Sitting alone at the lunch table, Jessie is comforted by the tiny pink love note that her mother packs in her lunch bag as she sings The Love Note". Brittany enters with a flourish and sings her signature song "My Name is Brittany" just before she descends upon Jessie and cleverly convinces her to trade lunch with her every day in exchange for friendship and popularity. Jessie tentatively agrees and is then bound by her promise. Brittany proceeds to read Jessie's love note out loud and then takes Jessie's lunch and leaves. She crumbles the love note and tosses it to the ground. Unable to stomach Brittany's nasty lunch, Jessie goes home hungry and begins to make a huge after-school snack. Her imaginary friend Airy tries to give her some advice about how to make friends at her new school, but clearly wants to stay #1 with Jessie. Jessie reassures Airy that they are the best of friends even though he's "Very Imaginary'. The Bookworms continue to be tormented by the bullies and they sing about the travails of being "Bookworms". Jessie endures another day in the school lunchroom as Brittany reads Jessie's pink love note out loud for all to hear. Brittany then lies to Jessie and tells her that she thinks that Peter likes her. Brittany says that she'll "talk" to Peter for Jessie to find out for sure. This sends Jessie into a spin because she has never even spoken to Peter, but she does secretly think he's cute. Brittany has her own agenda for Peter and is trying to get him to ask her to the upcoming Halloween dance. When Adam sees that Brittany is talking to Peter, he threatens that a "Food Fight" is coming, and gels the entire lunchroom involved. Just before the food fight gets out of hand — the Lunch Lady is there to break up the fight and send the perpetrators to Detention. The Bookworms are intrigued by Jessie and they try talk to her, but they are interrupted by Brittany and Natty, Patty and Katty. The Lunch Lady who has been picking up each of Jessie's discarded, crumpled pink love notes from the floor is beginning to understand what Brittany is doing to Jessie. The Lunch Lady sings about her own experience with a bully when she was young in "White Patent Leather Shoes". Act one ends with a raucous scene full of bullies in "Detention". ACT TWO Jessie is tormented by her ever increasing hunger, and the fact that Brittany keeps mentioning how much Peter likes her. Jessie and Airy talk about how to handle Brittany and Jessie tells Airy about Peter. Airy asks what Peter is like and Peter appears as in a dream and sings "Jessie". Airy can tell that Jessie really likes Peter and he is a little jealous about her having affection for someone else. Jessie tries to reassure Airy, but she is beginning to feel that she just might be outgrowing her imaginary friend. When Airy asks what they should play, Jessie decides that they should play "Chefs" since she's always hungry. Jessie and Airy get out lots of ingredients and make an elaborate and imaginative snack for the king in "We Are Chefs!"
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