WALMARTOPIA A musical in 2 acts. Book, music and lyrics by Catherine Capellaro & Andrew Rohn. New York International Fringe Festival - 2006 Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway 3rd September, 2007. Closed 30th December, 2007 (10 previews, 136 performances) SYNOPSIS It's morning at Wal-Mart. Workers scurry around preparing for the morning meeting and cheer. We meet Vicki Latrell, a hardworking single mom who hopes to rise up the company ranks and make a better life for her daughter, Maia. Maia also works at Wal-Mart after school and weekends, but she’s involved in a union organising effort with janitor, Miguel Hernandez. Maia and Miguel are convinced that working at Wal-Mart is a dead end and argue that it’s time to unite and demand better treatment. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart executives are gathering for the morning meeting at headquarters. CEO, Scott “Scooter” Smiley, is reeling from the bad press Wal-Mart is getting concerning the environment, workers’ rights, and the world’s largest sex-discrimination lawsuit. He launches a new public relations campaign to demonstrate that the company values women. At the motel where Vicki lives with Maia, Vicki reassures Maia that Wal-Mart will promote her and that their life will get better. Smiley and Dr. Normal, Wal-Mart’s research director, meet to discuss a top-secret invention, a time portal, which they believe will give Wal-Mart the edge they need to dominate the world. At a meeting at Hooters with her manager, Tim Pearson, Vicki finds out that she has been passed over again in favour of an inexperienced male colleague. Disillusioned and angry, Vicki storms back to work. Pearson has asked her and Maia to sing at a corporate shareholders’ meeting as part of Smiley’s new campaign. Vicki decides to go to Bentonville to sing in hopes that she can tell her story to the board of directors. At corporate headquarters, Dr. Normal, director of research, reveals his invention. He has used the portal to transport the living head of Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, into the present. Walton exhorts the board of directors to loosen up. Vicki and Maia are ushered in to meet the board for a photo op, and they anger Walton by complaining about working conditions. Vicki and Maia have now seen too much. Dr. Normal suggests throwing them through the portal into the future – the perfect solution. Vicki and Maia find themselves 30 years in the future. Bentonville, Arkansas has become the capital of the world, which is dominated by Wal-Mart. Vicki and Maia are seized and thrown into a holding cell. There they meet Zeb, an actor, who is in trouble for criticising Wal-Mart-controlled art. They are both granted a reprieve when Counsellor James comes looking to replace performers in Wal-Arts. Vicki and Maia undergo a conversion. Smiley, who has aged 30 years, still rules the Wal-Mart empire. He requests a meeting with Lawrence, the director of Wal-Mart. Smiley wants a worldwide telecast that will convince the public that it’s acceptable to invade Vermont, the only part of the world that has remained Wal-Mart free. Vicki, Maia and Zeb are cast in the broadcast as terrorists from Vermont. A patriotic anthem sung by WalMart soldiers reduces the terrorists to jelly. Vicki and Maia confront the director about the jingoism of the show, and he locks up Maia and threatens to send her to the front if anything goes awry. Vicki and Zeb witness a “public readjustment” led by Sam Walton, where a Vermonter is injected with desire
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