ACT
ONE |
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A small town circa 1920. (OVERTURE)
It is nighttime. We hear the footsteps of someone sneaking about, then a
cat screeches. "Gotchya!". The lights go up on the village park (DO
IT). The tall Constable Michael Muldoon tacks up a poster seeking
help in the capture of a cat burglar who has been stealing cats all over
the county. He is pleasantly surprised when Maggie speaks to him. She was
an old flame who at age 15 ran away, some 20 years ago. She is in town for
her best friend's wedding. Maggie makes her living telling fortunes, and
she predicts that Muldoon will capture the criminal and receive a nice
promotion for it. He is skeptical of her powers. |
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Suddenly,
there is a commotion as a man with a handlebar mustache and bowler rides
into town on a bicycle (LITTLE BLACK
BOXES). He
selectively gives away 12 little black boxes. He instructs the new owners
not to open his or her boxes, for if they do the boxes will be empty.
Their patience, he informs them, will bring them (or someone they know) a
treasure. Constable Muldoon is about to run him out of town until he too
is given a box, and he becomes all flustered. The Boxman slips away as the
villagers begin to fight over the boxes. Maggie senses that several people’s
fortunes are tied to the boxes and she makes predictions
(MAGIC BOXES).
After handling Muldoon’s box, she becomes upset and runs off. |
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Inside Village Hall Mrs. Mayor flirts with John, the handsome promoter of the
upcoming cat show (He had also been given a box). Constable Muldoon
informs the mayor about the boxes. "It must be a prank," she
declares. She notes that people receive nothing through magic, but must
work for things (WORK).
Muldoon promises to investigate the matter
thoroughly. Cynthia and Todd arrive to get a marriage license. Cynthia has
two children, Christopher and Angela (their father died years ago) and
Todd has a son Ronnie, a troubled boy. Mrs. Mayor is surprised that
Cynthia is marrying Todd and she appears to be somewhat uncomfortable
about it. |
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John goes to the park to eat his lunch. There he
encounters Mary, a homeless woman, and he shares his sandwich with her
(SHARING).
Christopher had also been given a little black box. He and his mother Cynthia discuss it with
Todd, as does Constable Muldoon with his mother.
(HONEY) |
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That night, the Boxman, laments Mary’s fate while she sleeps on the park bench. He
reveals that Mary used to own the fanciest house in town, but was swindled
out of it. Soon after, Todd Greely moved
in. The Boxman had uncovered the
plot but soon met with "a little accident". John comes by to
give Mary some dinner. The Boxman hides in the bushes and appreciates John’s
act of kindness. The burglar shows up suddenly and meets the Boxman, who
seems to encourage the burglar to steal Christopher’s box (VICTORY).
The Burglar is caught stealing the box. He escapes out the window, but not
before Cynthia realizes it is her fiancée Todd. Todd had ripped open the
box and found nothing inside. Of course, the wedding is off, and
Christopher blames the Boxman for causing him to loose a chance at a new
father. Cynthia comforts her children (ONCE IN A WHILE). |
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Later that night, in a haunting scene, the Boxman appears to Christopher. He tells
Christopher that the marriage would have failed, and that his mother was
just settling. He says that everything will work out ((ANTHONY) |
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Next day in the
park, John again shares his lunch with
Mary and leaves just as Cynthia and
her children arrive. (By now the audience realizes that Cynthia and John
are destined to meet, however, the two will continue to miss each other by
seconds throughout the musical.) Ronnie teases Angela by giving her a fake
little black box. (MAGIC - REPRISE) |
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That night, Mrs.
Mayor argues with Todd, the cat burglar. (RUNAWAY).
We learn that she is behind
the theft of the cats, in an effort to win the cat show for her own cat.
(Apparently, Todd does odd, dirty jobs for her because she is blackmailing
him.) She and Todd are both concerned about the Boxman and all the
disruption he is causing. Todd intends to leave town for good. |
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The Villagers arrive for a meeting to discuss the
problems created by the boxes. The mayor wants to open a box to prove they are
empty and a hoax. She coerces Constable Muldoon into giving up his by saying
that he had accepted it as a bribe from the Boxman. He is devastated, when she smashes open the empty
box. The mayor proposes that everyone just forget about the troublesome
boxes, but suddenly someone announces that his box has grown. Another says
that hers has changed color. Everyone begins to argue (ALIVE).
Muldoon picks up his shattered box and discovers, stuck inside, a little
charm — a gold heart. |
ACT
TWO |
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(ENTRE'ACTE
- ALIVE) Mrs. Mayor awakens from a nightmarish dream about dancing
boxes. In the park, (DO IT) we find that Mary’s box has grown
large enough for her to make a simple home of it. She has found her
treasure! Angela has colored her fake box as a joke on Ronnie and now he
is convinced it is genuine. The villagers assemble to view the parade. (THE PIE MARCH) (MARCHE HUMORISTIQUE).
Mrs.
Mayor welcomes the Cat Society to the village, and the contest soon
begins. (CATS)
Meanwhile, Angela discovers that her false box has grown huge in size —
the time is right to open it! She discovers her lost cat, except that it
now is beautifully colored with blue and so on. The judges are about to
award Mrs. Mayor’s cat the grand prize, when Angela arrives. The judges
are amazed at the beauty of Angela’s cat and they award it the prize.
Mrs. Mayor marches off angrily. |
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Still trying to leave town, Todd, disguised as a clown, attempts to get
his son Ronnie. Ronnie doesn’t recognize him, and Muldoon becomes
suspicious. Todd runs off and speeds through town in his truck. As a bad
joke, Ronnie pushes Christopher into the road, and John shouts and runs
to pull Christopher out of harm’s way. Christopher thanks the man, who
then introduces himself as John. Christopher is suddenly awed and runs
away saying that he has to find someone. He drags his Mom to meet John,
but John has already left.. |
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Muldoon calls the police in the next town requesting they stop the truck.
Angela reports that it was Ronnie who pushed Chris into the street. Mrs.
Mayor
realizes that she too had better leave town, but first out of guilt, she awards
Muldoon a promotion and a pay raise. Maggie, gives him a thumbs up. The shy
Muldoon is suddenly full of confidence and he asks Maggie to dinner. She is not
at all shy about accepting and gives Muldoon a taste of what he might expect if
they are to begin courting ((THIS MAN IN UNIFORM). |
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That evening, Cynthia sits on her couch weeping. The Boxman appears behind her and
silently expresses his love and that he has missed her. She senses his
presence and looks up to heaven and smiles. Meanwhile Mrs. Mayor is
hastily packing her things, dumping clothes and jewels into her suitcase. |
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Constable Muldoon and Maggie dine. They acknowledge that they really do
belong together, and have lost the last 20 years
(I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED). Word
reaches Muldoon that the cats have been recovered, but that Todd has
escaped and is heading back toward Springfield through Dawson’s Woods on
foot. Muldoon leaves to help capture Todd. |
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(RUNAWAY
- REPRISE) When the search party catches up with Todd, he
captures one of them and holds a gun to his head. Constable Muldoon
advances and is shot dead. Suddenly the Boxman appears. Todd
fires shots at him but with no effect. The Boxman, admits that he is a
ghost, killed years ago by Todd. Todd is arrested. (ANTHONY – REPRISE)
The Boxman resurrects the dead Muldoon. Muldoon is awed, but the Boxman
confesses discreetly that he can’t actually raise the dead. Muldoon
discovers that it was the gold heart in his shirt pocket that stopped the
bullet. The two of them agree to keep that a secret, after all, a little
legend can go along way. |
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John is about to leave town. He looks for Mary to share lunch one last
time, but he is given the sad news that
Mary passed away. John is about to exit,
but then decides to stay to eat lunch. Cynthia has since sat on the park
bench to read her papers. She drops some of them, and, while bending to pick
them up, John quietly sits beside her. Unaware of his presence, she bunks his
arm as she straightens herself, dropping the papers again. Without glancing at
one another, they rush to pick up the papers. Feeling something strange, they
look into each other’s eyes while slowly standing (AT
LAST). It is love at first sight. Cynthia trembles
with happiness, somehow knowing that this is the man for her, and that
their meeting was a special gift. |
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Next day in the park, we learn everyone’s fates. Todd and Mrs. Mayor are
in the paddy wagon being transferred to county prison. When its drivers turn
around, we see that it is the Boxman, and Mary who now wears a bowler and mustache
too! Christopher poses with his new family. Ronnie will be adopted by
Constable Muldoon and Maggie. Even Muldoon’s Mother has a boyfriend. ((LITTLE
BLACK BOXES - REPRISE). Mary and the Boxman throw little black boxes
into the audience. (THIS
MAN IN UNIFORM
- REPRISE) |
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THE END
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Copyright
1999,
2000
T. E.
Breitenbach
All rights
reserved.
No part of the music,
lyrics, dialogue, pictures, or logos may be reproduced or utilized in any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from:
T. E. Breitenbach
c/o Premiere Musicals Guild,
PO Box 538,
Altamont NY
12009 USA
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