Supermen: The Musical

Supermen: The Musical (working title) is a ninety-minute musical created by Alara Magritte-Slonaker and Daniel Rosen. An original score and libretto including book, music, and lyrics were written in collaboration by the two creators.

Creation
The show was originally created as a Blank White Page Project supposed to be a response to the prompt, "Why were superheroes invented?". Since then, it has evolved into much more. Now a creative project instead of a mere answer, the project was proposed in February of 2013, but was postponed due to time constraints. Two months after the project was first proposed, it was picked up again during a conversation between the two creators during a physical education class. The two agreed then and there to commit to the project and produce a finished product, this website and storyline, by the deadline.

Writing
Writing was a collaborative effort, involving lots of brainstorming and web-based Google applications such as Google Docs (transcripts from which will be edited for content before release) and Facetime chat. Such free applications as MuseScore and Synthesia also contributed to the show's success.

Composition
Throughout the next few years, Rosen and Magritte would continue this project and collaborate on the writing and composition of the book, music, and lyrics. After three years of development, the writing process was finally completed in the summer of 2015.

Setting
Like in most comic books, the musical is set in an alternate America in which superheroes/villains are real. The story spans several decades throughout the 20th Century, though most of the plot occurs during a year in the 1980s. Specifically, the action occurs in Capital City and Alaska, however there is one scene that takes place on the Moon.

ACT I
n 1935, a shooting star falls from the sky and lands in an Iowan cornfield. ["Overture"].

The opening number of the show takes place twenty-five years later. The year is now 1960, and Capital City is under attack by various supervillains, such as the dastardly Big Mama, the wicked Jester, and the maniacal Meat Machine. Luckily, three caped crime-fighters are here to save the day--the Native American feminist known as the Phoenix, the extraterrestrial superhuman Captain Steel, and the dark knight, Mothman--until a giant Robot forces them to join together. The media hails these masked vigilantes as American Heroes, but just as the cymbals crash, it is announced that the Super Squad has been disbanded ["Opening Number"].

As we jump forward twenty-five years once more, we transition through a media montage depicting major historical events--the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, the Civil Rights movement--until we arrive at the present day, 1985 ["25 Years Later"]. Our former heroes are frustrated with their meaningless lives. Helen Haddox, once known as the Phoenix, is struggling to represent minorities as the head of a nonprofit law firm, but how can she be taken seriously when the world still sees her as a celebrity? Captain Steel, having long ago lost his identity as Luke Goodman, has fallen into the hands of big government and has become a spokesperson for American nationalism, but feels he has sold his soul in his abnegation. The divorced drunkard Logan Blake, once known as Mothman, wastes away in his apartment, hating the world. At the end of the song, all three receive an invitation to a 25th Annual Reunion of the Super Squad ["50s Song"].

At the Reunion, the three former friends gather for a moment away from the press on the balcony of City Hall. It's clear that there are still unresolved feelings between them ["The Reunion"]. Suddenly, the Mayor announces that Captain Steel has received the Key to the City, but as he rises to accept the award, a masked assassin shoots him from the crowd. Captain Steel narrowly dodges the bullet, but all hells breaks loose, and the would-be killer escapes.

 That night, the Phoenix calls Mothman and asks him to join her and Steel in getting back in the game and busting the villain. Mothman declines, but late that night, he is visited by the Cougar, an enigmatic vigilante who also happens to be his daughter ["Look What the Cat Dragged In"]. She convinces Mothman to rejoin the group, pointing out that the assassin's bullet was made of styrofoam, Steel's one true weakness.

 The three heroes try to slip into their tights as they are about to embark on a journey to relive their golden days ["Back in the Game"]. The Cougar joins the team as they go to track down their former enemies, only to find that they have been rehabilitated into society and have been better off these last 25 years than our heroes have been. Former Mafia boss Big Mama has since found Jesus and is a member of a convent. The lunatic Jester reveals that he has been a better person since he transitioned to become a woman. And the once-destructive Meat Machine has been rehabilitated ["Villain Song"].

 Completely discouraged, the Super Squad returns to the Cocoon. The Mayor demands that Captain Steel participate in a Fourth of July parade, despite the dangers posed by the mysterious killer. Feeling powerless and frustrated, Captain Steel decides that it's time he leaves Earth ["My Own Hero"].

 Later at the parade, the villain strikes, and while trying to safeguard the public, the Cougar is killed.

ACT II
 The second act opens with a recap by the media explaining that there has been a terrorist attack on the Fourth of July parade. The Mayor insists that it was an attack by the Soviets.  After a disastrous press conference, the Phoenix and Mothman turn on each other for all their faults in the past. It is then revealed why the group broke up in the first place. It is also revealed that after all these years, Mothman is still in love with the Phoenix. She leaves him a broken man ["Fight Song"].  Immediately after the Phoenix leaves, Mothman begins to consider his life and realizes that of all the enemies he's faced, the only one who ever really stood in his way was himself ["Eleven O'Clock Number"]. Realizing this, Mothman takes a rocket to the Moon to find Captain Steel.  On the Moon, Mothman convinces Steel to come back down to Earth to save the world. Meanwhile, the Phoenix finds an old fan letter from the Cougar telling her that she's her inspiration and her hero ["Moon Song"].  Back on Earth and back in the game, the mystery killer calls the heroes to Alaska where it all began. Once there, they are trapped, and learn his identity--Dr. Blizzard, the ignored fourth member of their group. Eventually they overpower him and escape ["Brain Freeze"].  The team decides to return to Capital City and officially declares their retirement from hero work, permanently ["Soul Sawng"]. They then turn on the Mayor and force him out of office, realizing that he has been taking advantage of his power.  They finally return to celebrate at Mothman's home when Captain Steel announces that he is leaving for good now. After quelling the Phoenix's protests, the group says goodbye. As Steel disappears among the stars, Mothman and the Phoenix kiss and begin a new chapter in their lives together ["Finale"]. 

Musical Numbers

 * 1) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Overture"
 * 2) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Opening Number"
 * 3) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Media Montage"
 * 4) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"50s Song"
 * 5) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"The Reunion"
 * 6) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Look What the Cat Dragged In"
 * 7) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Back in the Game"
 * 8) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Villain Song"
 * 9) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"My Own Hero"
 * 10) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Act One Finale"
 * 11) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Fight Song (Pt. 1)"
 * 12) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Fight Song (Pt. 2)"
 * 13) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Eleven O'Clock Number"
 * 14) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Moon Song"
 * 15) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Brain Freeze"
 * 16) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Soul Song"
 * 17) <p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:0.4em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">"Finale"

Recommended Reading
Things to keep in mind:

This was in 2013, we were young and stupid.
Pink=Daniel, Green=Alara, Most of the time Black=Final, things agreed upon

Everything might not make sense because these documents are only a portion of the conversations we had, and even during this documentating, we were communicating in other ways at the same time as well.

Superman The Musical
Our original document when we were still hardworking enough to attempt to write down everything the other one said. Edited of course, with a very rough outline and thoughts on characters.

This Is The Shit
A rough synopsis on the musical events and details, complete with commentary.

Final Dead Final
Final document before working on this site, does not add much, but it documents the decision to create a site out of the musical.

Musical Aspect
All music, including lyrics, melody, and instrumentals, was composed by Alara Magritte Slonaker and Daniel Rosen a co-effort.

Recommended Reading
Songprotunities a outline of our planned songs, with a short blurb on what we hope each is like