User:Claatopiol/sandbox

Synopsis
ACT I: In London, during the Great Plague of 1665 we meet a plague rat named Melbourne Bumblescratch who tells stories to, (and occasionally steals from), the other rats who happen to pass by. Despised for his chicanery, Melbourne spends a great deal of his time dodging those whom he has wronged; including his long suffering fiancée, Bethesda; and Socrates who is the King of the Pack Rats. In the first scene, Melbourne inadvertently pickpockets a precious, blue and white jewel from Socrates, thinking that all he had stolen was a mere morsel of cheese (‘London In The Plague’) but by the time he realizes what he has done, it’s too late. As he makes his escape, Melbourne meets a young, homeless rat named Perry. Perry takes an instant liking to Melbourne, refusing to leave his side (‘Thank You Sir’). The others surround Melbourne and Perry when, like a magician, Melbourne sprinkles some ‘Jiggery Pokery’ (gunpowder) on the ground and the duo disappear into the smoke of the explosion. Bethesda vows to make Melbourne pay for his treachery (‘Melbourne Bumblescratch’). Contrasting Bethesda’s tirade, Melbourne expresses his own, more relaxed approach toward life - and toward connubial fidelity - in (‘At Least A Rat ‘As Got An Excuse’).

Meanwhile, Socrates’ henchmen, Fats and Charmer, have caught up to Melbourne, following him and Perry into a rat pub only to lose the twosome once again. Later on, Fats and Charmer must try to justify their incompetence to Socrates (‘Socrates’ Scorn’) but the King Rat refuses to accept their paltry excuses. After a long night on the run, Melbourne reluctantly offersPerry, still in tow, a place to stay (‘Close Scrape Today’). As Melbourne falls asleep, he has nightmares of being caught by Socrates. Suddenly he is awoken by his recurring hallucination: Hookbeard, the amnesiac ghost of a legendary rat pirate (‘Hookbeard’s Theme’). Melbourne explains to the audience that his hallucinations are due to his one-time consumption of tainted cheese (‘Don’t Eat Bad Cheese!’). Still Melbourne insists that it is a manageable condition. Hookbeard chastises Melbourne for stealing Socrates’s jewel, demanding Melbourne give the jewel back. Melbourne claims that he can’t, ‘much as he’d like to,’ due to the jewel having being lost. The sceptical ghost takes pity on Melbourne, reluctantly promising to protect him from Socrates, should the need arise (‘Hookbeard’s Rebuke’).

Waking from his hallucination, mid-chase, Melbourne realizes that he and Perry are fleeing from Socrates at that very moment! They escape into St. Ghastly Grim Church. Perry is mesmerized by the grand architecture and coloured light produced by the stained glass. Jaded Melbourne remains unimpressed. (‘Can You Hear The Music?’). Just then Perry and Melbourne are kidnapped by a dangerous gang of troglodyte rats. (‘Storyteller’). As it so happens, the Underdwellers love hearing stories about ‘the above world’. Egged on by Perry, Melbourne tells his most gruesome tale: The saga of (‘The Widow MacGregor’) - a destitute woman of ill-repute whose dead carcass was devoured by a single, mysterious rat. The Underdwellers delight in Melbourne’s revolting tale. They don’t notice that Melbourne and Perry have slipped away, once again under the veil of confusion caused by Melbourne’s gunpowder explosion (‘Jiggery Pokery’).

Back at Melbourne’s nest, above Thomas Farynor’s home and bakery, Perry encounters the baker’s daughter, Thamesa. She takes Perry as her pet (‘What Is This That I See’). Perry is instantly smitten (‘Adorable Me!’). Melbourne disapproves of the relationship, insisting Perry break it off. Perry refuses. (‘Unhand Me!’). He struggles with his new found feelings for Thamesa (‘That’s Something’) coming to the conclusion that Melbourne is the one with the problem, not him. Perry declares that Melbourne “Is an unfaithful creature, incapable of giving his heart to anyone.” Astonished by Perry’s declaration, Melbourne protests that he is indeed “the most faithful rat in all of London.” This statement seems less and less likely as Melbourne is confronted by a succession of many former lovers including Bethesda (‘Melbourne Bumblescratch – Reprise’). Suddenly surrounded, Melbourne grabs onto the leg of a raven who flies off with him. Mid-air Melbourne realizes that his life is in serious peril. In desperation, Melbourne prays to God, something he’s never considered doing before. Miraculously, a swarm of albino bats scares off the raven and Melbourne’s life is spared. Humbled and awed, Melbourne sings (‘The Music of the Spheres’).

Melbourne seeks out Perry to tell him what happened. In the interim, Perry has returned to Thamesa’s room (‘And One Day’/’We’ve Got To Get Out of This Place!’) and subsequently suffers a mortal wound by the hand of Thamesa’s father, the royal baker, Thomas Farynor. Finding Perry near death, Melbourne vows to protect Thamesa from “the wickedness of this world” (‘Dual Epiphany’). Heartbroken, Melbourne tucks the diamond he’d stolen from Socrates into Perry’s lifeless palm vowing to live a more noble existence in honour of his fallen friend (‘My Place In The Sun’).

ACT II:

Melbourne’s storytelling prowess proves useful in gaining followers (‘All Fallen Angels’) and Bethesda is brushed to the side. Socrates has suffered the loss of his minions to Melbourne’s newfound message of hope. In retaliation, Socrates prepares a trap for Melbourne that he believes will bear him out as a fraud (‘Socrates’ Ploy’). Squabbler and Rufus bring Melbourne the sad news that Thamesa is about to die, a victim of the plague (‘News Of Thamesa’s Imminent Demise’). Honouring his promise to Perry, Melbourne reluctantly visits the sick girl only to find that he can now see beyond her disfigured appearance. Melbourne is able to glimpse her inner beauty. Melbourne renews his pledge to protect her, even in death (‘Beautiful Now’). Not wanting to endanger his young followers, Melbourne once again conjures up Hookbeard, beckoning his help. Together they fend off would be scavenger rats at the Churchyard of St. Ghastly Grim. Having finally done a noble deed, Hookbeard regains his memory and ascends to the next world (‘Hookbeard’s Theme [Reprise - Part 1]’/’Let Us Pass’/’Hookbeard’s Theme [Reprise - Part 2]’).

Without Hookbeard or Perry by his side, Melbourne acknowledges that he must focus his life on the here and now (‘The Present Tense’). Just then, he falls prey to Socrates’ tainted cheese trap (‘Ain’t That Just The Whiff?’). He takes the bait and eats the foul cheese and is then overwhelmed by a guilt spawned hallucination (‘Nightmare’). His worst fears manifest, Melbourne must face the Widow MacGregor’s ghoulish spirit and admit culpability for his crime against her: Melbourne confesses that he was the small rat in the story he told to the Underdwellers. He was the one who devoured the Widow’s rotting corpse all those years ago. And that shame has haunted him ever since. To his amazement and relief, Melbourne discovers that the Widow harbours no grudge against him, indeed she is grateful to him for the colourful stories he told her when she was dying (‘Long Long Road’). As Melbourne’s delirium subsides, Socrates is able to show his once zealous minions the defiled state in which Melbourne has stooped. Disgusted with both Melbourne and Socrates, Squabbler encourages the rats to follow their own, carnal desires (‘We Will Live To Be Free’). With no allies left, Melbourne must try to escape from Socrates, Fats and Charmer unaided (‘S’ppose I Should Have Seen It Coming’). But Socrates won’t let this happen. Realizing that he is trapped, Melbourne tells Socrates that he is ready to die. everyone’s surprise, Socrates reveals that he never wanted to kill Melbourne. Rather, he wants Melbourne to use his great thieving talents in order to execute the greatest heist of all time: To steal the crown jewel from King Charles II. Socrates details how the heist will be accomplished (‘Farynor’).

Melbourne must now decide, once and for all, whether he will live by the virtues of sin or of righteousness. The ghosts of Perry and Hookbeard remind Melbourne that there is, indeed a third option: “The Ratly Path of Compromise!” (‘Dance Dance Dance’). With that, Melbourne agrees to do the heist. True to form, Melbourne successfully breaks into the Tower of London and steals King Charles’ jewel. He escapes unscathed, only to discover that all the city is ablaze due to a fire he had inadvertently started by dropping some ‘jiggery pokery’ along the way to the Tower. Melbourne rushes to rescue Bethesda when Socrates confronts him and demands the jewel he had just stolen. Being true to his inner rat, Melbourne lies to Socrates, telling him that he lost the jewel. Fire raging in the background, the rivals engage in combat. Tragically, Socrates catches fire and, refusing Melbourne’s help, burns to death (‘Blackness Fills The Night’). By dawn, the city is in cinders, dead rats blanket the ground. Noting the death of the rodents coinciding with the end of the plague, the human Londoners come to the horrible realization that it was the rats who’d been the cause of the plague all along (‘All The Rats Are Dead’). A woman cries out, “Plague Rat!” as the sole rat survivors, Melbourne and Bethesda, drift down the Thames on Hookbeard’s boat. Melbourne takes the condemnation in stride, having accepted his gruesome role in the world. Lovingly he gives Bethesda the jewel he’d stolen from King Charles and lied about to Socrates, as the twosome continue their adventure eastward, sailing bravely into the rising sun of morning (‘Plague Rat’/’Epilogue’).