SYNOPSIS

 

ACT ONE

(“Prologue”) Times are changing. The world has become much more health-conscious. Cereal companies are struggling with their sugar-heavy brands, so they fire their mascots and transition their brands away from any characters associated with sugar. The last two mascots standing are Jax and Phoenix, famous for their once-enormously popular cereal, Sweetios. They’re being fired too and are doing their final shoot on set for an extended farewell promo/commercial (“Sweetios”). After the shoot is done, Jax and Phoenix are left alone in the dark. The scene transitions to them sitting at a donut shop, run by an ex-cereal-mascot Davey Delish (a pug).

 

Jax and Phoenix wonder what they’re going to do next for work. Some guests ask Phoenix for his autograph, and then Jax notices some guests asking Davey for his autograph. Jax has always loved fame more than most things in life, so this gives him an idea: open up a health-conscious, sugar-free restaurant. He’s convinced that if they want to survive, they need to adapt and change with the times. Jax discusses the idea with Phoenix and then they go talk to Davey, who shares some advice (“Starting a Restaurant”). After the song, Jax is more inspired than anything. He enthusiastically drags Phoenix along to go talk to Jax’s fiancé, Cassidy.

 

Cassidy had a great career as the mascot for Choco Crunch over the years, but also got fired recently. Since being laid off, she subconsciously resorts to what she knows best - chocolate recipes. When Jax and Phoenix enter their apartment, there are goodies and sweets all over the place, and Cassidy is whizzing around (“Cassidy and Chocolate”). After the song, Jax tries convincing her to join them in their restaurant as the head chef. Cassidy is reluctant because her instinct is warning her this isn’t the best idea. Jax reminds her that it’s not healthy for her to be cooped up inside all day, and that she will lose her “star power” and hire-ability. Cassidy is still hesitant, but ultimately agrees to join in the idea. Before starting, they need to assemble a team. Phoenix says he knows an ideal candidate for their back-of-house kitchen manager.

 

Transitioning to an Irish pub, we meet Killian O’Connor, who was once the mascot for SweetO’ PotatO’s. He’s the type of guy who goes job to job without much thought. Currently, he thought to try being a Host at an Irish pub, but it’s not going so well (“Killian O’Connor”). He’s getting bombarded with dozens of requests from guests. He tries to keep his cool for most of the song, but near the end, he can’t take any more of it. He shouts at & moons some guests, and gets fired. Jax/Phoenix/Cassidy recognize that he’d be great as a kitchen manager - to be frank, firm and light a fire under kitchen staff’s butts. They offer him the job and he accepts. Next up, they need charismatic servers, and they know just the guys - their friends Beest, Miki and Screem (former Triple Treet mascots and rockstars, who now operate a ballet dance studio…).

 

Beest, Miki and Screem are teaching ballet to some students (“My Swan”). The song features distorted electric guitars and rocks hard, but the dance is graceful, flowing and beautiful. Jax/Phoenix/Cassidy/Killian enter and watch most of it. After the song is finished, Beest/Miki/Screem explain that their studio isn’t doing too well. Jax invites them to be servers at their restaurant. Beest says they are humbled and would be honored, but they want to give the studio some more time. Jax understands and says the offer is always on the table if they change their minds. Next up, they need a Host. Phoenix knows just the guy, his friend Petey…

 

At a local gym, guests are doing various workouts and chatting. Petey, the former mascot for Power Puffs, trains there nearly every day. He’s a friendly, carefree California bro with a distinct surfer accent. He’s stoked to see Phoenix and says they’re just in time to do their daily team workout, singing along to the original Power Puffs theme from the old commercials (“Power Puffs”). Jax/Phoenix/Cassidy/Killian reluctantly join in. Afterwards, Phoenix invites Petey to be their restaurant Host because he’s so outgoing, likable, and interpersonal. Petey has nothing to do each day anyway (he just goes to the gym and that’s it), so he happily joins. They now have their core team and are ready to begin working. Jax promises he’ll figure out servers later.

 

It is 3 months later. Jax has rented a medium-sized space and the restaurant is nearly complete. Jax and Phoenix confirm they have all the stuff Davey advised them they’d need. They check with Cassidy on how the recipes are coming along, but she’s not doing too great. “Are you sure I can’t just add maybe a little sugar?” she asks. But Jax reminds her that it must be extra healthy, with no sugar. Unexpectedly, Beest, Miki and Screem enter. They admit their studio went under, so they’ll happily join the team as servers. Everyone is stoked. Their team is complete. 

 

Cassidy presents her attempt at a few healthy dishes. Everyone thinks it tastes pretty nasty, but none of them really have a clue because they half-convince each other “Maybe it’s supposed to taste like this (?) That’s what makes it healthy (?)” Phoenix chimes in as devil’s advocate, and Cassidy advocates that something’s definitely not right. But Jax begins stubbornly alpha-dominating, convincing everyone that it’s okay and it’s supposed to taste that way. Suddenly, their attention gets diverted to a recent social media post of his, which got tens of thousands of Likes. Everyone temporarily forgets about the recipes and instead gets starry-eyed and distracted with the dream of reclaiming their fame. Jax leads them in an upbeat song (“Sugar Free”). They end on a high note and everyone leaves for the night, except for Jax and Cassidy, who chat some more about Cassidy’s hesitations/frustrations. 

 

A few days later, it’s the Grand Opening and they proceed to open the restaurant. A variety of ex-mascot characters enter to dine. BOB, the robot from Robo Rice. Tootles, the clown from Circus Xtravaganza. John and Jane, secret agents from Black and White. There are other various animals, non-humans, and humans too. Petey seats guests; Jax and Phoenix mingle with them;  Beest/Miki/Screem serve;  Cassidy cooks;  Killian and some Sweetios “O”s clean dishes. For the sake of theater time, the entire dining experience is very “accelerated” (i.e., guests choose from the 1-page menu quickly and they receive their food almost instantly). 

 

Everything starts off okay, but then once the food hits, everything that can go wrong in a restaurant goes wrong (“The Grand Opening”). Chaos ensues: guests spit out food; “too salty”; “so nasty”; “this isn’t strong enough”; “I’m allergic to x,y,z”; spills; odd requests; guests are rude, etc. The guests all jump on their phones and start bashing the restaurant though all sorts of social media review sites. Jax (and the main characters’) worst fear is coming true - they are now a laughing stock in addition to being out-of-work mascots. They’ve ruined their legacy.

 

Ultimately, the guests get to be too much. Jax and the main characters try to keep their cool but can’t. While the music approaches the final drum solo (with a large drop in tempo), the characters and guests approach their fighting positions (e.g., grabbing each others collars, preparing to throw food at each other, putting their fists up like they’re about to box), but as the drum solo decreases in tempo, the characters gradually start going into slow motion. They continue to slow down until they are all completely frozen, before any fighting happens. Drums feature a final ride cymbal ding. Lights out. Curtain drops. End of Act One.

 

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ACT  TWO

Act Two begins with the exact same ending of “The Grand Opening.” But this time, once we hear the final ride cymbal ding, the brawl/food fight begins! The main mascot characters fight guests. The brawl lasts for about one minute and then Jax recognizes how out-of-hand this has gotten. He screams for everyone to stop. All the guests have exited by now, and we’re left with the main characters. Cassidy storms out, upset with Jax. The others don’t “abandon” Jax, but they leave him too, indicating their disappointment with the entire situation that he spearheaded. 

 

Back at their apartment, Jax and Cassidy have a heated argument about this entire disaster he has pulled her through. But they gradually calm down. Jax realizes what an alpha-male jerk he has been and promises to be much better to her and their friends, and to listen to Cassidy’s instinct next time. They sing (“Bitter Sweet”) and make up. But…now what? They’re unsure what to do next. They decide to check with their friends.

 

At Davey’s donut shop, Phoenix/Petey/Killian/Beest/Miki/Screem are all sitting together at a table, having a round of donuts because Whew, that was a rough night. At first they are bickering, but Phoenix calms them down and then leads them in song (“Sugar Crash”), encouraging them to embrace the sugar crash of the donuts. To not fight it, but instead let it help calm you down and escape into a daydream.

 

Jax and Cassidy enter. Jax apologizes for all the mayhem he dragged them through. The others are still a bit peeved with him, but they forgive him. But…now what? What should they do? They all feel so lost in this world. A business executive enters. He has an incredible offer: because their restaurant opening went so horrifically wrong and went viral, they’re now trending. Jax asks how he can possibly make a positive out of this situation. The executive explains the network’s intention of creating a weekly video series where they all chat and poke fun at various cereal mascots throughout the decades. All of the main characters are like “No! You’re a monster.” Jax, for a split second, entertains the idea, but then quickly realizes he has to change his ways and not be obsessed with fame. “Screw you!” he says to the executive and chucks him out the door.

 

Phoenix/Petey/Killian/Beest/Miki/Screem gradually start admitting they’re not really interested in going back to the restaurant. Jax asks them to please not give up. They let Jax know that they love him and will always support him, but it’s simply not who they are. They admit that the future looks scary, but they all need to look deep into themselves and decide for themselves how to proceed moving forward. Everyone exits, except for Jax, Cassidy and Davey.

 

They ask Davey for some help/wisdom. Davey thinks for a moment and then guides them with an idea of how to perhaps approach the future: 1) What you’re good at.  2) What you love.  3) What the world needs. They discuss Cassidy’s natural passion and skill for crafting chocolatey & sugary recipes. That, coupled with their past experience as cereal mascots, leads them to an idea - opening a “cereal bar.”  Very much like Davey’s donut shop, a place (like a simple, small frozen yogurt shop) where guests can purchase and create fun cereal concoctions as a dessert, while interacting with the famous ex-celebrities Jax and Cassidy. Jax’s mind is racing and he gets all excited and wants to alpha-dominate by nature, but Davey quickly chimes in, “May I make a suggestion? Let Cassidy take the lead  on this one?” Cassidy is all for that. Jax agrees They keep chatting excitedly about the idea…

 

3 months later, Cassidy and Jax’s cereal bar, ‘Cereal Time’ is a big hit. Just like Davey’s donut shop, customers are regularly coming and going, enjoying a tasty treat. Phoenix, Petey, Killian, Beest, Miki, Screem, and all ensemble characters enter to check it out for the first time, and everyone sings a final, big, warm, energetic song (“Cereal Time”). THE END.