SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
BOB, a young financial analyst for a bank, is in his efficiency apartment helping DANI with a spreadsheet that she needs for her college finance class. Dani is obsessed with money (RICH, RICH). Dani gets jealous when Bob takes a call from the governor’s daughter, LEXI. After Dani exits Bob’s apartment in a huff, Bob falls asleep and dreams us into the World of Words.
In the World of Words two BAD WORDS, F*** and S***, stroll into the Plaza at the center of Wordtopia, the capital of the World of Words, dreading the rumored arrival that day of Hate and Tyranny. In this moment, the Bad Words recall an earlier, happier morning back in time when the proprietor of the Café, JOY, welcomed everyone to her Café. (WELCOME TO EMPTYVIA)
One of those entering the Café from her night shift is MONEY (who we saw earlier as DANI). She announces she’s going on strike. FAVOR (who as Lexi we heard on the phone in the first scene) supports her.
Favor’s father, Grand Alpha FEARAGON, enters his office, becomes upset when he learns that Love and Freedom have applied to get married. We flash back a moment to when Love and Freedom became engaged (WHEN I SAW YOU). Fearagon tells his chief of staff, Zero, that he will ask Favor to talk Money out of her strike and to explain to Love and Freedom why he won’t let them marry.
Favor vents to her mother that if one more Word begs her for a favor, she’s gonna (SCREAM). And that her real dream is not to be the next Grand Alpha, as by birth would be her right, but to get away and build a Freedom School. Grabbing her backpack, Favor heads to class to give her speech about her (FAVORITE WORD).
Favor surprises her boyfriend, Zero. She questions why he wants to keep their relationship a secret. (NO ONE KNOWS).
Under cover of darkness, Favor and Zero leave the Office of the Grand Alpha, but when they enter the shadowy Plaza they see the Bad Words harassing Money. (MONEY, HONEY)
The next morning BOB appears (the same Bob we met in his Scene 1 apartment). He’s come to the World of Words because the Human Domain fell into a dire state of crisis (WHEN THE MONEY STOPPED).
Favor meets with her father in the Office of the Grand Alpha to clear the air about the strike, the marriage request, and her desire to build a Freedom School. But Fearagon is deaf to his daughter’s requests and presses her to take a (LOOK AHEAD).
The Parts of Speech arrive for a meeting. (THROWDOWN)
In the Plaza, the crowd arrives in support of Money’s strike, and with Freedom, Love and Favor launch into (FREEDOM BAND).
Bob tells Favor that the World needs to (HEAR YOUR VOICE). The two enter the Café, where Debt tells Zero, that (YOU CAN CALL ME) Money, as she peels off her Debt disguise and reveals to Zero, on whom she’s long had a crush, that she’s actually Money. As Act One ends, Money grabs Zero by the tie and invites him to “…take me home, and let’s crash!”
ACT ONE CURTAIN
ACT TWO
Zero establishes a Word Bank, and Money helps him distribute loans to the Words (GET YOU SOME MONEY). This restores money to the Human Domain and ends Bob’s mission in the World of Words. He says goodbye to Favor, which breaks her heart. (WALK AWAY)
Joy asks banker Zero for a huge loan so that she can expand her Emptyvia Café brand all around the World of Words.
We find Favor in Lexikonnia, renovating a derelict storefront into a Freedom School. (FREEDOM IS A FIRE BURNING).
Back in Wordtopia, Fearagon tells Love and Freedom he will allow them to marry – if they go off and find Favor and return her to him. (THERE’S A WEDDING)
At night, Favor leaves the now-finished Freedom School. Thugs attack and leave her lying, beaten, in the street. Love and Freedom discover Favor.
Fearagon tells Joy that since Love and Freedom haven’t returned with Favor, he himself is going to go look for her. In Fearagon’s absence, Zero, assumes the functions of the Grand Alpha.
When Love and Freedom return Favor to Wordtopia, they urge her to (LISTEN TO YOUR LOVE) as a way of healing. Joy encourages Favor to work with her (GREAT THINGS TOGETHER).
Zero, now self-named Zerocifer, welcomes Love and Freedom to his office. (YOU ARE SPECIAL). He agrees to marry them to fulfill Fearagon’s earlier promise to honor their return with Favor. Zerocifer gives each of them a new name. Too late, Love discovers her new name is HATE, and Freedom learns his new name is TYRANNY.
At a worldwide convention of potential Emptyvia franchise wannabees. Favor amps up the crowd with (EMPTYVIA AROUND THE WORLD). Money and Bob arrive back stage with evidence that makes Favor the new Grand Alpha.
Favor would rather her mother assume what should have been her own Grand Alpha role, if she had not had Favor with a guy from the Human Domain.
Ravaging their way toward Wordtopia, (HATE AND TYRANNY) march their wild and troubled act closer and closer to the fearful citizenry of Wordtopia.
Zerocifer, tells Favor that if she choses to become the Grand Alpha he will foreclose on her mother’s Emptyvia loan and take over Emptyvia Worldwide.
The Parts of Speech rally for Favor. They and Bob tell her that it’s time for her to use her power to deal with Hate and Tyranny and become the next Grand Alpha (BOOM, BOOM, BOOM).
Joy tells Favor that she will give her business over to Zero if Favor will assume the role of Grand Alpha and save Wordtopia from Hate and Tyranny.
Hate and Tyranny arrive, and Favor’s courageous act (PASS IT ON) transforms them back into Love and Freedom. In a flash, the Café’s Barista and Waitress tie up the arriving Zero with their aprons. Favor tells them to put Zero into the Café freezer.
Favor immediately officiates the marriage of Love and Freedom, (WHAT DO WE MEAN WITHOUT LOVE AND FEEDOM).
When the Barista and Waitress bring the deeply chilled Zero from the freezer to Favor, she shoves her old backpack into his gut and sends him off to Lexikonnia to build a school.
The final scene is in Lexi’s (Favor) apartment. Her father wants her to support his run for Senator. He tells her, “It’s only a win if I win with you.” After Lexi and her father exit her apartment, we hear Bob leaving a voice mail on Lexi’s lost cell phone: “The world needs to hear your voice.”
FINAL CURTAIN