“John Doe” is a new musical written by Robert Moutal, directed by Michael Schwartz, Music Arranged & Directed by Andy Ingersoll and Choreographed by Courtney Corey, currently looking for a new life in other stages.
Five personalities find themselves in a hospital waiting room. Each of them, a part of the fractured psyche of JOHN DOE; a mystery patient suffering from a traumatic brain injury that has fractured his mind and cut off his ability to communicate.
As each fragment attempts to unravel their true identity, JOHN DOE’s will to live is challenged as memories of his life and the mystery behind his near death are revealed. Only through their shared will, can JOHN DOE take back his identity, his life an bring his assailant to justice!
Back in May 2012 we had our first reading where we invited several local actors as well as a theater meet-up group to come and listen to the script and songs outloud for the first time.
Here are a couple of videos from that night. The second one shows some of the comments made by the attendees.
The show features 10 actors and 18 songs/muscial numbers.
A middle-aged man, found unconscious on a park bench, is wheeled into a hospital in the middle of the night. Unresponsive and with no ID, he’s labeled a “John Doe” and put on a ventilator.
ABBY, a young, beautiful nurse is put in charge of John Doe and immediately grows fond of him, even though he’s in an apparent coma.
Soon after we learn that John Doe is suffering from Locked-in Syndrome, a condition in which the person is completely aware of his surroundings but unable to move a single muscle, thus giving the appearance of being in a coma. He also has an acute case of Retrograde Amnesia which has caused John Doe to lose his memory entirely.
In the hospital waiting room, we see 6 people: Joe, Glenn, Thornton, Henry, Dr. Pashent and Julie.
AVERY JOE, an under-confident, cowardly loser who has never achieved anything in his life.
HENRY, a Police Officer. He’s a man of integrity and high values who would never do anything immoral.
GLENN (AKA PSYCHO), a low-life petty criminal. A destructive force of evil wherever he goes.
THORNTON, the typical ambulance-chasing lawyer. He is selfish and always looking out for number one.
DR. PASHENT, is the voice of reason. He’s logical, analytical and quite detached.
JULIE is John Doe’s wife and the only woman in the waiting room. She acts very strangely, almost as if he had her own, separate dialog going on inside her head.
We discover that the waiting room is actually INSIDE the patient’s mind.
Joe, Henry, Glenn, Thornton and Dr. Pashent are actually FIGMENTS of the patient’s imagination. Each of them has the potential of being John Doe’s true identity. Julie turns out to be John Doe’s only MEMORY left in his brain.
Meanwhile… Outside the patient’s head, in the actual hospital room, a dark conspiracy is taking place. Fueled by greed and betrayal the conspirators are trying to disconnect the patient from his life support system
The clock is ticking…
The Figments must find out which of them is John Doe’s true identity… and wake up… To save their own existence!
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