Fall Musical

Act 1

A group of singing "zombies" addresses the audience, setting the scene in the small town of Hatchetfield and introducing the main character, unremarkable everyman Paul Matthews. They proclaim that "The apotheosis is upon us!" ("The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals").

Paul works at an office with his coworkers Bill, Charlotte, and Ted. Bill invites Paul to a production of Mamma Mia! at the local Starlight Theater, but Paul declines. He heads to the local coffee shop, Beanie's, to see Emma Perkins, a barista he has a crush on. Emma is forced to follow Beanie's' new Cold Stone-inspired "tip for a song" policy, and she and Paul bond over their shared dislike of musicals. As he leaves the shop, Paul is hounded by a Greenpeace advocate about donating to save the planet. During their argument, an approaching storm forces them to take shelter.

The next day, Paul encounters a group of people, led by the Greenpeace girl from the day before, singing and dancing ("La Dee Dah Dah Day"). Paul heads to work and Bill recounts that a strange meteor struck the Starlight Theater the previous night. Their boss, Mr. Davidson, calls Paul into his office, and Paul runs away after Mr. Davidson sings a song ("What Do You Want, Paul?").

Paul rushes to Beanie's and tells Emma that he fears the world is becoming a musical. Emma, unconvinced, is called by her coworkers Nora and Zoey to perform the Beanie's tip song ("Cup of Roasted Coffee"). Nora and Zoey continue singing and dancing after the song ends, and the shop's customers join the baristas in song after drinking coffee contaminated with a mysterious blue substance ("Cup of Poisoned Coffee"). Paul and Emma flee the shop and head into an alleyway where they find Paul's coworkers, who tell them that the entire town has been infected.

Charlotte calls her husband Sam for help, but he has been infected. Sam and two other police officers attack the group ("Show Me Your Hands") until Ted hits him over the head, knocking him out and exposing his brain, which is bright blue. Emma proposes that they seek help from her eccentric biology teacher Professor Hidgens. They follow her and take the unconscious Sam with them.

The group arrives at Hidgens' fortified home on the edge of town. Hidgens believes that the behavior of the townsfolk is the result of an alien invasion brought to Earth by the meteor, and restrains Sam. Hidgens leads Paul, Emma, and Bill off to get drinks, leaving Charlotte and Ted with Sam. They argue, and as Ted leaves, Sam wakes up. He convinces Charlotte to untie him ("You Tied Up My Heart"), then kills and infects her.

Meanwhile, Emma and Paul grow closer, and they discover that Paul's hatred of musicals was inspired by seeing Emma perform in Brigadoon in high school. Emma tells Paul that she hates living in Hatchetfield and left after graduating high school, but returned due to the death of her sister. Their conversation is interrupted when Sam and Charlotte enter and attack the group ("Join Us (And Die)"). Hidgens shoots and kills them both.

Bill receives a call from his daughter Alice, saying that she is trapped in the band room at Hatchetfield High School. Paul goes with Bill to rescue her.

Act 2

Paul and Bill search for Alice at Hatchetfield High. They find her and her girlfriend Deb already infected, and Alice tells Bill that she blames him for her death and has always resented him ("Not Your Seed"). The infected group kills Bill, then corners Paul, determined to make him suffer for his defiance. Before they can kill him, the soldiers of the US Army arrive. They chase Alice and Deb off and knock Paul unconscious.

Paul wakes up and is greeted by General John MacNamara, who leads a special unit of the US Army that deals with the strange and paranormal, called PEIP (/ˈpiːp/ PEEP). MacNamara has been ordered to kill any survivors, but tells Paul that if he can rescue Emma, they are both welcome to join PEIP on the rescue helicopter.

Meanwhile, at Hidgens' compound, Hidgens determines that the aliens are a hive mind that communicates through music. Emma theorizes that the meteor acts as the hive's central brain and that destroying it would end the invasion. Hidgens, however, embraces the hive's unity as world peace, and sedates Emma. She wakes up tied to a chair with Ted as Hidgens deactivates his house's defenses and reveals he has a passion for musical theatre. Intending to draw the hive's attention, he performs the opening number of his musical Workin' Boys, a show glorifying his own undergrad experience (“Show Stoppin' Number”). The zombies arrive and join him in song, and Hidgens, believing them to be his old college friends, allows them to tear him apart.

Paul arrives to rescue Emma and Ted and they head for the pickup site, but one of the infected attacks Paul. Ted abandons the others and continues to the pickup site alone. There he finds the army waiting, but is shot and assimilated by an infected General MacNamara ("America Is Great Again"). Paul and Emma manage to escape to the helicopter, but the pilot reveals herself to be Zoey, Emma's infected coworker. Zoey attempts to shoot them, but Paul kicks away the gun. The helicopter crashes, and Emma is injured. She tells Paul to leave her and destroy the meteor to end the invasion. Paul arms himself with grenades from the helicopter and leaves.

Paul enters the Starlight Theater and is confronted by a group of the infected. They encourage Paul to express his feelings through song. His proximity to the meteor infects him, and he fights for control. He manages to pull the pin on a grenade and throw it at the meteor ("Let It Out").

Two weeks later, Emma is recovering in a hospital in Clivesdale and is placed in witness protection with the help of PEIP. She is told there are no other survivors, but she will be escorted to her new life by someone she knows. Paul enters, and reveals that he has been infected. He and the rest of the infected implore her to join the hive, and Paul announces, "The apotheosis is upon us!" ("Inevitable").

As the cast take their bows at the end of the show, Emma realizes she is trapped on stage and cannot escape. She cries and begs the audience for help until the cast drag her backstage at the end of the curtain call.