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Rare Birds Ode Awards

1 / 5
Hermes Award Gold
Hermes Creative Award - Gold.
2 / 5
Ava Award Gold
Ava Award - Gold.
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Ava Award Platinum
Ava Award - Platinum.
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MarCom Award Gold
MarCom Award - Gold.
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Vega Arcturus
Vega Award - Arcturus.

WHELMED!
A ‘Pop’ Opera Morality Tale
by E.A. Messenger & Jim Schmitt

SYNOPSIS

Act I - "The Story of Cain"
 

Scene 1begins on the farm of Adam & Eve, and their sons Cain and Abel. (THE GRUDGE) The Angels tell of how Cain, a farmer, kills his brother Abel, a shepherd, in a jealous rage. In Scene 2 Naysayo, a stranger, comes to the farm to do a remote “television interview”, covering the ground-breaking story of Earth’s first murder. (NEWS!) Naysayo is a physical manifestation of the Devil, come to create chaos and disorder among humans. After getting the Villager’s undivided attention, Naysayo tries to build sympathy for this killer Cain. (CAIN’S PAIN) He draws close to Cain by identifying with him (A FIRE) then convinces everyone of the need for a trial. In Scene 3 Naysayo transforms the farm into a courtroom, and becomes Cain’s Defense Attorney. He creates a plan to ‘Get Cain off”. (A FOUL DEFENDER) Just as Naysayo has the people convinced that Cain is innocent, along comes Odious, a female manifestation of the Devil, the ‘flip side’ of the ‘coin’, so to speak, and plays the role of Prosecutor. (AN ODIOUS PROSECUTOR) Odious reminds everyone of Cain’s merciless murdering of his innocent brother, Abel. This swings public opinion back and forth. Cain takes the stand in his own defense (WOULD-A, SHOULD-A, COULD-A) all the while feeling sorry for himself, and blaming his parents for the situation he finds himself in. The Angels, God’s representatives on Earth (the human’s conscience) speak to Cain’s heart about how he ‘Missed the Rose’ by focusing too much on the ‘Thorns’ of life. (CAIN MISSED THE ROSE) Odious believes that Cain incriminates himself on the stand (CAIN PICKLED) and whips up anti-Cain sentiment among the jurors. Naysayo points out how Cain tries to blame everyone else. (A SHAM). Cain, finally catching on to the fact that Naysayo and Odious are actually in collusion with each other, challenges them to reveal their true natures, which they do, but only to him. (N.O.) They convince the humans that Cain is a real threat and must be dealt with. The Angels, frustrated with events, tell of how easily swayed the human mind has become. (HUMAN MIND EVOLVING) As the people scream “Guilty! Guilty!” Adam and Eve, forgotten, are lost in their sorrow. They face the realization that they have lost not one son, but two. (TWO LESS SETTINGS) In Scene 4 the villagers, led by Naysayo and Odious, take Cain off to the meadow to be executed. There they strap Cain to a chair that has a lightning rod attached to it, with a kite tied to the end. (HOT SPOT) Cain stands up to the mob and warns them of their own precarious situation. (HE-MAN) As the villagers scream for Cain’s blood, a lightning bolt strikes the chair, blinding everyone. After the smoke clears, Cain is nowhere to be seen. He has been ‘Marked’ by God. In Scene 5 Adam & Eve are left to mourn the loss of their sons, (PARENTAL PAIN) but not alone, for Naysayo & Odious are there, congratulating themselves for a ‘Job Well-Done!”
 
Act II - “The Story of Lamech”
 
Scene 1 - Many, many years later, mankind has grown very violent and evil. The population has split, under theinfluence of Naysayo & Odious, into two groups: “The Posse”, a self-declared militia, led by the violent Lamech, and “The Clan”, who opposes the Posse at every level, with the same ferocity. Noah, a Prophet of God, stands on a ‘Soap Box’, preaching to the evil population of their impending doom. (CHANGE) He tells of a rainstorm coming to destroy the world, if they do not repent their ways. The Posse and the Clan laugh at Noah, mocking him. The situation becomes more complicated as it is revealed that Lamech is Noah’s son. He mocks his father and the “Ark” Noah built to survive the coming flood. (THE DEVIL’S ZOO) Noah re-doubles his efforts to convince the people of their doom (STRIKE ONE) but to no avail. He struggles with his failure to reach them. (A TAUNTED NOAH) Lamech cries out for vengeance upon all who oppose him, with his Posse cheering him on. (LA MACHO MAN). This leads to an altercation between him and a clansman, which starts a huge brawl. (BOO-BOO’S). Naysayo & Odious relish the chaos and fighting. Noah, refusing to give up, reaches out one more time for peace, which, unfortunately for Noah, has the opposite effect. The Posse grabs him, and prepares a make-shift gallows. (THE HANGMEN) Noah’s last effort to win the crowd over fails (STRIKE TWO) and he begins to despair for his son. In a last minute plea, both Noah and Mrs. beg Lamech to come aboard the Ark with them, but he refuses, determined to ‘ride out’ the storm on his own terms. As Noah and his wife slowly climb aboard the Ark, everyone outside are swallowed up in a deluge of water. (STRIKE THREE) Scene 2 - Safely inside the Ark, the Noahs contemplate their future, while mourning the loss of their son and the destruction of the world. (FACING RAIN.)
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