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10-MINUTE MUSICAL COLLECTION

Pellets, Cherries, and Lies

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Erik Przytulski

In this heart-wrenching tale of addiction, a legendary video game golden boy must struggle to keep his family together while dealing with his late night binges. With the help of his wife, Ms. Pac-Man and his son, Junior, can Pac-Man free himself of his disease, or will he succumb to the seductions of Sue and her fellow ghosts?

Comedy

Overview

Cast Size

2m, 2f, Chorus 1-3

Duration

10-13 Mins

Setting

Mrs. Pac-Man's Living Room

Cautions

None

Subgenre

Farce, Fantasy, Adaptation, Parody/Spoof

Themes

Love, Addiction, Parenting/Family, Marriage

Target Audience

Appropriate for all audiences

Style

Contemporary Musical Theatre

Instrumentation

Piano/Vocal, Bass, Drum, Percussion, Guitar

Additional Resources

Accompaniment Tracks

Synopsis

In the Pac Family House in Mazeland, Ms. Pac Man paces in the living room of her house, worried about her husband, Pac Man’s whereabouts at such a late hour “PROLOGUE”. When he tries to sneak in, she confronts him and learns he’s been out in the maze eating pellets again. Ms. Pac Man pleads with him to stop and get help with his addiction. Pac Man is appalled at such an accusation and attempts to convince his wife that he is “IN CONTROL”. He pulls a power pellet out from his pocket to prove he can resist eating, but realizes he does have a problem when he nearly gives in to his urges. Ms. Pac Man informs her husband that they have another problem. She shows Pac Man a box filled with power pellets that she found hidden in their son’s room. Pac Man calls his son, Junior Pac Man, and asks where he learned to eat such things. Junior tries to deny it, but after his father presses him for an answer, he finally breaks down and admits that he learned in watching him. Junior expresses how he just wants to be cool and popular like his father, but even he is realizing that his dad has a problem and is a loser “LIKE YOU”. This revelation is too much for Pac Man to handle and runs out of the room. Junior is soon comforted by his mother how confesses to a secret of her own: That she, too, once had a pellet addiction. But after years of nearly falling into the same habits as Pac Man, she found her reason to kick her habit with the birth of her son “OUT OF THE GAME”. Later, as Pac Man is flushing power pellets down their toilet, Sue the Ghost appears along with her cohorts, Inky, Blinky, and Pinky. She calls out to Pac Man, trying to seduce him back into the maze and indulge in his pellet addiction “TASTE”. In the “FINALE”, Ms. Pac Man and Junior plead to Pac Man not to go back into the maze. Sue entices Pac Man by telling him this next board has a Kiwi. After his family begs him to stay, Pac Man refuses, promising that he’s going out into the maze just one last time. Ms. Pac Man and Junior hold each other close as Pac Man disappears into the maze with Sue and the Ghosts.

Synopsis

Casting Information

  • MS. PAC MAN: Female, Soprano – Caring wife and mother with a past.

  • PAC MAN: Male, Baritone – Strung-out pellet addict in denial.

  • JUNIOR PAC MAN: Male, Tenor – Emo kid with a secret.

  • SUE THE GHOST: Female, Alto/Mezzo – Ghostly seductress of Pac Man.

  • INKY, BLINKY, and PINKY: Female, Alto/Mezzo/Soprano – A trio of ghosts and Sue’s back-up singers.

  • OFF-STAGE VOICES and MARIO, Q-BERT, TAPPER, & FROGGER

Note: INKY, BLINKY, and PINKY are optional cast members and can be omitted if necessary. Actors playing SUE THE GHOST, INKY, BLINKY, and PINKY can double the roles of  OFF-STAGE VOICES, MARIO, Q-BERT, TAPPER, and FROGGER.

Songs

Full Show
00:00 / 12:55
00:00 / 00:00
00:00 / 00:00
00:00 / 00:00
Casting & Songs

Media

Media

Production History

WORLD PREMIERE

Theatre Now's SOUND BITES 2014 - 10-Minute Musical Festival

Venue: The 47th Street Theater, Manhattan, NYC

Date: December 8th, 2014

 

WEST COAST PREMIERE

Production: Strip Show: One Act Stories... Stripped Down

Company: After Hours Theatre Company

Venue: The Hudson Theatres, Los Angeles, CA

Date: March 1-2, 2019

Author Bios

Illustrated Mountains

ERIK PRZYTULSKI is a composer, writer, and producer whose works include: A Song for Christmas, Thumbelina, and Christmas In Neverland. His show, Princesses, was presented at the 2012 ASCAP/Dreamworks Musical Theatre Workshop hosted by Stephen Schwartz. Pellets, Cherries, and Lies: The Pac Man Story marked his Off-Broadway debut and was soon followed by the NYC premiere of the award-winning Alien Vs. Musical in early 2019. Upcoming projects include Marian – A New Musical, an updated adaptation of the Robin Hood legend, and BugBandKids, a new educational music series premiering in 2020. (www.pretzylmusic.com) (@pretzylmusic)

Illustrated Mountains
Illustrated Mountains
Author's Bios
Production History
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